Ruel

Ruel, whose full name is Ruel Vincent Van Dijk, is an Australian singer-songwriter of British origin. Born in London, England, on October 29, 2002, Ruel was just 13 when his father sent producer Mark Landon (aka M-Phazes) a demo of his son's cover of James Bay's hit "Let It Go". M-Phazes then produced the young singer's first single, "Golden Years", which was released in 2017, before following it up the same year with a new track, "Don't Tell Me" (No. 86). Elton John hears the song and chooses to feature it on a BBC program, giving Ruel unexpected exposure. The latter finally signs a new contract with RCA Records, and a debut EP called Ready (No. 76) is released in 2018, also featuring "Dazed and Confused" (No. 53) and "Younger " (No. 76). In 2019, it's the turn of a second EP, entitled Free Time, to enter the Australian charts (No. 3), with no fewer than three tracks charting locally, "Painkiller" (No. 35), "Face to Face" and "Real Thing " (both No. 73). This was followed in 2020 by the Bright Lights, Red Eyes EP, which didn't chart in Australia but in New Zealand (no. 40), thanks to tracks such as "As Long as You Care" (no. 8), "Say It Over" (no. 33) and "Distance" (no. 14). In 2021, the single "Growing Up Is ____" reached No. 78 in Australia and No. 11 in New Zealand. His debut album 4th Wall, released in 2023, reached No. 3 in Australia. In 2024, Ruel collaborates with DMA and covers "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer, among other versions on the Adaptations EP. The following year saw him collaborate with Ensemble Apex and record his second album Kicking My Feet, featuring the singles "I Can Die Now", "The Suburbs" and "Wild Guess".