The Kid Laroi Announces New Album ‘Before I Forget’: ‘I Knew Exactly What I Wanted to Say and How I Felt’ (EXCLUSIVE)

After a two-year delay filled with unforeseen rescheduling, The Kid Laroi has confirmed that his third studio album, "Before I Forget," will arrive on January 9 via Columbia Records. The Australian singer-songwriter, who is now 22, revealed to Variety that the project is an intensely "personal and emotional" collection, representing a major departure from a fully finished album he chose to abandon. He explained that the earlier version, which differed greatly in both sound and subject matter, no longer felt authentic to his current self. "I had grown out of it really quickly," Laroi admitted, adding that releasing it would have felt uncomfortable.

The making of "Before I Forget" was surprisingly swift, with most of the writing and recording completed in roughly three months. Laroi stressed that this time he worked with a consistent creative team and a much clearer artistic direction, enabling him to express his intended message with precision. Only one song, "I’m So In Love With You," survived from the earlier sessions. Reflecting on the discarded material, he observed, "The scrapped album sounded like I was unsure. And I was. I was a bit confused, I think," underscoring the newfound confidence that defines his latest work.

A new R&B-leaning single titled "A Perfect World" has been released alongside the album announcement, delving into the imagined possibility of reviving a former romance. This focus on emotional openness and looking back at love is also present in his earlier track "A Cold Play." The album's visual theme was shot by photographer Thibaut Grevet in the South of France and shows Laroi with his head rising from a cool-toned pool as he touches his lips. Laroi said the image immediately resonated with him, declaring that it "screamed 'this is the album'" and aligned perfectly with the record's nostalgic and intimate mood.

An impressive lineup of collaborators contributed to the album, highlighting its concentrated yet cooperative creative environment. Key input came from Laroi's younger brother Auz, as well as producers and writers such as Dopam!ne, Sean Phelan, and Andrew Aged. Additional production work from Vegyn, FNZ, and Omer Fedi helped craft the project's distinctive melancholic tone. As music industry analyst Dr. Anya Sharma commented, "An artist making such a drastic pivot late in the album cycle is a high-risk move, but it frequently yields a more genuine and impactful collection—one that can deeply strengthen an artist's connection with their audience."

This decisive shift reflects a broader trend of young artists recalibrating their sound to match their growth. The Kid Laroi, whose 2021 global hit "Stay" with Justin Bieber topped charts in over twenty countries, has been navigating the transition from viral success to establishing a lasting artistic identity. By choosing to start over so close to the release date, he joins a lineage of musicians who have prioritized creative integrity over commercial predictability, a choice that often pays off in long-term credibility.