Ruel Vincent van Dijk (born 29 October 2002), known

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

ously as Ruel, is a British-Australian singer and songwriter from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, best known for his singles " Don't Tell Me", "

Younger Younger or Youngers may refer to: People * Younger (surname) * List of people known as the Elder or the Younger Arts and entertainment * ''Younger'', an American novel by Pamela Redmond Satran ** ''Younger'' (TV series), an American sitcom base ...

", " As Long as You Care" and "

Painkiller An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It i ...

". At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2018 The 32nd Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) are a series of award ceremonies which include the 2018 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fine ...

, he won the award for Breakthrough Artist for his single " Dazed & Confused".

Early life

Ruel Vincent van Dijk was born on 29 October 2002, in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, to English mother, Kate Vincent, and Dutch-born and New Zealand-raised father, Ralph van Dijk. His father is the founder of Australian radio agency, ''Eardrum''. His family moved to Sydney, Australia in 2006.

Music career

2015–2017: Early years

In 2015, van Dijk's father sent a demo of him singing

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

's "

Let It Go "Let It Go" is a song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert L ...

" to Grammy Award-winning producer

M-Phazes Mark Landon (born 1 February 1983), better known by his stage name M-Phazes, is an Australian-born producer based in LA. He has produced records for Logic, Demi Lovato, Madonna, Eminem, Kehlani, Zara Larsson, Remi Wolf, Kiiara, Noah Cyrus, a ...

. In April 2017, van Dijk released his debut single " Golden Years" with M-Phazes. In June, van Dijk made his live radio debut performing

Jack Garratt Jack Robert Garratt (born 11 October 1991) is an English singer, songwriter and composer from Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire. He released his debut studio album ''Phase'' on 19 February 2016. At the 2016 Brit Awards he received the Critics' ...

's "Weathered" on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

Like a Version ''Like a Version'' is a weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves Australian and international artists playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs (an "original") and then a cover version, h ...

. At 14, he was the youngest-ever featured performer on the segment. The video gathered half a million video views in less than 48 hours. In July 2017, van Dijk released " Don't Tell Me", which peaked at number 86 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. Later in September,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

played "Don't Tell Me" on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, giving Ruel high praise. The track was also featured in CelebMix's 21 songs by under-21s in 2018. In November, van Dijk joined

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

on his American Teen Tour of Australia and New Zealand. Later that month, van Dijk signed with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

internationally. In December, Tom Thum released a cover of

Rag'n'Bone Man Rory Charles Graham (born 29 January 1985), better known as Rag'n'Bone Man, is an English singer and songwriter. He is known for his deep baritone voice. His first hit single, "Human", was released in 2016, and his debut album of the same nam ...

's "

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

" featuring van Dijk on vocals.

2018–2020: ''Ready'' and ''Free Time'' EPs

On 24 March 2018, van Dijk played at Pop Spring Festival,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, where he did his first meet and greet. On 4 April, van Dijk performed at the

Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. On 19 April, a music video for the single "Don't Tell Me" was released. On 2 June, van Dijk announced the release of his debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

Ready Ready may refer to: Film and television * ''Ready'', a 2002 British short starring Imelda Staunton * Ready (2008 film), ''Ready'' (2008 film), a Telugu film * Ready (2011 film), ''Ready'' (2011 film), a Hindi remake of the Telugu film * Ready ( ...

'' on 15 June, as well as a headline tour in June and July. In October, van Dijk performed to a sell-out crowd in Sydney, and received the news that his single "

" had recently been certified gold by ARIA. On 11 October, van Dijk was nominated for the Breakthrough Artist award for the

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music The music of Australia has ...

, which he later won, making him the youngest ever to do so. On 10 January 2019, van Dijk confirmed that he would appear on

Hilltop Hoods Hilltop Hoods is an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1996 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the "larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa (Matthew David Lambert) a ...

' new album ''

The Great Expanse ''The Great Expanse'' is the eighth studio album by Australian hip hop trio Hilltop Hoods, released on 22 February 2019 through Universal Music Australia. The album was produced by members Suffa (Matthew Lambert) and DJ Debris (Barry Francis), an ...

'', on the track "Fire & Grace". The album was then released on 22 February. On 1 May, he released the lead single from his ''

Free Time Free time, traditionally usually called ''leisure time'' or ''leisure'', refers to the time when one is not working. It may also refer to: *Free time (music) Free time is a type of musical anti-meter free from musical time and time signature. It ...

'' EP, "

", alongside an accompanying music video. On 9 August, van Dijk released the single " Face to Face" alongside a music video that was shot whilst on tour in France. On 13 September, Ruel released his second EP, ''Free Time''. In November 2019, van Dijk was an opening act for two shows of

Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...

' self-titled tour. On 31 January 2020, van Dijk collaborated with

Cosmo's Midnight Cosmo's Midnight are an Australian electronic music duo formed in 2012 in Sydney, New South Wales. The duo consists of twin brothers, Cosmo and Patrick Liney. Their debut studio album, '' What Comes Next'' (2018), peaked at number 36 on the ARI ...

on the track " Down for You". The music video for this song premiered on the 18 March 2020.

2020: ''Bright Lights, Red Eyes''

On 4 September 2020, van Dijk posted a video on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

with the caption "alayc", hinting at new music. On 10 September 2020, the single " As Long as You Care" was premiered on

, before releasing later that day, alongside an accompanying music video. van Dijk additionally announced his third EP, '' Bright Lights, Red Eyes'', which was released on 23 October 2020.

Discography

Extended plays

* ''

'' (2018) * ''

'' (2019) * '' Bright Lights, Red Eyes'' (2020)

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...

to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. Ruel has been nominated for one award. , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

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ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. Ruel has won one award from the five nominations. ! , - ,

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, " Dazed & Confused" ,

ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Release The ARIA Music Award for Breakthrough Artist – Release is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian R ...

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, ''

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ARIA Award for Best Male Artist The ARIA Music Award for Best Male Artist, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indus ...

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ARIA Award for Song of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year/Song of the Year, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Austral ...

, , - ,

for ''Free Time'' ,

ARIA Award for Producer of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Producer of the Year, is an award presented within the Artisan Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by ...

, , - , Eric J Dubowsky for ''Free Time'' ,

ARIA Award for Engineer of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Engineer of the Year, is an award presented within the Artisan Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Australian artists across all music genres", and have been given ...

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Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

The

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice) is an annual American children's awards ceremony show that is produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, the show honors ...

is an annual U.S. children's

awards ceremony An awards ceremony is a type of ceremony where awards are given out. The ceremony may be arranged by a government organization, a society, a school, a trade association or even a company that specializes in running awards ceremonies. Typically a ma ...

show that is produced by

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

. , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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MTV Europe Music Awards

The

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

is an award presented by

Viacom International Media Networks Paramount International Networks (PIN) is the international division of Paramount Global. The division oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of key Paramount's brands outside of the United States. These brands include Paramount Net ...

to honour artists and music in

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

. , - ,

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National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of the Australian live scene – recognising the best vocal talents and musicians alongside ...

(NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - ,

National Live Music Awards of 2019 The National Live Music Awards of 2019 are the 4th annual National Live Music Awards. The nominations were announced on 22 October 2020 and the awards ceremony was held on 4 December 2020. For the first time ever, all State and Territory catego ...

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Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition

The

Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition The Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by Albert Music and APRA AMCOS. The competition awards a ...

is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by

Albert Music Albert Music, formerly J Albert and Son, is an Australian company with an estimated worth in 2009 of more than A$209 million. The company has major interests in music publishing and production and it earns significant royalties through its sub ...

and

APRA AMCOS APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...

. It commenced in 2009. , - , 2020 , "Painkiller" , Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition , style="background:tan;", 3rd , -

Concert tours

Headlining

* Dazed & Confused (2018) * Ready EP Launch Tour (2018) * Ready Tour Asia (2019)Non-loginwalled link at bibliogram.pussthecat.org
/ref> * Painkiller Tour (2019) * Free Time World Tour (2019) * Growing Up Is_____ Tour (2022)

Supporting

* Gallant - Ology Tour (2017) *

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

- American Teen Tour (2017-2018) *

Mabel Mabel is an English female given name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering th ...

- These are the Best Times Tour (2018) *

– Shawn Mendes: The Tour (2019)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2002 births 21st-century Australian musicians ARIA Award winners Australian pop singers British emigrants to Australia Australian people of English descent Australian people of Dutch descent Child pop musicians Living people Singers from Sydney MTV Europe Music Award winners People educated at Redlands, Cremorne Sony Music Australia artists