For years, Khalid built a career as one of the streaming era’s most reliable hitmakers, churning out soulful, introspective anthems like “Young Dumb & Broke” and “Better,” while keeping his personal life close to the chest. But now, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter is done hiding, and his bold new single “In Plain Sight” marks the beginning of an unapologetically honest chapter.
The track, which previews his upcoming album After the Sun Goes Down, out Oct. 10 via Right Hand Music Group/RCA Records, channels throwback New Jack Swing and early 2000s pop with a pulsing house beat. Its accompanying video is just as audacious: strobe lights, glass walls, sensual choreography, and a confident Khalid dancing, literally and metaphorically, out of the closet.
“Yes, it was a glass closet,” Khalid cheekily confirmed on social media, responding to a fan’s observation.
But behind the bravado is a story of pain, betrayal, and ultimately, empowerment.
Earlier this year, Khalid was on his way to the studio when his life was upended. In a viral post, singer Hugo Almonte publicly outed him, sharing a private photo and intimate details of their past relationship. At the time, Khalid had never explicitly addressed his sexuality, choosing ambiguity in his lyrics and keeping his identity private. “I blended in and life felt calm,” he told GQ in a recent interview.
Suddenly thrust into the spotlight, Khalid responded with clarity and pride: “I got outted and the world still continues to turn,” he tweeted. “Let’s get this straight (lmao) I am not ashamed of my sexuality! In reality it ain’t nobody’s business! But I am okay with me 🖤 love y’all.”
What followed was something he didn’t expect: an outpouring of support. “People who looked like me, that were supporting me, that were around my age, that were older, that were parents, that were children,” he said. “The support that you get by completely being yourself outweighs the negativity that you perceive from being yourself.”
Reinvigorated, he returned to the studio with renewed purpose and a clear vision. Working alongside a powerhouse lineup, including Julia Michaels, Tove Lo, Ryan Tedder and Ilya, Khalid began crafting a record unlike anything he’s done before.
“It was like a floodgate,” he said. “You go years with a drought and then it’s just an instant rush of creativity and inspiration and drive.”
Now, half a year removed from the fallout, Khalid is ready to share his most personal work to date. After the Sun Goes Down is lush, emotionally raw, and, by his own description, “a little horny.” A far cry from the moody introspection of “Location” or “Talk,” the new material finds Khalid exploring sensuality, confidence, and queer joy with unfiltered honesty.
“I’m singing in a different pocket of my soul because there’s no fear in my heart,” he said. “I’m just like, ‘I’m here. I’m alive.’ It comes from me embracing my sexuality. Being ambiguous is one thing and can be respected, but being bold… that’s something else.”
“In Plain Sight” is the first taste of this evolution. With lines like “What’s the tea about him?” Khalid boldly drops the gender-neutral pronouns of the past in favor of clarity, attitude, and swagger. “I like to refer to myself as a one-man boy band,” he joked.
Stylistically, the single nods to the likes of early ‘90s R&B and TRL-era pop, with Khalid citing Toni Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough” as a creative north star. “She’s reclaiming herself in that song,” he explained. “There’s nothing more powerful than choosing yourself. When I choose myself, it bleeds out into the writing, the self-respect, the self-worth.”
That spirit of reclamation pulses throughout his upcoming album, a project that seeks to move Khalid from the melancholic ballads of the bedroom to the pulsing energy of the dancefloor. On it, he’s not asking for acceptance, he’s celebrating it.
“This chapter is about taking my power back, living in my truth, and being able to express myself freely,” Khalid said in a press statement. “I’m excited for my fans to experience this new era with me, not just musically, but personally.”
With After the Sun Goes Down, Khalid isn’t just stepping into a new sound, he’s stepping fully into himself.
