With his warm, soothing voice, dope fashion sense, and endearing personality, Khalid Donnel Robinson, whose stage name consists of just his first, has taken the world by storm at the young age of 21. His third and most recent release, “Free Spirit,” came out in April of this year and features 17 amazing songs, each dripping with his unique sound and style. Being that Khalid’s 2018 release “Suncity” was only an EP, “Free Spirit” is technically his first full album since his debut “American Teen,” which blew up in 2017, jumpstarting Khalid’s quick ascent to stardom. And this album did no less. Two weeks after its release, “Free Spirit” came out ranked #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. In fact, it was the first R&B album to hold this title in almost a year (billboard.com).
Following the success of his album, Khalid announced the “Free Spirit World Tour,” six months, 63 shows, and three continents. I was lucky enough to attend his show here in Boston at the TD Garden on August 10th. I was debating whether or not I wanted to go for a really long time, but let me tell you, I am so glad I did. The set featured songs from all of his albums, some really hype and upbeat, some slightly slow and sad, some falling somewhere in the middle. But all of them were amazing in their own way, and the energy that Khalid, his dancers, and the audience brought to the stadium made the experience unforgettable for me. I knew Khalid had an amazing voice, but what I didn’t know is that he’s also a great dancer. I was kind of caught off-guard when he’d unexpectedly bust out a woah or shoot, but I have to admit, he was nice with it! After the final song of the night, “Saturday Nights” (which fit perfectly because the concert was on a Saturday night), I found myself cheering and screaming uncontrollably as Khalid and his dancers took a bow before exiting the stage. I went into that concert a Khalid fan, but I can assure you that I left a Khalid STAN. I truly may be in love with this man. But that’s another story.
While Khalid’s artistry and personality are clearly exhibited through his music, he uses his fun and unique wardrobe as another outlet for them. If you were to scroll through his Instagram right now, you’d see tons of flicks of his dope fits, which I’d describe as a mix between a dad, a soldier, and a hipster. Like his voice, his style is fly and distinctively him, something I think we could all take notes from. I’m excited to see more fits and hear more new music from Khalid in the future, and you should be too!