Rising Australian artist The Kid LAROI caught up with PopCrush Nights host Kayla Thomas last week, where he opened up about connecting with Canadian pop and R&B star Justin Bieber, as well as the “great” advice he received from the Biebs, who once experienced his own quick ascent to musical fame at a young age.
The viral “Without You” singer shared how Bieber first reached out to him on social media. “He DMed me a couple months ago and he said, ‘You got the sauce,’ and I started freaking out,” LAROI told PopCrush Nights. “So I messaged him back and was like, ‘Yo, thanks man, I’m a big fan,’ and we just left it at that. And then randomly, a little over a month or two ago, he sent me a message and said, ‘Hey, what’s your number? I think I have the right song for us.'”
The message was certainly unexpected in the best way — but even more unexpected was the timing of Bieber’s serendipitous phone call.
“I was in the shower when I sent him my number. I was like, ‘Oh, f–ck, I hope this guy doesn’t call me while I’m in the shower!’ And he did call me while I was in the shower,” LAROI revealed, laughing. “I picked up and I was like, ‘Hey, man,’ and he was like, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ I was like, ‘I’m just, uh, I’m just getting out the shower.’ It was funny.”
The call resulted in a collaboration called “Unstable,” which is featured on Bieber’s latest album, Justice. But music isn’t the only thing the two musicians have talked about. LAROI also shared the meaningful wisdom he received from the “Peaches” singer while he was on the way to a photo shoot one day.
“We had a phone call while I was on the way to a photo shoot and he goes, ‘Hey man, so what are you doing today?’ I said, ‘Oh man, I’m on the way to this photo shoot [but] I’m really tired though. I’m not feeling it.'”
The advice Bieber gave him was perspective-changing. “He goes, ‘Yeah, I know it gets like that sometimes, but make sure you just take in everything and take a moment to just realize like, damn, I wanted to do this my whole life. Now I’m finally doing it. Even though it gets annoying, take the good from it and be like, this is sick that I get to do this as my life.'”
Bieber also connected with LAROI about their travel-heavy career: “He was like, ‘You’re from Australia, I’m from Canada, we’re a minute away from home and we’re out here doing the sh– that we love. So just take it all in and be nice to everybody, and remember this is what you always wanted to do and now you’re doing it.’ That was some great advice that I’ll always remember.”
Listen to the full PopCrush Nights interview with The Kid LAROI, below: