Growing up in Louisiana, music was Aaron Carpenter’s entire world. Raised on everything from classic country to pop-punk to the Stevie Wonder records his grandmother often spun for him, Carpenter took up drumming at age 11, later teaching himself to play piano and guitar. On his forthcoming debut for Capitol Records, the 20-year-old singer/songwriter reveals the sheer depth of his musical talents—as well as the unstoppable passion that inspired him to chase his dreams to L.A. at age 18.

Showing off his effortless charm, Carpenter’s debut single “Attitude” is an instantly catchy soul-pop confection, all shiny hooks and slinky grooves. But while the track marks his first official release, Carpenter’s charisma will come as no surprise to his nearly 4 million followers on Instagram, where he began posting covers in 2015. A year later, Carpenter headed to L.A. and immersed himself in music, and soon landed in sessions with A-list songwriters. Spending nearly every day in the studio for an entire year, Carpenter scored a deal with Capitol Records in February 2018, then moved forward with the making of his upcoming debut project.

In each new song he creates, Carpenter finds himself rediscovering the strong emotional hold that music’s always had on him. “When I hear certain pop songs from the 2000s, it immediately puts me back in the skating rink on a Friday night in junior high—just this moment of total mindless fun,” he says. “I’d love to do that for other people with my music: to take them to a place where nothing else matters in the world, and they can just have a good time.”