RISING Australian singer-songwriter Ruel delivers an emotive cover ballad of Six Pence None The Richer’s 90s hit Kiss Me, taken from the upcoming covers EP Adaptations out Aug 1 through Giant Music.
The award-winning and five times platinum-selling solo artiste with over 3 billion streams to his name, takes on the global soundtrack to classic coming-of-age moments. Ruel strips back Kiss Me to showcase a raw vulnerability through his unmistakable croon. A trio of piano chords in whims of reverb accompanies the slow-dance-ready anthem as Ruel makes the track all his own.
The track’s accompanying video is shot within the same church that appears in Baz Luhrman’s 1996 Romeo and Juliet film, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Mexico City. The song will be a part of a collection of Ruel’s favourite hits of the past on the Adaptations EP, slated for release in August this year.
“I have always found covers a hard task to tackle. It is a tricky balance to make sure you do justice to the original and put your own spin on it. For this 90s classic, I thought stripping it right back and keeping it simple was the best way to go.
“When the idea floated around of an EP, I immediately made a playlist of hundreds of songs that were either underrated gems or my favourite hits and then, (I) paired up with M-Phazes to bring them to life.”
The EP announcement follows the release of Ruel’s debut studio album 4th Wall in 2023. Three years in the making, Ruel unveil a matured sound and elevated lyricism in 4th Wall, bending between euphoric to contemplative realms of pop, backdropped by cinematic visuals inspired by The Truman Show’s own fourth wall premise.
Pulling back the curtains and tearing down his walls on his debut record, Ruel delved into the tides of the human experience, reflecting on love, longing, heartbreak and everything in between to cement his global status as a pop singer.
Ruel celebrated the album with a 4th Wall World Tour, making multiple appearances throughout Australia and abroad. He next appears at Chicago’s Lollapalooza Festival on Aug 1 and 2, before making his way to New York and Los Angeles the following week for headline shows at The Gramercy Theatre and Roxy Theatre.
The 21-year-old singer continues to hold the title as one of his generation’s most influential artistes.
Sitting with over 3 billion global streams, multiple gold and platinum records, world tours and front row seats at Paris Fashion week, Ruel is an endearing yet unassuming presence.
He has collaborated with orchestras in Budapest and surprised fans with pop-up concerts around the world.
Since his official 2017 debut single Golden Years, featuring M-Phazes, he remains the youngest artiste ever to win Breakthrough Artiste at the ARIA Awards and the youngest artiste to sell out the Sydney Opera House twice.
He has even collaborated with contemporaries including Omar Apollo, Denzel Curry, SG Lewis and more.
Ruel’s rendition of Kiss Me, which now has over 192,000 views on Youtube, prefaces his EP that is set to serenade his fans.
