The now unmasked singer-songwriter BoyWithUke, aka Charley Yang, has released “Gaslight,” another enigmatic new single off of his upcoming album, Burnout, slated for release on November 15th, 2024, via AWAL Recordings. Burnout is available for pre-order on BoyWithUke’s website now.
“Gaslight” showcases BoyWithUke’s growing ability to skillfully break the standard structure of pop/rock writing. The final thrashed guitar explosion is teased with faux choruses, as BoywithUke gradually detailed an ever-evolving, self sabotaging breakup spiral. Extending the cinematic universe of this era, the music video of “Gaslight” showed BoyWithUke’s doppelganger, the mysterious “Tobi,” haunting BoyWithUke as he tried to come out of his shell and move on from the past.
On “Gaslight,” BoyWithUke said: “’Gaslight’ was a fun song to make. It depicts a lot of failed relationships where it’s really hard to pinpoint who the bad guy actually was. There’s a fun little plot twist at the end of the song that cements this idea.”
In August, BoyWithUke announced Burnout, his final album under the moniker and the first full length project dedicated to his true self after taking off the mask that turned him into an internet sensation. Burnout, a more mature and authentic album filled with symbolism for embracing change, facing your fears and defying metaphorical boxes, is a masterful experimentation of doom rock, grunge, r&b, hip-hop, singer-songwriter, and much more.
On Burnout, BoyWithUke said: “’Burnout’ to me is music that most closely resembles who I am right now. Creating it filled me with so much joy, excitement, anxiety, and pain. It is everything I have left in the tank as BoyWithUke, and I am so proud.”
From the moment his Minute Long Songs on TikTok took off in 2020, BoyWithUke’s life has been moving at the speed of light: Tallying nearly 1.5 billion streams, his breakout single “Toxic” reached Platinum status and cracked Top 1 at Alternative radio, and his performance of the song remained as the #1 most viewed Genius Open Mic video to date. His breakout is followed by multiple Platinum records including “Two Moons,” “IDGAF (with blackbear)” and “Understand.” He won the hearts of billions online, playing sold-out headline shows internationally, and winning the applause of Rolling Stone, Billboard, Consequence, Ones To Watch, and many more.
The album title Burnout comes from a passage he stumbled upon from a psychologist: “The notion of burnout (itself a metaphor) indicates that we have used up a limited quantity of something too quickly, because we were burning the candle at both ends.” He admits, “I was feeling tired just because it’s been go, go, go since I started. I read that and I was like, ‘Oh cool. Makes sense. I’m not alone in this feeling.’ There was a period last year where that wasn’t the case. I think I had some real identity issues with who I am. Like am I this extroverted character or am I Charley Yang? But now I think I’ve found a really good balance of work and personal life.”
Charley Yang has been going through many changes in his life while being BoyWithUke, from getting out of his first long term relationship of 4 years, to getting out of a major label deal. Sonically, he’s graduated to producing stadium-level songs that still preserve his singular skill to be vulnerable. He knows that some fans might not immediately be drawn to the new direction of mixing in more electronic elements, the unconventional song structures, and how big it all feels but BoyWithUke is finally in a place to make music for himself. Lyrically, he tackles themes of love, specifically when juggling his own life and fame, letting go of the past, and personal trauma that goes deeper than ever before to show not just who the man behind the mask is but also how he came to be.
“I would love for fans to get a good story out of the album,” says Yang, “Looking back, the entire project was basically written in chronological order after my breakup. I definitely went through a bit of a fuckboy phase, which was quickly followed by sadness and guilt over the end of my first long term relationship, and in the end I was able to heal and change for the better. I also hope this album can help fans grow and change. A lot of my older music was created during some of the worst years of my life, and for people to resonate so well with the lyrics is both good and bad. Hopefully, the fans can also heal and move forward with their lives.”
Earlier this summer, BoyWithUke returned with the album’s lead single “Can You Feel It?” –an indie rock thrill ride that provided a different taste to the upcoming project aside from “Ghost.” Burnout is BoyWithUke’s skillful attempt at experimenting with different sounds and genres, exploring symbolism of the intricacies of self identity. Mask off with no more withholding, this next era of BoyWithUke is set to both explain and elaborate on Charley Yang’s journey as and beyond “the boy with the mask.”
