Khalid just confessed that being outed on social media was both a "blessing in disguise" and a loss of his own story.
The 27-year-old singer-songwriter was outed as gay by a former partner on X, previously Twitter, last year.
In an interview with PEOPLE magazine, he explained that though the situation was painful, it had unlocked a deeper sense of creativity that shaped his upcoming album, After the Sun Goes Down.
"This album wouldn't have come to be if I wasn't outed," he said.
The Young Dumb & Broke hitmaker, whose full name is Khalid Robinson, admitted that he used to hold back in his music when creating it.
"I wanted to give enough of myself where I felt like I wasn't completely hiding, but I didn't want to give too much where I felt exposed," he explained.
"As an artist, sometimes you do find the pressure to create yourself to be accepted by all sides," the Grammy-nominated artist further said.
It is pertinent to mention that Khalid had already come out to his friends and family and even dated men privately before publicly confirming in November 2024 that he was gay.
Khalid reflected on being forced to disclose his s**uality, he said, "I was caught off guard. I think what's so nasty about it all is that my own story got stripped away from me."
The singer added, "I decided I'm just going to choose to love who I am unconditionally because it's all I got on this earth."
Looking ahead, Khalid described After the Sun Goes Down as "an ode to just the beautiful icons that come before me".
"Singing a melody of a Britney (Spears) song or watching a Rihanna video really charged my freedom of expression as a child," the 27-year-old singer shared.
"I've always dreamt of being this pop star. I really tapped into that little boy and gave him his shine that he always wanted,” Khalid concluded.