“That sense of devastation…”: Khalid’s Painful Breakup with Girlfriend of 4 Years Became a Huge Catalyst For His Music Career
- Khalid's breakup during his move to El Paso when he was young led him to channel his emotions into songwriting.
- Despite initial criticism of his music, Khalid's resilience helped him launch a highly successful career.
- Khalid recently embraced his sexuality on social media with pride, answering all the questions and criticisms.
Misfortunes are often the breaks on the way to the greatest successes. Some are shattered, others grow stronger. Some people accept the challenges of forces that could bring them down and turn them into something great.
This whole scenario fits perfectly with Khalid’s life. Today, the singer is one of the leading voices in the music industry. Ever since the release of his song Location, Khalid has seen great heights in his career, and there is a particular event that started it all.
How Heartbreak and Criticism Shaped Khalid’s Career
Before he became the youngest artist to complete 15 billion streams on Spotify in 2020 (via Grammy Museum), Khalid had to experience some personal losses and setbacks, which became the beginning of his musical career.
Born into a military family, Khalid had to move to different places like Germany and New York since he was young due to his father’s postings. The singer faced one of his most challenging times when he had to move to El Paso, Texas, during his senior year in high school.
The move to El Paso meant he had to end a four-year relationship, which ended up making him feel isolated and emotional. In an earlier interview with Teen Vogue, Khalid revealed,
That sense of devastation knocked me into writing songs to get out all of my feelings. I had to break-up with my girlfriend of four years when I moved and suddenly all of the friends I had made in New York weren’t there anymore. As a response I wrote ‘Saved,’ which is a story of resentment and loneliness.
However, the journey was not easy from this point. After Khalid first recorded Saved, in his friend’s bedroom, it went to the most popular kid in his school who felt the song was “terrible.” Instead of letting this criticism overpower and stop him, Khalid used it to his advantage. He said,
I was like, ‘you know what? Everyone else likes it so why am I so worried about the opinion of someone who thinks popularity is the most important thing in life?’
This resilience paid off well, and the song’s success finally came to the attention of producer Skrittzy, which initiated Khalid’s career. Since then, he has been a multiple-time nominee for a Grammy and has won many other accolades like Billboard Awards, AMAs, and MTV VMAs. The level of his influence was so immense that Time magazine named him among the 100 Most Influential People in 2019.
Coming Out and Standing Proud
In another recent event that writes another chapter to his story of authenticity and resilience, Khalid has come out to clarify his sexuality. The singer recently took to X, and after sharing the Pride flag emoji, he wrote, “There yall go. next topic please lol.”
🏳️🌈!!!
— Khalid (@thegreatkhalid) November 22, 2024
there yall go. next topic please lol
When netizens started questioning him for hiding his identity, Khalid responded, “I wasn’t hiding anything! It’s just not any of your business.” Addressing the situation of being outed, Khalid showed the same resilience that helped launch his career. He shared on X,
I got outted and the world still continues to turn. Let’s get this straight (lmao) I am not ashamed of my sexuality! In reality it ain’t nobodies business! But I am okay with me. love yall
In this latest chapter of his life, it looks like Khalid is once again rising above the challenges despite all the odds and transforming the unfavorable situations into something empowering, just like he had done before.
