WEBVTT - Khalid

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartRadio Live is a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Welcome to Khalid in Iheartland. Can't we just toss?

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<v Speaker 1>Here's your host, Gabby ds. Hey everyone, We're here in

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<v Speaker 1>Iheartland at State Farm Park in Fortnite, where music and

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<v Speaker 1>gaming collide and who will be joining me for this

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<v Speaker 1>exclusive interview. He's been nominated for Grammys, won Billboard Music Awards,

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<v Speaker 1>America Music Awards, and two iHeartRadio Music Awards, among others.

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<v Speaker 1>His latest album is Sincere. Let's welcome Khalid.

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<v Speaker 2>What's up everybody?

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<v Speaker 1>How are you?

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<v Speaker 2>I'm good, I'm good.

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<v Speaker 1>How's life nice? Okay? So tell us about the making

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<v Speaker 1>of Sincere. You've said a lot about your life experiences

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<v Speaker 1>went into the making of this album, so how did

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<v Speaker 1>they help?

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<v Speaker 2>It was really personal for me. That's why it took

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<v Speaker 2>me so long to finish it. It took me five

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<v Speaker 2>years to finish that album. I just wanted to make

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<v Speaker 2>sure that the album was exactly that. Even before I

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<v Speaker 2>conceptualized the name Sincere, I just knew that I had

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<v Speaker 2>to put my heart into it and it had to

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<v Speaker 2>be intentional for sure, because I love making music, but

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<v Speaker 2>I also love when music makes you feel things. So

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<v Speaker 2>when it comes down to anything that I do, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>I always want to make sure that the listeners feel me,

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<v Speaker 2>they empathize with me, and they connect with me. And

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<v Speaker 2>so for me to be able to do that, I

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<v Speaker 2>had to live my own stories right and make my

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<v Speaker 2>own experiences. I like that.

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<v Speaker 1>What part did your fans play in the making of Sincere?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh my God? I mean just the conversations that I

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<v Speaker 2>have with my fans about how much my music actually

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<v Speaker 2>means to them blows me away every time that I

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<v Speaker 2>hear it. I think the journey that it took everybody

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<v Speaker 2>to even be here this moment is the reason why

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<v Speaker 2>I do what I do. The fact that, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>everybody gets up and comes to see me, and they

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<v Speaker 2>come to listen to me, and they come to connect

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<v Speaker 2>with me. And I have these conversations with my fans

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<v Speaker 2>and my listeners and they tell me what they want

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<v Speaker 2>to hear from me, and they told me to express

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<v Speaker 2>myself and they show me gratitude for it. So I definitely,

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<v Speaker 2>when it comes down to any song I do, I'll

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<v Speaker 2>always give it up to the fans first and foremost.

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<v Speaker 1>For shit, I love it. So you said that it

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<v Speaker 1>was kind of difficult coming up with the album name Sincere.

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<v Speaker 1>So how did a name for it? How did you

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<v Speaker 1>land on Sincere?

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<v Speaker 2>It took me until I want to say the last

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<v Speaker 2>It was like three months before the album came out

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<v Speaker 2>where I was like, Okay, I got it, figured it out.

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<v Speaker 2>I was just going through my own internal battles of

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<v Speaker 2>what I wanted to name this project. The first name

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<v Speaker 2>was please Don't fall in Love with Me, but then

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<v Speaker 2>I was like, wait, no, that's not true.

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<v Speaker 1>You know You're like, no, fall in love with me?

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<v Speaker 2>Come on, don't know about that title? Right? And to me,

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<v Speaker 2>Sincere is just everything that I want to be. It's

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<v Speaker 2>everything that I aspire to be. And it was a

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<v Speaker 2>song that I really connected with when I wrote it,

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<v Speaker 2>And I can remember going on a trip and I

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<v Speaker 2>was walking outside the wind hits me. I'm like boom,

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<v Speaker 2>like I know exactly what this has to be.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh man, why do you think twenty twenty four was

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<v Speaker 1>the perfect year for Sincere?

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<v Speaker 2>Twenty twenty four was the perfect year for Sincere because

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<v Speaker 2>I feel like the anxiety that I was going through

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<v Speaker 2>creating the project, the moment that it was finished, it's

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<v Speaker 2>like it left my body and it inspired me to

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<v Speaker 2>be even more creative. It's like I wrote Sincere, and

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<v Speaker 2>then when I stopped writing Sincere, I couldn't stop writing.

