That intensity-it's literally like it's punching you in the face.” 'Bad Luck' was so fitting to the intro it had to go right after. For Free Spirit, overall, the vibe's completely different-the melancholy tone, the melodies. “American Teen started a little bit more up, a little bit more happy. It's so cinematic and it washes over you, and I'm like, 'People have to hear this first.'” It was made to be the intro: I'm naming it 'Intro.' No other name popped up in my head. “I wanted people to find their own name for this song and what it means to them. Khalid talked through the stories and inspiration behind each song with Zane, so read along as you take it all in. “Now I get to release this at 20-21, so it's a completely different mind frame.” His much-anticipated second album, the 17-track Free Spirit-and its companion film of the same name, created by Khalid along with director Emil Nava-is a soulful, sober meditation on what he's learned in those intervening years and about what happens when you long for personal freedom but aren't yet totally sure what to do with it. “I wrote American Teen at 17 years old,” Khalid told Beats 1 host Zane Lowe.
