Ruel On Headline Tours, High School & Being Handpicked By Tyler, The Creator

Teen pop stars aligned with major labels are occasionally coached so extensively by media trainers that, ironically, they barely speak in interviews. But not Ruel van Dijk, Sydney's 15-year-old pop-soul sensation. He's going his own way.

"I remember, when I was quite young, I did a day session with this girl teaching about media," van Dijk spills. "It freaked the shit out of me! I was so scared. She just kind of made it out to be this huge thing where, 'They're out to get you…' That kind of scared me. But, when I got into it, I'm like, 'Nah, this is fine. Everyone's nice.'"

Aside from that powerful voice, the singer-songwriter's greatest asset may be his breezy charm. At eight, van Dijk learnt guitar. Soon after, he started singing. His father Ralph – who presides over the ad agency Eardrum, specialising in audio marketing – proved a canny networker. He shared a recording of Ruel (covering James Bay's bluesy Let It Go) with Nate Flagrant – manager of M-Phazes, the Grammy-winning Aussie producer. M-Phazes recognised a star. "He liked what he heard and we've been in touch ever since." In 2017 van Dijk premiered as the feature vocalist on M-Phazes' single Golden Years. Next, he was signed internationally by RCA Records' A&R Tunji Balogun, who's previously rostered Bryson Tiller, SZA and Khalid.

"I'm just so relieved that I can have something that I can always come back to and something that's mine and I can call my own. I'm really, really proud of it."

Van Dijk has a vintage soul sensibility that crosses over into indie. But, though his dad encouraged him to listen to classic jazz, R&B and soul, van Dijk today digs "more modern" acts – namechecking the likes of Frank Ocean to Childish Gambino to Billie Eilish. With M-Phazes' guidance, van Dijk recently presented an EP, Ready, of autobiographically resonant songs – his latest single the gospeldelic Younger. "The EP has been three years in the making and I'm just super happy to have it out. I'm just so relieved that I can have something that I can always come back to and something that's mine and I can call my own. I'm really, really proud of it."

Already van Dijk has gigged heavily. He opened Khalid's Australasian run. Earlier this year, van Dijk performed a remix of Golden Years to an even bigger audience at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony. Then, in June, he had a sold-out inaugural headlining show at Sydney's Metro Theatre – his favourite so far ("everyone had bought tickets to see me, instead of someone else that I was supporting.") Van Dijk has also performed abroad, notably hitting Japan's Popspring festival. "Japan was amazing because the fans are so enthusiastic. They're always up for a chat and they're very, very respectful as well. So it's really cool over there."

Now, van Dijk is touring nationally behind Ready with a band. He'll throw in covers, in the mode of his Like A Version rendition of Jack Garratt's Weathered, and "unreleased" songs. Van Dijk graciously big-ups his own support on select dates, KIAN – the 2018 winner of triple j's Unearthed High. "He's incredible," van Dijk spruiks. "He's a really, really amazing artist. He's just starting up. He's my age as well, so I reckon everyone should go check him out."

In November, van Dijk will join Tyler, The Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in Los Angeles alongside (to his excitement) KIDS SEE GHOSTS. "I freaked out when I found out I was going to be playing on that," he geeks. Indeed, the Odd Future leader is a Ruel fan. "I know that he picked it out personally, which I was super, super stoked about."

Impressively, van Dijk is juggling these music commitments with Year Ten studies – although this, too, he takes in his stride. "Pretty much I can also do my school online at the moment, so I can just hop onto my school syllabus online while I'm away, while I'm on tour and while I'm on the road. And then, when I come back to Sydney, I can just go back right into my sphere and I'm all caught up." But anyone expecting a Ruel album will need to be patient. "I haven't really done writing in ages," he admits. "After my tour's finished, I'll definitely be back in the writing room and we'll see what happens. It could be another EP, it could be an album – I don't even really know yet. It all depends on the writing."