Khalid Shares How a Chance Encounter in South Africa Inspired New Album ‘Sincere’

Khalid is gearing up to release his newest album, Sincere , on August 2 — marking his first full-length album since 2019’s Free Spirit — and to celebrate, the star sat down with Billboard ‘s Rania Aniftos to discuss how the project came to be.

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“This is the one I have been waiting five years to put out, and this is the one full of music that I’ve been harboring over the past half decade for the perfect moment, and no moment is more perfect,” he explained.

As for why this is the “perfect moment” to release Sincere , Khalid recalled a chance encounter he had in South Africa a year ago. “I met a random person a year ago in South Africa, actually, and I had a conversation with him and he shook my hand and looked me in my eyes and told me, he was like, ‘Next year is going to be one of the biggest years you’ve had in your career so far, 2024.’ Crazy, real story,” he shared. “Half of the album wasn’t even fully mixed, half of the album wasn’t even fully produced. There’s like seven tracks and I don’t even know what was coming on the album and I took his words for the truth and I’ve been chasing it ever since. It’s like I was touched by an angel.”

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Khalid added that Sincere feels like he’s rediscovering himself as an artist. “When I debuted, I was 17 years old. I had no true sense of self,” he said. “I was writing not even from my experiences. I feel like this album is exactly that. I took it back to basics and I approached it as if I was debuting as an artist all over again. It’s like I’m coming right back to the start of my journey but this time with more insight and knowledge.”

Watch Billboard ‘s full interview with Khalid above.

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