Interview: Ruel

At just 23 years old, Australian artist Ruel has already spent nearly half his life in the music industry. From uploading demos as a kid to touring internationally and preparing to hit the road with Katy Perry, the singer-songwriter has quietly built one of the most recognisable young careers in Australian music.

Ahead of a busy run of touring and the release of his latest project Kicking My Feet and Screaming, Ruel stopped by BurgerFuel Radio to talk about growing up in music, how the industry has changed in the TikTok era, the pressure of support slots, songwriting, and of course, his dream burger build.

Ruel says music has been part of his identity for as long as he can remember.

“It’s definitely always been my thing,” he says. “I was obsessed with singing and making music from when I was about seven or eight.”

While nobody in his immediate family worked in music, his dad played a huge role in shaping his taste. Growing up, Ruel was introduced to artists like Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Amy Winehouse, James Blake and Kendrick Lamar.

“He was definitely pushing me toward more left-field stuff,” Ruel says. “That music became part of my instincts.”

Things moved quickly after he recorded a demo at 12 years old. A producer discovered his voice and asked him to feature on a project, which eventually snowballed into tours, releases and a full-time career before most people finish high school.

“I was kind of doing the Hannah Montana thing for a while,” he laughs. “No one at school really knew.”

By Year 10, Ruel had dropped out of school to focus fully on touring and music. Looking back, he says it still feels strange to realise he already has more than a decade of industry experience behind him.

One of the biggest shifts he has noticed over that time has been the rise of TikTok and how artists now navigate social media.

“When I started, you could just post your music and your shows,” he explains. “Now it feels like artists are selling who they are just as much as what they make.”

While he admits TikTok has lowered barriers for emerging artists and helped good music reach audiences faster, he also thinks the pressure to constantly share personal opinions and everyday life does not suit every musician.

Still, Ruel says he has not changed the way he writes music in response to trends.

“I think if you try to make TikTok music, it usually fails,” he says. “The stuff that works feels organic.”

His latest release, Kicking My Feet and Screaming, acts as a companion project to last year’s Kicking My Feet. Together, the records were created from an enormous writing period that saw him work through roughly 200 songs.

“I’m definitely quantity over quality when it comes to writing,” he says. “I just write every day.”

The two albums emerged naturally from different emotional spaces. Kicking My Feet focused heavily on love and sincerity, while Kicking My Feet and Screaming explores frustration, tension and more layered emotional territory.

“It gave me space to complain a little bit,” he jokes.

Ruel says the process also marked a shift in confidence compared to earlier projects.

“With my first album, I was still figuring everything out,” he says. “These records had a lot more intention behind them.”

That confidence now carries into touring, where Ruel is preparing to support Katy Perry across Europe in what he describes as a “proper Euro summer”.

“I don’t know how she found me, but I said yes immediately,” he says.

Support slots have been a huge part of Ruel’s career from the beginning, previously opening for artists like Khalid, Shawn Mendes and Angus & Julia Stone. Rather than seeing it as intimidating, he treats support sets like a challenge.

“How many people can I win over tonight?” he says. “That’s always the goal.”

He believes connecting with crowds often comes down to personality as much as the songs themselves.

“You have to say something that sticks with people,” he explains. “You can’t just play 30 minutes of sad songs.”

Despite being Australian, Ruel also feels a strong connection to New Zealand audiences. His latest music has performed particularly well across the country, something he partly credits to working with New Zealand producer Joel Little.

“There’s probably some Kiwi blood in the songs because of Joel,” he laughs.

Outside of touring, Ruel says he is looking forward to getting back into songwriting after several months away from the studio.

“I haven’t written a song in like seven or eight months,” he says. “That feels really weird for me.”

And because no BurgerFuel interview is complete without it, Ruel also revealed exactly what his ideal burger would look like.

His order? A lamb burger with fiordilatte-style cheese, lettuce, onion, egg, bacon and chipotle sauce.

“That’s about as much as I can fit,” he says.

For now, Ruel’s focus remains firmly on the next chapter. With new music out, major tours locked in and another wave of songwriting on the horizon, it feels like he is entering one of the most confident periods of his career so far.

Check out Ruel's latest album, Kicking my Feet, Screaming, and keep up to date with him HERE.