ItвЂ™s a nod to his hometown, which he affectionately refers to as, вЂњthe city of the 915вЂќ in his first album.ДЄt only 56 seconds long, the track doesnвЂ™t have much musical value to it. The recording features the mayor handing over the key to El Paso, Texas, KhalidвЂ™s home city, to the singer-songwriter. The album begins with вЂњ9.13,вЂќ which features echo-like vocals underneath a brief audio recording. The album features a bit of R&B mixed with pop ballads and pop songs that have potential to be radio hits. The seven-track EP features songs that vary vastly from one another, with Khalid seemingly not willing to tie himself down and commit to a specific style of music. Khalid is now back with his new EP вЂњSuncity,вЂќ released on Oct. Khalid is going to stumble into hits, as he should, and when it comes on the radio IвЂ™ll probably have little reaction just the usual shrug and a sway.After the release of his 2017 smash-hit album, вЂњAmerican Teen,вЂќ 20-year-old Khalid grew a serious fanbase among an audience who fell in love with his unique musical creations. Khalid comes out of the project, mostly the same, still the least controversial pop star we have right now-which, in this moment, we need more of. The purpose of Sun City doesnвЂ™t seem to be a cohesive project but a vehicle to throw seven different sounds into the world and see what sticks. вЂњVertigoвЂќ is proof that when Khalid slides into the pop alleyway-the song is reminiscent of the strange pop era when Coldplay ruled the world-his broken-hearted vocals fit perfectly into this world: вЂњBut I love you in the moment/I was happy, I was not/IвЂ™ve been learning, IвЂ™ve been growing/But the worst is yet to come.вЂќДЇor as popular as Khalid is, heвЂ™s still trying to figure it out. Khalid is a pop star, heвЂ™s capable on the R&B end, itвЂ™s just not where heвЂ™s most comfortable. His voice is sharp and the melody is clean but it only makes me want to press pause and spin a Miguel cut, something with momentum. It transitions into вЂњMotion,вЂќ a light and glimmery smooth jam that features Khalid without any vigor whatsoever.

Khalid wants to be taken seriously on the R&B end but drops вЂњSalemвЂ™s InterludeвЂќ which has to be the first R&B voicemail interlude to not be petty and hurtful.

Khalid sounds at home having another vocalist to bounce off of and not having to carry the future hit on his own.Д«ut Sun City is lighthearted to a fault. KhalidвЂ™s most successful branching-out moment is when he becomes the latest artist to jump on the money-printing reggaeton bandwagon for a bouncy track with Empress Of and background vocals from Spanish singer RosalГa. On вЂњSaturday Nights,вЂќ a guitar ballad that sounds like the ending credits on a CW teen drama, KhalidвЂ™s juvenile lovestruck songwriting comes to surface: вЂњAll the things that I know, that your parents donвЂ™t.вЂќ The song follows in the path of another Charlie Handsome acoustic guitar production, Post MaloneвЂ™s вЂњGo FlexвЂќ but with none of the edge. But that versatility also weighs down Khalid exposing how heвЂ™s not exceptional at one single thing but just pretty good at a bunch. Khalid prides himself on versatility, a stylistic range that is showcased throughout the EP-no two tracks are the same. ItвЂ™s pop-inflected R&B that is so extra-medium, finding reasons to care is difficult. But whereвЂ™s the fun in music made to appease everyone, music that only incites feelings of вЂњI guess so?вЂќ KhalidвЂ™s new Sun City EP doesnвЂ™t escape that feeling. The El Paso, Texas singer has talent: he can jump from genre to genre, his voice is strong, and he even has some charm.

Since arriving on the scene with вЂњLocation,вЂќ KhalidвЂ™s music has always felt like settling. ItвЂ™s like switching between radio stations in a car, passing over one for playing a song I hear too often, and another for commercials, before finally settling on a song that makes me shrug-itвЂ™ll do. No one hears a Khalid song and is like, вЂњYo, turn that shit off!вЂќ ItвЂ™s harmless, nobody is mad at it.

Khalid suncity