ROYEL OTIS RELEASES SECOND ALBUM hickey IS OUT NOW
“who’s your boyfriend” MUSIC VIDEO STARRING LOLA TUNG OF THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY OUT NOW!
WATCH HERE
THE ALBUM’S LEAD SINGLE “moody” IS #1 ADULT ALTERNATIVE AIRPLAY SEVEN WEEKS AND COUNTING
TICKETS TO THE “meet me in the car” tour ARE NOW AVAILABLE WITH FESTIVAL STOPS GALORE.
DOWNLOAD ASSETS HERE
22 AUGUST 2025 (TORONTO, ON) — Today, Australian duo Royel Otis share their highly anticipated new album hickey, out now on OURNESS / Capitol Records. With 13 songs that traverse the highs and lows of messy young love, the sophomore set’s sound swings between blissful and wistful, blending together slack indie rock, jangly new wave, and swooning dream-pop.
The LP comes with a music video for “who's your boyfriend” directed by Lauren Dunn and featuring Lola Tung, the star of the hit Amazon Prime series The Summer I Turned Pretty. Watch the video HERE, purchase/listen to hickey HERE, and go HERE for tickets to see Royel Otis live.
hickey arrives as the effortlessly infectious lead single “moody” notches a seventh week atop the Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay chart, which made Royel Otis the first new act this year to nab a Triple A crown. The band also recently performed “say something” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon amid a winning run of festival appearances in the U.S. and abroad including Outside Lands, Lollapalooza, and Japan’s Fuji Rock. They hit Reading and Leeds next before launching their “meet me in the car” tour, spanning the U.S., Australia, and Europe.
Cowritten by Royel Otis (Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic) with Amy Allen (Sabrina Carpenter, Harry Styles) and producer Blake Slatkin (Gracie Abrams, Omar Apollo), “who's your boyfriend” is a romantic new wave dream featuring soaring synth melodies, tumbling drums, and driving guitars. The track finds Royel Otis caught in a friendship with someone who seems to want it both ways, building to the sing-along hook, “He bailed on your birthday, and you’re calling me up a lot / So, baby, who’s your boyfriend now? While you’re sleeping with him, is it me you’re thinking about?”
Bringing it full circle, Royal Otis’ viral cover of the Cranberries 1993 hit “Linger” made it into a recent episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty — watch a clip from the show HERE.
About their new album, hickey, Royel Otis had this to share: “Love bites harder than any other emotion in the world.”
Listen to hickey by Royel Otis HERE
hickey opens on “i hate this tune,” an ironically catchy song that features Otis’ voice coasting over racing rhythms: “You know I hate this tune ’cause I think of you / Fell in love with this place I could never replace / You know I hate this tune ’cause I think of you, I do.” The album also includes the previously released “car” (which launched as a BBC Radio 1 “Hottest Record”) co-written with producer Omer Fedi (Lil Nas X, The Kid LAROI). Royal Otis brought their vision to life with additional input from Julian Bunetta, Billy Walsh, J Lloyd, and Lydia Kitto, among others. They recently sat down with Billboard and Atwood Magazine to discuss the process. They also featured on the digital cover of FLOOD Magazine who called hickey a “bold leap forward.”
Royel Otis kicked off their new musical era in May with back-to-back gigs at West Hollywood’s storied Troubadour that sold out within minutes. They’ve been on a tear through nearly every festival worth attending stateside and abroad since, while also throwing pop-up shows along the way. In Toronto, they even played to the fans outside who didn’t make it into the impromptu gig.
They’ve been adding dates to their upcoming “meet me in the car” tour, too, which begins August 5 in Seattle before sweeping across North America, dipping into Australia (including a headliner at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena) in October, and heading to Europe in November. The pair have already sold out major U.S. cities including Austin, Toronto, and New York with second nights added. Visit https://www.royelotis.com/tour/ for more info, and find Royel Otis’ full tour itinerary below.
