Rising Australian pop singer-songwriter Ruel delivers an emotive cover ballad of Six Pence None The Richer’s cult 90s hit ‘Kiss Me’, taken from the upcoming covers EP ‘Adaptations’ out 1st August through Giant Music.
The ARIA-Award winning and 5x platinum selling solo artist 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 + Juliet film masterpiece, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Mexico City. The song is due to appear in a collection of Ruel’s favourite hits of the past on the Adaptations EP, slated for release in August of this year.
On today’s track, Ruel says: “I’ve always found covers a hard task to tackle, it’s 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.”
Before adding on the EP: “When the idea floated around of an EP, I immediately made a playlist of hundreds of songs that were either underrated gems or my fav hits and then paired up with M-Phazes to bring them to life. I’m so happy with what we came up with and I’m hyped to see what you guys think.”
The EP announcement follows the release of Ruel’s debut studio album, 4TH WALL in 2023. Three years in the making, 4TH WALL saw Ruel unveil a matured sound and elevated lyricism, 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, the pop phenomenon 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-icon. On release, the record received praise from The Guardian, to GQ and was named triple j’s Feature Album.
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 August 1 and 2, before making his way to New York and Los Angeles the following week for headline shows at iconic venues, The Gramercy Theatre and Roxy Theatre respectively.
At 21 years of age, London-born, Sydney-raised Ruel continues to hold the title as one of his generation’s most influential artists. 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, who is both collaborating with orchestras in Budapest and surprising fans with pop-up concerts around the world.
Since his official 2017 debut single, “Golden Years” featuring M-Phazes, he remains the youngest artist ever to win Breakthrough Artist at the ARIA Awards and the youngest artist to sell out Sydney Opera House… twice. His meteoric rise to global stardom is compelled by a trifecta of sonic, visual and conceptual creativity. He has collaborated with contemporaries including Omar Apollo, Denzel Curry, SG Lewis and more. With millions of adoring fans all over the globe, Ruel’s cult status is certified. He has graced the pages of Vogue, GQ, Nylon, The Face, NME, and Elle, whilst leaning into his fashion sensibility via editorial shoots for Louis Vuitton, Prada, Fendi, Gucci, Acne Studios, Burberry, Hugo Boss and Coach.
Enjoy the reimagined sparkling magic of ‘Kiss Me’ today, as Ruel makes his return with a cover that will reinspire raw sincerity ahead of an EP in the near future.