The singer’s sixth album features more direct lyrics about love and freedom, marking a new artistic phase after assuming his identity
In the early hours of this Friday, the 10th, Khalid released his sixth studio album: After the Sun Goes Down (2025). The album arrived in two versions, one with 16 tracks and the other with 17, which explore the various shades of love, from intense desire to vulnerability, from celebration to anguish, all wrapped in bolder and broader sound colors.
The launch marks an artistic turning point for Khalid. In this project, he dives deeper into his identity, using collaborations with names like Tove Lo and Julia Michaelsin addition to productions of ILYA and Darkchildwhich help create a varied sound texture between pop, R&B and global rhythms.
Another central point of this new chapter is the greater emotional openness that the artist assumes. In After the Sun Goes Down, Khalid seems to feel more comfortable expressing who he is, including with explicit queer lyrics of desire and freedom, which marks a contrast with his previous work.
The critical response to the album was significant and heterogeneous. For the HotNewHipHop, After the Sun Goes Down is possibly “his most honest album to date”, as well as being “fun and emotional, with much more direct lyrics”. THE AP News states that the album represents “a vibrant and confident return”, and that the fact that he is “publicly out and proud” intensifies a new clarity in the compositions. Finally, the The Irish Times classified the album as “a listen caught between intimate pop and the soul of bedroompop“, stating that Khalid “bathes in the glow of love and freedom”.
Listen After the Sun Goes Down:
A personal and creative moment
Since 2024, Khalid was publicly “exposed” by a former partner on social media — an episode he described as painful, but which also paved the way for a phase of greater artistic freedom. In an interview with the magazine Peoplehe admits that After the Sun Goes Down it would not be possible without this shock; Only when he felt freed to write “who he really is” did the album take shape.
His new album follows a more introspective moment of Khalidfeaturing a calmer album with a focus on R&B, Sincere (2024). This duality between introspection and lightness made clear the emotional terrain that After the Sun Goes Down needed to cross; now he emerges bolder, more visible and more direct, maintaining roots in R&B but expanding his horizons with renewed confidence.
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Khalid
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
