Australian pop sensation Ruel is stepping into a bold new era with the announcement of his highly anticipated sophomore album, Kicking My Feet, set for release on October 17 via Giant Music. The record is now available for pre-order, giving fans a chance to lock in what promises to be one of his most defining projects yet.
To mark the announcement, Ruel dropped a brand-new single, “The Suburbs” — a dreamy, emotionally rich track that blends heartfelt storytelling with polished pop production. The single made its debut yesterday during Ruel’s Apple Music Radio takeover from their brand-new Los Angeles studio, where he premiered “The Suburbs” alongside two unreleased tracks while officially introducing Kicking My Feet to the world.
“The Suburbs” was written with an all-star lineup of collaborators, including Fran Hall (Charli XCX, Kelly Clarkson), M-Phazes (Demi Lovato, Madonna), Chelsea Lena (Sabrina Carpenter, Joji), and Elias Danielsen. At its core, the track is an ode to intimacy and the dream of a simpler, love-filled life. With vulnerable lyrics like “I can see us in the suburbs, never thought I’d be that person, but with you it sounds like paradise,” Ruel reveals a softer side of himself, expanding on the pop vision first heard in his recent single, “I Can Die Now.”
“It’s been pretty daunting to offer up this level of honesty in my songwriting,” Ruel shares, “but seeing the way it’s already connected so personally with fans has calmed my pre-album nerves in a huge way.”
Released just last month, “I Can Die Now” paved the way for Kicking My Feet with a massive impact — premiering on MTV in New York’s Times Square, surpassing a million streams within days, and earning rave reviews across global media. Rolling Stone praised the track for capturing “an all-encompassing love” while spotlighting its “propulsive bass line” and “thudding percussion.”
With Kicking My Feet, Ruel signals a creative rebirth. Having relocated from Sydney to Los Angeles and signed with Giant Music, he immersed himself in a vibrant new creative environment, writing and recording over 200 songs before finalizing the album’s tracklist.
“I knew I wanted to push myself on this new album, but it wasn’t until I had to finalize the track list that I realized I’d actually made over 200 songs for Kicking My Feet.” – Ruel
The album brings together some of the industry’s most influential producers and songwriters, including Julian Bunetta (Sabrina Carpenter, One Direction), Joel Little (Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams), Kenny Beats (Dominic Fike, Ed Sheeran), Dan Wilson (Adele, Taylor Swift, Chris Stapleton), and longtime collaborator M-Phazes (Eminem, Kehlani, Ruel’s debut album). The result is a genre-blurring body of work that fuses pop, alt, and R&B, while showcasing Ruel’s evolution as both an artist and a storyteller.
Kicking My Feet is set to be Ruel’s most adventurous and emotionally resonant project yet — a fearless step into new sonic territory that solidifies his place as one of today’s most compelling young artists.
