Daniel Johns has praised a fellow Australian artist who rapidly rose to fame at a young age – The Kid LAROI – saying he could tell the hip-hop star would “blow up” when he first heard his music, and expressing hope that those around him are giving him the support he needs.
In a new NME cover story – the former Silverchair frontman’s first interview since returning home from rehab, where he entered after a drink-driving incident – Johns said he knew LAROI would “blow the fuck up” after hearing his song ‘Blessings’ years ago.
“It makes me so happy to see him doing what he’s doing,” Johns added. “I really hope people are looking out for him, because it’s a lot for a young person to be experiencing.”
Johns touched on his own experience of achieving sudden fame when young on last year’s Who Is Daniel Johns? podcast, describing the pressures that came with Silverchair’s meteoric rise and the impact it had on his mental health.
“I don’t think anyone really understands. Every time I walked down the street I’d be called names and screamed at… If you get positive attention, there’s always going to be a negative response to that,” he said during the podcast’s second episode.
Johns released ‘FutureNever’, his first solo record in seven years, back in April. In a four-star review, NME said the album had a “vulnerability, curiosity and adventure that makes ‘FutureNever’ unmistakably Johns”.
“That kid who once asked you to wait for tomorrow is living in it today.”