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Khalid remembers being ostracized by high school classmates because of his success

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ABC RadioYou would think becoming a music star would have made Khalid popular in high school, but he says his fame brought him nothing but trouble.  In fact, when he was crowned Prom King, the Prom Queen refused to dance with him.

Khalid moved from New York City to El Paso, Texas, where he  attended high school, but when his music became popular online and started to get him some music industry attention, his fellow students turned on him.

“I stole their joy” he tells Vogue.  But, he points out, “I did it in a way I felt was deserving, because I’m a decent human being and not some super-evil kid who just came in and was like, ‘Whoop! Now it’s mine!’ ”

Khalid initially started writing and recording the songs that would become his debut album to cope with the loneliness he felt after he and his single mom, a sergeant in the military, moved to Texas.  He recalls he decided to do it after he was injured in a car accident.

“I just sat in that hospital bed and I thought, damn, I need to do something to change the way my life is going,” he remembers. Khalid began writing songs as therapy, inspired by his mother who in addition to her military career is also a singer.

“My mom is extremely talented,” Khalid says. “I looked up to her and wanted to do what she was doing.”

Khalid’s debut album American Teen earned him a slew of Grammy nominations and he’s currently having success with movie soundtrack songs.  In addition to his Love, Simon soundtrack collabo “Love Lies” with Normani, he’s also featured with Swae Lee on “The Ways” on the Black Panther soundtrack, and also “This Way” with H.E.R. for the new Superfly soundtrack.

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