Australia Has a Modern-Day R&B Icon in BOY SODA

This interview is part of our Future of Music 2026 series. Follow all the coverage here.

BOY SODA has spent the past few years turning promise into proof.

The soulful Sydney-based artist was labelled one of Live Nation’s ‘Ones to Watch’ in 2023, and he has more than lived up to the tag, becoming one of the most compelling voices in Australia’s new wave of soul and R&B.

His debut album, Soulstar, arrived in 2025 as a bold 13-track statement: a genre-blurring journey through love, grief, celebration, self-discovery, and the work of breaking old patterns.

Released via Warner Music Australia, the album captured BOY SODA at 27, pulling apart the emotional weight of adulthood with warmth, honesty, and full musical colour.

“This is the story of me and how I think and love at 27,” he told Rolling Stone AU/NZ. “Soulstar expresses that with emotional truth.”

That truth resonated. The funky R&B single “Lil’ Obsession” became a breakout moment, racking up millions of streams worldwide and securing BOY SODA his first ARIA Award, taking home Best Soul/R&B Release last year. Its success carried into a sold-out debut album tour, followed by the 2026 ‘Lil’ Obsession’ tour across Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney.

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Now, with Soulstar Deluxe coming out next month, BOY SODA is extending the world he so carefully built. The expanded release features five new tracks, including “Chase Your Tail”, a song about the loops, habits, and repeating lessons people struggle to break.

Recent trips to Los Angeles and New York, collaborations with international creators and media platforms, and a signing with LA-based United Talent Agency all point to a career scaling up fast.

Read an exclusive interview with BOY SODA below.

Rolling Stone AU/NZ: What does it mean to you to be included in Rolling Stone’s Future of Music series?

BOY SODA: I always look for signs and signals that I’m on the right path or in the right timeline, and things like this tell me that I am! Thank you Rolling Stone xx

How did you first get your start in music?

A mentor(s) gave me incredible access to information and studio time and facilitated a lot of learning and creative experimentation. I was taught to study and love the art of songwriting and storytelling by the same mentors, and I started releasing music (around 17 or 18?) Each time I shared it, it brought me closer and closer to a life I wanted and saw for myself, which is a life full of music. 

Describe your sound to a new listener in three words.

Melody, saxophone, rimshot?

Tell us about your latest release.

“Chase Your Tail” — we go through the same lesson multiple times until we get the message.

What’s your favourite career memory so far

Seeing the video of my parents watching me win the ARIA back home in their lounge room. Family group chat was active that day.

What are the positives and negatives of being a musician in 2026?

I feel like I have this continued closeness and access to myself because I write songs a lot, and that journey of watching music come out of you over time shows you a lot. I like that none of my days look the same, and I feel great relief that they’re filled with purpose.

The negatives for me have always come around financial stress and trying to have a mindset that operates out of inspiration and belief and not from a place of scarcity when you’re in tough spots.

At one stage, the feeling of playing a show and then working retail the next day would have been a negative to me, but it’s such a positive in the way that it instilled humility and dedication into my soul. I think over a long term all negatives turn positive in this career — the hardest part often is being resilient and unwavering in your self-belief.  

What’s one thing you’d change about the ANZ music industry?

We need a strictly R&B/Soul (Major) radio station that plays R&B 24hrs a day. I want to tune in at 8am to Rissa, and then hear SAHXL at 3am on the same station. 

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Are you hopeful for the future of music in ANZ?

More than ever. I think music is in a particularly musical place again which feels strange to say, but hearing colourful chords and creative melodies makes me so happy, and there’s a plethora of artists here and in Aotearoa that could be in the room with any major artist or producer and playing in stadiums. We just need eyes on them!

Name one other ANZ act you’d like to see make our Future of Music series in the future.

MALI JO$E.

What’s coming up for you this year?

I’m excited to share the deluxe, work on more music, spend some time overseas. I really want to remain a student of everything and protect my creativity and my curiosity — that feels like the way to good music.