Viral singer-songwriter, Francis Karel has unveiled his latest single “Small Talk”, the first teaser from his upcoming debut EP, Handle With Care, out August 26th. The emotive and striking new track finds Karel navigating the heartache and self-reflection that accompanies one’s first romantic relationship coming to an end. Listen to the personal yet relatable track now below.
Deeply introspective in nature, Karel’s music provides him with much needed emotional healing. “I didn’t realize it at first, but a lot of the songs I’ve written have been very therapeutic for me to listen back to. It’s like each song is a part of the process of closing chapters. I think it’s because of how I allow myself to feel in the songs compared to how I tend to neglect them in reality,” he explained.
Born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia, Karel was a student of pop radio hits. It was this passion that drove him to pen his first song at the young age of 12. Taking an enormous leap of faith, Karel left everything he knew behind in Jakarta to move to the United States to study at the Los Angeles College of Music, with hopes of pursuing his dream of becoming an artist in mind.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unassuming singer/songwriter began sharing countless Omegle reaction videos on TikTok in which his mesmerizing voice and soulful guitar sparks tears in listeners eyes. Recorded by himself at home, Karel’s jaw-dropping, impromptu performances have taken the internet by storm, earning him more than 2.3 million followers on TikTok, 159k YouTube subscribers, and high-profile Instagram fans like Meghan Trainor, Zedd, Tori Kelly, and Bebe Rexha. Karel recently completed his first tour as support for Andy Grammer on his Art of Joy Pt 2 tour, playing sold-out venues as he traveled across the US.