It’s Ruel’s World
Ruel has been a global star and platinum-certified artist since he was 16. Now at 20, he’s released his ground-breaking debut album, 4th Wall, which redefines what we should expect from the artist. Ahead of his national tour, Ruel opens up to the Note about his influences, fame and balance.
Words by Zara Richards | Image by Michelle Grace Hunder
Despite having 1.2 million Instagram followers, two billion global streams and five platinum singles, Ruel Vincent Van Dijk is surprisingly normal.
The 20-year-old global superstar – mononymously known as Ruel – is speaking with The Note via Zoom. It’s only a few weeks since the release of his highly anticipated debut album, 4th Wall, and three weeks before his Australian tour in April. Dressed casually in a brown hoodie and with a boyish charm only a twenty-something could possess, the über-talented Gen Z heartthrob is easy to talk to. It’s like chatting with a mate over Facetime – only the topics are world tours, record deals and fame instead of plans for the weekend.
“It’s pretty wild,” the Sydney-based singer says, reflecting on the release of his first album. “The album has been in the ether for so long. It’s the longest thing I’ve ever worked on in my life.”
Since his debut in 2017, Ruel has sky-rocketed to the heights of music industry fame. He was only 16 when he first went platinum with his single ‘Dazed & Confused’ (2018); he’s
the youngest-ever musician to take home a Breakthrough Artist ARIA Award and to sell out the Sydney Opera House; and he completed three successful world tours by the time he was 18.
But 4th Wall is what cements the singer as this generation’s ground-breaking artist. The 14-track album shies away from the singer’s former pop-saturated beats, resulting
in a mature, genre-bending LP that redefines what a Ruel record could and should sound like.
Inspired by ’90s blockbuster movies like The Truman Show and Fight Club, the singer used the concept of breaking the fourth wall to fuel his new music direction. “It opened a whole can of worms. There’s so much to play with. A lot of the songs are inspired by movies.”
Using film as a departure point, Ruel crafted songs where his everyday experiences – lost love, self-sabotage and growing up – gained silver screen status in an imagined, grand cinematic universe. This world was then fodder for a series of music videos that purposefully break the fourth wall or make the viewer question reality. The album’s cover art – a white car crashed into a sunset backdrop – nods to The Truman Show’s concluding scene.
But it took Ruel three attempts to arrive at this layered, emotive and creative concept.
After wrapping his world tour in 2019, the singer says he had “no idea what sort of artist [he] wanted to be”. At the time, his released singles were inspired by the R&B, soul and pop artists he’d have on repeat. “But then I started listening to folk, rock and more singer-songwriter stuff. I was like ‘maybe this is who I am?’.” After writing music that “didn’t even sound like [him] anymore,” he again pivoted to create a record that drew from his life, film influences and a multitude of music genres. “It was a really confusing time. I wrote over 100 songs that I actually quite liked,” he chuckles.
It’s refreshing to hear that someone like Ruel has also experienced the inescapable identity crisis that most of us have in our 20s. However, the internal back-and-forth left the singer with a clearer vision of who he is and what he wants to do. “I’m far more confident than I was two or three years ago – like tenfold,” he says. “I’m still not 100 per cent there, and that’s okay. [But] I’m way more certain in who I want to be.”
He credits the pandemic as a catalyst for his professional and personal growth, saying being forced to work solo and becoming “more self-sufficient” shaped his artistic direction. “I did isolation twice. I was locked in this room,” he says, gesturing to the space he’s currently Zooming from. “All I had was my guitar, phone and keys. [It] made me realise what [I’m] inspired to write about and the music that makes me feel the most.”
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When we press him on what type of music taps into his feelings, he laughs: “Sad music! Depressing singer- songwriter stuff. That’s all I listen to. I can kind of disassociate it from my emotions, so I don’t actually feel sad at the time.”
Ruel’s ability to dislocate his thoughts, feelings and mind from the present is how he’s managed to stay grounded amidst soaring success. When he’s working – with his team, on world tours or dealing with fame – he splits himself into two people: Ruel the singer, brand and business; and Ruel the 20-year-old from Sydney.
“It’s weird having a whole label around you as a person. But you are a brand. You’re just like a logo of a way bigger thing.”
Knowing where his boundaries lie has helped the singer retain some normalcy. COVID was a circuit-breaker from the continual world tours, writing sessions and single releases. Back home in Sydney, Ruel lived life like an average teenager during pockets of relaxed restrictions. “All I was doing was surfing with my friends, going out and having [those] experiences I might’ve missed. I feel like I almost needed that time to just reflect and put the brakes on a little.”
Blowing off steam by being active outdoors and “acting like a child” means the star can shut off from the world. Between surfing and singing, he plays in some local football leagues. “Competitive sport is the absolute opposite of what my job is. I’m playing against all these random dudes in their 30s. They have no idea who I am. It’s the best rejuvenation.”
Recalibrating away from the spotlight has stopped Ruel getting too far ahead of himself. And despite finding fame in his most formative years, he’s aware of how this has impacted his self-view. Not many 15 year olds can say they’ve had their music described as ‘astonishing’ by Elton John or had their voice considered ‘the eighth wonder of the music world’ by Secret Sounds. But Ruel recognises how ‘weird’ it was to have such a different life trajectory compared to his peers. That’s why he still makes time to squeeze in activities that the average 20 year-old would do, like listening to Triple J, catching waves and spending time with his hometown mates.
“Growing up doing shows, playing to fans and having an online presence, you get stuck in your head and start believing things people are saying. Even if they’re good things, they’re bad for you because you start thinking everything’s about you.”
Writing such honest music has also allowed Ruel to see the bigger picture. “I’ve always said song writing is like therapy. It makes you understand everything going on in your life from a different perspective... why people are certain [ways] and why you’re the way you are.”
It’s this world view that’s protected the singer from the pressures of fame since he was 14 – and moreover helped him to carve out a stellar career in what by any measure is a short period of time. His dream is to play Red Rock’s amphitheatre in Colorado, one of the world’s signature venues played by greats like of U2, Coldplay and The Eagles.
No-one should be surprised if Ruel gets to fulfil his ambition.
See Ruel play at Hindley Street Music Hall this April 15. Tickets available now.