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<v Speaker 2>So there's so many more. There's so much more music.

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<v Speaker 2>There's yeah, there's so much more to come. It's like

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<v Speaker 2>it's like a water foster right now won't turn off.

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<v Speaker 2>I just kept writing.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a sure, But that's I feel like when you

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<v Speaker 1>know the juices are flowing right, like what, it's just

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<v Speaker 1>you can't stop.

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<v Speaker 2>I can't. I mean, it's what I do and it's

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<v Speaker 2>my passion. And right now I'm just in such an

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<v Speaker 2>inspirational place. And I feel like it's because I worked

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<v Speaker 2>so hard on the album so to see a positive reception, right, Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>now it's just time to have fun. For sure. People

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<v Speaker 2>love it.

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<v Speaker 1>Tell us about how you were touched by an angel and.

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<v Speaker 2>How that health is here. It's crazy. I went to

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<v Speaker 2>South Africa and it had an amazing time. It was

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<v Speaker 2>a beautiful show, and while I was leaving the airport,

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<v Speaker 2>this random man came up to me. He grabs my hand,

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<v Speaker 2>he shakes me, and he's just like, Yeah, twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 2>four is going to be one of the biggest years

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<v Speaker 2>of your life. It's going to be Wow, it was

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<v Speaker 2>so random, Like I'm.

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<v Speaker 1>Just what energy did you feel like kind of going

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<v Speaker 1>through your body?

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<v Speaker 2>Because I feel like he shook my hand. It was

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<v Speaker 2>like just like looking at one really but he wasn't lying.

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<v Speaker 2>You know this this year has been so incredible for

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<v Speaker 2>me because it's like I'm returning with so much love,

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<v Speaker 2>so much love, and and I give everybody so much gratitude.

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<v Speaker 2>It's just it's what I love to do. And taking

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<v Speaker 2>some time away and coming back and still being met

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<v Speaker 2>with love and reception for my basis, it's incredible.

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<v Speaker 1>No, for sure, did you take things back to basics

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<v Speaker 1>a bit with this album? Like as far as your writing.

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<v Speaker 2>Goes, Yeah, I definitely did. I feel like with this

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<v Speaker 2>album it's like I fell in love with music all

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<v Speaker 2>over again. Before I made this album, I didn't write

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<v Speaker 2>music for a whole year. Wow, I didn't have anything

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<v Speaker 2>to write about. Did you just not feel it's not

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<v Speaker 2>the coolest thing to talk about, like being on travel

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<v Speaker 2>buses and hopping on playing it's just.

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<v Speaker 1>Like being on the move and stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>There's only so much that you can empathize with about

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<v Speaker 2>that when other people having shared those experiences as well.

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<v Speaker 2>So when it comes down to my music. I love

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<v Speaker 2>to talk about my emotions because it's universal, right. You

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<v Speaker 2>don't have to get on a plane to feel, you

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<v Speaker 2>know what I mean. You don't have to get on

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<v Speaker 2>a bus to feel. You don't have to write a

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<v Speaker 2>car to feel. So I think that's the first and

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<v Speaker 2>foremost when it comes down to vulnerability and relatability. I

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<v Speaker 2>just try to keep that at the forefront of everything

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<v Speaker 2>that I do, and that comes with revealing myself and

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<v Speaker 2>sharing my truth.

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<v Speaker 1>And when you got back to writing after that year,

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<v Speaker 1>you like being in a dark room? Is that the

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<v Speaker 1>vibe that you.

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<v Speaker 2>Go off of. I love recording in dimly lit rooms

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<v Speaker 2>because I'm just so dramatic and just like and the

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<v Speaker 2>like I feel this song, y'all, just wait one second,

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<v Speaker 2>it'll come to me. So I just love being at peace,

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<v Speaker 2>and the studio is like my own little cocoons. So sometimes,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, sitting in the dark, to me, it doesn't

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<v Speaker 2>mean me afraid.

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<v Speaker 1>It's your safe space.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it comforts me.

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<v Speaker 1>What would you say, said Sincere? Aside from your earlier.

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<v Speaker 2>Work, Sincere is a much more mature version of me

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<v Speaker 2>Comparably to my earlier work. My earlier work was more innocent.

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<v Speaker 2>I had my whole entire life to write my first album,

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<v Speaker 2>so all of those experiences are raw, real, genuine, authentic,

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<v Speaker 2>And my other other albums are are real, too, But

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<v Speaker 2>this one's like I took so much time off that

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<v Speaker 2>I grew through the process of creating the album so

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<v Speaker 2>much that half of the album came in three Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>So it's like half the album wasn't even conceptualized before,

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<v Speaker 2>like one year before the album came out.

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<v Speaker 1>So wow, your process, man, I like it. You have

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<v Speaker 1>an Alicia Key sample on the album. How's your her

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<v Speaker 1>relationship with her? And how's that so special to you?

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<v Speaker 2>So Alicia and I worked on a project called a

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<v Speaker 2>Scenic Drive, and she is amazing. I look to her

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<v Speaker 2>as a friend and a mentor because she's the one

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<v Speaker 2>who told me this amazing thing. She's like, when you create,

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<v Speaker 2>you pull from the ether. She's like, every song exists,

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<v Speaker 2>it's just for you to find it. And the moment

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<v Speaker 2>that she told me that, it completely changed the way

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<v Speaker 2>that I write music. I'm so much more impulsive as

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<v Speaker 2>a creator now. Wow. I just don't second guess myself.

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<v Speaker 2>I just try to be confident.

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<v Speaker 1>That's some good advice.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it really is.

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<v Speaker 1>She's a great Hey. We're hanging out with Khalid and

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<v Speaker 1>Iheartland at State Farm Park in Fortnite. His latest album

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<v Speaker 1>is Sincere. I'm your host, Gaby Diaz. Use the hashtag

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Khalid. Okay, so you're a very passionate person.

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<v Speaker 1>I know this. How do you channel that passion into

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<v Speaker 1>your music? And where would you say that comes from?

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<v Speaker 2>It's natural when I say I've been singing all of

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<v Speaker 2>my life. I've been singing all of my life. Music

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<v Speaker 2>is my way to heal, it's my way to cope.

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<v Speaker 2>I've sang through my tears, even even all the recording process.

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<v Speaker 1>No, oh, okay, I was gonna say.

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<v Speaker 2>I was like, dang, I gotta keep a professional.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, I'm glad.

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<v Speaker 2>But you know when you're alone in your room and

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<v Speaker 2>you're just singing, and you're just like, you know. I

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<v Speaker 2>have many moments where I'll sit with my music, and

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<v Speaker 2>sometimes I'll even look back years later and I'm like, wow,

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<v Speaker 2>I was feeling that. It's crazy, right, especially when I

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<v Speaker 2>think of one song, Silence. Silence is actually a really

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<v Speaker 2>sad song. I didn't even know that it was as

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<v Speaker 2>sad as it was until I look back at it

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<v Speaker 2>years later and I was reading the lyrics and I'm

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<v Speaker 2>just like, this is this is me, this is deep.

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<v Speaker 1>Y'all. Does that kind of trip you out?

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<v Speaker 2>Like dang?

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<v Speaker 1>I was in that space at one point.

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<v Speaker 2>Like, Yo, it's crazy. I mean it's also crazy because

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of the time I'll put out a song

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<v Speaker 2>and I'll never listen to it again. Wow, I just

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<v Speaker 2>never listened to it again. The message is said.

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<v Speaker 1>I said what I said.

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<v Speaker 2>That's it exactly. I don't want to dwell on it

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<v Speaker 2>too much.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, So I want to know. Tell us about the

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<v Speaker 1>first time you heard your song on the radio.

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<v Speaker 2>It was location and we all.

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<v Speaker 1>Know the words to location in here I think it.

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<v Speaker 2>It was location and it was unbelievable. Picture hearing your

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<v Speaker 2>voice randomly play in your car and you're just like,

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<v Speaker 2>what is going on? And I was with a friends,

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<v Speaker 2>so I wasn't alone, so it was an incredible feeling.

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<v Speaker 2>It was awesome. I was in Texas too, which is

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<v Speaker 2>like a full circle moment for me. It was anytime

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<v Speaker 2>I hear myself on the radio, I'm like, it's amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>Well the album isn't there available wherever you get your music?

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<v Speaker 2>Khalid?

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you and all the best. I'm Gaviy Diaz. This

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<v Speaker 1>is kaleid in Iheartland at State Farm Park in Fortnite.

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<v Speaker 1>Once again, give it up for Khalid.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank y'all, Thank y'all. iHeartRadio Live is a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Was produced, edited, and mixed by Jordan Runtalk. If you

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