Ruel and His Influence on Artistry
How Ruel has been a creative impact on my life throughout his growth in the music industry through his lyrics, visuals, and fashion.
I started listening to Ruel’s music when I was around 15 years old. At this time Ruel was only 16 himself and the only music he had released were his EPs Ready and Free Time with a few singles here and there. The first song I remember listening to was “Dazed and Confused” off of his first EP. After listening to that song I was immediately hooked and started listening to more and more of his music. As I have grown, Ruel has released many new songs, came out with all kinds of music videos, and has influenced my creative decisions a lot in what I wear, what I listen to, and even in what I draw.
I believe that part of the reason I have always been so drawn to Ruel’s music is because we are just about the same age. It is so inspiring to see someone the same age as you breaking creative boundaries and challenging new concepts of music and art. Ruel knew what it was like to be a person my age, and captured those feelings into his songs. He would go on tour then go back into school and a regular routine. To me it was nice to know that someone my age could do something so impressive but also be a normal kid like I was, and as Ruel grew up in the music world, I also continued to grow up in the real world.
He released his third EP Bright Lights, Red Eyes in 2020 during the pandemic, and this album is where I believe he started to shift to a more mature music style. As for me, I had turned 16 and was able to drive and get a job, and overall started to become less of a kid. Lastly, Ruel came out with his debut album 4th Wall in 2023. Many songs on this album were about what it was like to grow up, fall in love, break up, and make mistakes which captures the moment of my life that I am in right now. It is really amazing to hear someone capture the feelings of growing up into a song.
When it comes to the music industry, a lot of innovation has happened in order for it to grow in the direction it has. One of these factors was the introduction of broadcasting towards the beginning of the 1920s. Radio was a process innovation serving as the foundation for novel production methods. Though Ruel did not create a groundbreaking invention like the radio, he has definitely aided in the growth the music industry has seen over the past few years and has assisted in my creative thinking.
I believe that Ruel’s unique lyricism and way of portraying his songs has propelled the music industry forward into new ways of writing. According to The Daily Nebraskan his newest album shows how much Ruel has grown as an artist over the years. He does an amazing job of conveying each emotion the song encapsulates through how he sings the lyrics. All because of Ruel’s creative writing style I have been drawn to other artist that have similar ways of portraying their music. Ruel has heavily impacted the way I view music and how I like to interpret it.
Even though Ruel has beautiful songs, one of my favorite things to witness from his music career are his music videos. The videos are so beautifully done and are true masterpieces. There are so many details to draw your eyes to and overall they are visually very pretty and fun to look at. Not only are his songs art, but the visuals in his music videos are too. In an interview with Bazaar, Ruel said that he and his team like to give the song a whole other life and a little universe to live in.
I think that some of his most visually appealing music videos are the ones made for “Distance” or “As Long As You Care” both off of his third EP. Each video has bright colors and contrasts that allow me to look into every detail of the videos. They are both so beautiful to look at, but also so mysterious and fun at the same time. I like how his music videos make me think about what they really mean in correlation to the song.
Music video draws our attention simultaneously to the song and away from it, which I strongly believe. They pull us closer to the meaning of the song, while also making us think less about the actual music. I believe that in order for art to be really good it has to make people question it. I have taken this principle from what I have seen in Ruel’s music videos and applied it to how I view fashion and other pieces of art.
One other thing that I have always admired about Ruel is his sense of style. As a fashion major, clothes and styling has always been a huge interest of mine, so I love seeing celebrities go out of the box with their everyday style. Ruel is no exception to this as he always incorporates fun colors and patterns into his attire. This has directed me to go for more eye-catching pieces when it comes to my own closet.
I have bought stuff out of my comfort zone and absolutely loved it because I was influenced by Ruel’s style. However, part of the reason that his style is so available at my hands is because of social media. Through social media I can not only see what Ruel is wearing, but also ways that he expresses himself. Through some research a positive relationship between social media use and creativity has been found.
Lastly, I was able to see Ruel in concert this past summer and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. There is nothing like seeing the person who has had such an impact on your life without looking through a phone. It was that night that it really hit me how real he was and how even though he’s a celebrity, he’s also just another person like me who happens to be displaying his creativity for the world to hear. It truly was a beautiful night and one that I will never forget.
