Khalid Ali

Khalid Donnel Robinson ( kə-LEED; born February 11, 1998) is an American singer and songwriter from El Paso, Texas. He signed with Courtney Stewart's Right Hand Music Group, an imprint of RCA Records to release his 2016 debut single, "Location" and its 2017 follow-up, "Young Dumb & Broke". Both songs peaked within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, received diamond certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and preceded the release of his debut studio album, American Teen (2017). A critical and commercial success, it received quadruple platinum certification by the RIAA and was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. In April 2017, he guest performed alongside Alessia Cara on Logic's hit single "1-800-273-8255", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Song of the Year. Robinson's 2018 singles, "Love Lies" (with Normani) and "Eastside" (with Benny Blanco and Halsey), both achieved the record for longest-charting songs within the Mainstream Top 40 chart, and peaked within the Billboard Hot 100's top ten. Later that year, he released his third top-ten single, "Better", which preceded his debut extended play (EP) Suncity. His second studio album, Free Spirit (2019), debuted atop the Billboard 200; its lead single, "Talk", peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100—becoming his highest-charting song thus far—and earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Record of the Year. Robinson has received numerous accolades, including six Grammy Award nominations, six Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards and a MTV Video Music Award. In 2019, Robinson was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People. Robinson was born on February 11, 1998, at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He moved frequently during his childhood due to his parents' military careers. The family lived in Fort Campbell in Kentucky, Fort Drum in Watertown, New York, and spent six years in Heidelberg, Germany. His father passed away during his childhood. His mother, Linda Wolfe, worked as a supply technician and became a member of the Army chorus. In high school, Robinson studied singing and musical theater. He attended Carthage Central High School in Carthage, New York, for his first three years of high school before he and his mother moved to El Paso, Texas, where he attended Americas High School for his senior year; there, he was elected Prom King and voted Most Likely to Go Platinum.