Royal Otis, hickey tracklist
1. “i hate this tune”
2. “moody”
3. “good times”
4. “torn jeans”
5. “come on home”
6. “who's your boyfriend”
7. “car”
8. “shut up”
9. “dancing with myself”
10. “say something”
11. “she's got a gun”
12. “more to lose”
13. “jazz burger”
Royel Otis live dates + “meet me in the car” tour:
08/23/25 – Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
08/24/25 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
09/12/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall ^
09/13/25 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Sea.Hear.Now. Festival
09/14/25 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem ^
09/16/25 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz ^
09/17/25 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern ^
09/19/25 – Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory ^
09/20/25 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s ^ (SOLD OUT)
09/21/25 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s ^
09/27/25 – Dana Point, CA @ Ohana Fest
09/28/25 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre ^
09/30/25 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom ^
10/02/25 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre ^
10/03/25 – Kansas City, MO @ Grinders KC ^
10/04/25 – Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory ^
10/06/25 – Toronto, ON @ History^ (SOLD OUT)
10/07/25 – Toronto, ON @ History^
10/10/25 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway ^
10/11/25 – New York, NY @ The Rooftop at Pier 17 ^ (SOLD OUT)
10/12/25 – New York, NY @ The Rooftop at Pier 17 ^
10/17/25 – Melbourne, Australia @ Margaret Court Arena
10/20/25 – Brisbane, Australia @ Fortitude Music Hall (SOLD OUT)
10/21/25 – Brisbane, Australia @ Fortitude Music Hall
10/24/25 – Sydney, Australia @ The Hordern Pavilion (SOLD OUT)
10/25/25 – Sydney, Australia @ Hordern Pavilion
10/26/25 – Adelaide, Australia @ Harvest Rock Festival
10/29/25 – Perth, Australia @ The Ice Cream Factory (SOLD OUT)
10/29/25 – Perth, Australia @ The Ice Cream Factory
11/08/25 – Gdańsk, Poland @ Inside Seaside
11/09/25 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Poolen +
11/10/25 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Fällan +
11/11/25 – Oslo, Norway @ Sentrum +
11/13/25 – Hamburg, Germany @ Sporthalle +
11/14/25 – Prague, Czech Republic @ SaSaZu +
11/15/25 – Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer +
11/17/25 – Munich, Germany @ Zenith +
11/18/25 – Berlin, Germany @ Columbiahalle +
11/19/25 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ AFAS Live +
12/01/25 – Paris, France @ L’Olympia +
12/02/25 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Halle 622 +
12/03/25 – Milan, Italy @ Fabrique +
12/05/25 – Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg @ Rockhal +
12/06/25 – Brussels, Belgium @ Forrest National +
12/08/25 – Cologne, Germany @ Palladium +
^= bby opening
+= Still Blank opening
ABOUT ROYEL OTIS:
Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic’s chance meeting feels almost destined. They were both working at bars and cafes in the same neighborhood (the beachside town of Bondi) before getting together one day in 2019 with their guitars and some song sketches. And without any expectations, they soon spotted it: an unspoken chemistry that resulted in effortless rock wonders, new tunes that somehow seemed as if they’d always existed. The rest of the world would soon follow suit when the pair became true breakout acts both online and in rock clubs alike with early charmers such as “Oysters in My Pocket” (Bar & Grill EP, 2022) and “Sofa King” (Going Kokomo EP, 2023). Then came their soaring debut album called PRATTS & PAIN and the legendary run that catapulted the band to indie-rock infamy, globally. The album was named for the south London pub where the pair would pen lyrics between sessions with GRAMMY nominated Dan Carey (Wet Leg, Fontaines D.C., Caroline Polachek) and bore hits like “Fried Rice” and “Foam.” Preceding the album’s release in February of 2024, was the pair’s Triple J “Like A Version” recording, taking on Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on The Dancefloor.” The performance became a zeitgeist shaping hit, eventually hitting #1 on Alternative U.S. Radio Chart, #2 on Billboard Alternative Airplay, #5 on Billboard Rock & Alternative and rounding out at the #2 position on Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2024 charts, earlier this year. Their twilit cover of the Cranberries’ “Linger,” cut for a Sirius XM Session a few months later, led the band to their first Billboard Hot 100 hit and currently has over 220 million global streams. With the demand for live shows at a high, the guys played more than 100 sold out shows the rest of 2024, selling over 100,000 tickets across Australia, U.K, Europe and U.S. This included multiple nights in major cities like New York (Brooklyn Steel), Chicago (Metro & The Salt Shed) and Los Angeles (The Bellweather and Palladium). The pair returned home to Australia later that year as one of the most nominated artists at the 2024 ARIA Awards (Australia’s biggest and prestigious music award shows); and went on to win four awards including “Best Rock Album” and “Best Group.” Since their culmination, Royel Otis have drawn from an endless source of good hooks and spirit — riding on their musical chemistry that exudes into mixes of melody and bittersweet humor. Whether it is an original body of work or taking on their favorite song, the pair have cemented their status as one of the most effortless and endearing indie rock bands to emerge this decade.
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