Best of the KID LAROI: Album Version

By: Victoria Autocunas

February 17, 2026

Similar to my last R&B/Rap artist review of Juice Wrld, meet THE KID LAROI. He is a rap artist who has been releasing music since 2018. He got more traction in 2021 with his breakup emo rap hit WITHOUT YOU. 

Raised in Australia, LAROI’s full name is Charlton Howard. He gets his inspiration from a lot of the artists I adore and love so much. Those are the likes of Justin Bieber and JUICE WRLD. In fact he has collaborated with them both on songs like GO and STAY. 

I have been listening to Laroi since 2022. I really love his music and I enjoy it being more upbeat than it used to be. For this review I will be ranking LAROI’s albums and sharing my favorite  songs from each of them. LAROI has three albums, OVER YOU (2020), THE FIRST TIME (2024) and BEFORE I FORGET (2026). Additionally, I will list some honorable mentions at the end of other songs he has released that I really enjoy. 

RANKING 

3. BEFORE I FORGET- This album was released on January 6, 2026. It was announced right after he and singer Tate McRae broke up so many people thought the album was abouttheir breakup. Since their music is about breakups it seems to be. These songs are pretty depressing but with an upbeat R & B beat. My favorite songs from this album are A PERFECT WORLD and A COLD PLAY. I honestly have not gotten to this album fully but just from those two singles I can feel his pain with those tracks. 

2. OVER YOU- LAROI’s first album that came out in summer of 2020 has a very dark emotional rap vibe. With features like JUICE WRLD and Machine Gun Kelly which is evident that he was inspired by them additionally. Some well-known songs from this album include the hit, WITHOUT YOU, STAY ft. JUSTIN BIEBER and STILL CHOSE YOU featuring MUSTARD. I found his music in the summer of junior year of high school and have been obsessed since and have loved seeing his evolution as an artist. Some of my favorite tunes from this album are, OVER YOU, I DON’T KNOW, and SITUATION. This album has a very specific sound but every song is distinct which I find brilliant. 

1. THE FIRST TIME- HERE IT IS! My favorite album by LAROI. It’s just so good. Even though the lyrics are really deep and dark about heartbreak, the beats are just so chill and have a great vibe to them. Some hits from this album are NIGHTS LIKE THIS and TOO MUCH. Mentionable collaborations are Central Cee and Jungkook on TOO MUCH. My personal picks for this album are, SORRY, WHAT WENT WRONG? and WHAT JUST HAPPENED? I love that so many of his songs on this album are questions. Life is like that and I love that he emphasizes it. When you listen to this album, he samples some old tunes on the deluxe version, so listen to see if you can tell which ones they are! 

HONORABLE SONGS

Some other great songs I love from LAROI include, APEROL SPRITZ, Can’t Go Back to the Way it Was and THOUSAND MILES. These were all singles or stand alone tunes. 

FINAL WORDS ON LAROI 

My final ranking of LAROI is a star ranking of 4.5 stars. LAROI is an amazing artist and I can’t wait to see what he does next. Listen to his music on Spotify or Youtube!