Louis the Child is an American electronic music group consisting of Robby Hauldren and Frederic J. Kennett.
Career Robert David Hauldren was born on September 7, 1996, to David and Julia Hauldren. He attended one academic year at the University of Southern California, where he joined the Beta-Sigma chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity before opting to take a leave and further pursue music. Hauldren primarily DJed and made mashups under the alias Haul Pass throughout 2011.
Frederic Judson Kennett was born on October 19, 1997, to Jon and Anne Kennett. He focused on musical production under the alias Fatboy, while completing high school. Though both musicians were students at New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL (Hauldren in the class of 2015 and Kennett in the class of 2016), the two met at a Madeon concert in 2012.
In 2012, Hauldren entered a local DJ competition connected to Chicago's Spring Awakening Music Festival, which offered finalists the opprotunity to perform a short set at The Mid, a nightclub in Chicago. Kennett heard of this and reached out to Hauldren via Facebook, hoping to collaborate by teaching each other their respective skills; production and DJing. The two met at Kennett's home, where they recorded their first song together. After deciding to release the track, they chose the name Louis The Child using Wikipedia's "random article" feature. The meeting marked the official formation of the duo.
Louis the Child started playing at small venues through 2013 and 2014. In 2015, the band rose in popularity with the release of their single "It's Strange". Freddy Kennett was 17 at the time and still in high school. Robby Hauldren was beginning his freshman year at the University of Southern California. The single garnered praise from artists such as Taylor Swift, who added "It's Strange" as one of her "Songs that Will Make Life Awesome" and was featured on the FIFA 16 soundtrack. "It's Strange" was later featured in a commercial for the 2019 Nissan Kicks. They later opened for artists such as Madeon and The Chainsmokers. The duo embarked on their own tour on October 17, 2015, starting in Chicago.
In December 2016, Louis the Child joined forces with Pell and created the band Pellican Child, whose first single, "Turn Me Down", was released ahead of a six-track EP due for early 2017. Louis the Child was the opening act for the European leg of the Shelter Live Tour.
In 2017, the duo headlined a 32 show tour with support from Joey Purp, Lauv, Louis Futon, Prince Fox, Ashe, Party Pupils, Point Point, and Win & Woo, during which they made various contributions including playing a sold-out Thanksgiving show at the Aragon Ballroom. In late 2017, Louis the Child's song "Go" was featured in a TV commercial for the Apple iPad Pro.
In early 2018 they made an appearance at Lollapalooza South America. The festival took place in Chile, Argentina and Brazil. On April 10, 2018, the duo announced the release of their new single, "Better Not" featuring Australian singer, Wafia. As of April 2019, the track has garnered over 100 million streams on Spotify.
The duo's emergence continued in 2019 when it announced a performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre and a concert coinciding with the X Games.
The duo have repeatedly attributed their decision to name themselves Louis the Child after landing on the historic figure while seeking out inspiration through use of the "Random Article" button on Wikipedia.
Musical influences Hauldren cites Madeon, Flume, Porter Robinson, and Odesza as musical influences.
Discography Studio albums +List of studio albums, with release date and label shown Title Details Peak chart positions USHeat USDance Here for Now Released: June 26, 2020 Label: Interscope Formats: Digital download, streaming 8 6
Mixtapes +List of studio albums, with release date and label shownTitleDetails Candy II Released: October 2, 2020 Label: Interscope Formats: Digital download, streaming Black Marble Released: December 2, 2022 Label: Interscope Formats: Digital download, streaming
Extended plays +List of extended plays, with release date and label shown Title Details Peak chart positions USDance Dimensions Released: December 2, 2013 Label: Prep School Recordings Formats: Digital download — Love Is Alive Released: March 24, 2017 Label: Ultra Music Formats: Digital download, streaming 17 Kids at Play Released: October 26, 2018 Label: Interscope Formats: Digital download, streaming 8 Euphoria Released: October 15, 2021 Label: Interscope Formats: Digital download, streaming — To Believe Released: April 22, 2022 Label: Interscope Formats: Digital download, streaming — "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Singles As lead artist +List of singles as lead artist, with year released and album shown Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album US Dance AUS NZHotPeak chart positions on the New Zealand Hot Singles Chart: "Breaking News": "Big Love": "Somewhere Else": UKIndieBrk. "It's Strange" 2015 38 — — 15 RIAA: Gold rowspan="3" "From Here" 2016 — — — — "Weekend" — — — — "Fire" 30 — — — Love Is Alive "Love Is Alive" 2017 42 — — — "Slow Down Love" 42 — — — "Right to It" 33 — — — rowspan="3" "Last to Leave" 35 — — — "Shake Something" 2018 41 — — — "Better Not" 12 88 — — RIAA: Platinum ARIA: Platinum Kids at Play "The City" 24 — — — "Dear Sense" 26 — — — "Big Time (X Games Theme)" 2019 — — — — rowspan="2" "Too Close" 40 — — — "Free" 27 — — — Here for Now "Here Comes a Feeling" — — — — "Don't Mind" 2020 50 — — — Here for Now "Every Color" 12 — — — "Little Things" 14 — — — "Nobody Like You" — — — — "Self Care" — — — — rowspan="2" "Somewhere Else" 2021 — — 39 — "So What" 17 — — — Euphoria "Encinitas" — — — — "Keep On Moving" 26 — — — Euphoria "Hate U Cuz I Don't" 24 — — — "Hole In My Heart" 20 — — — "Blow The Roof" 2022 24 — — — To Believe "Cry" — — — —"Falling" (with Njoma and Daniel Allan)2024The Sun Comes Up"Believe It" (with Madeon)The Sun Comes Up"Slow" (Pluko and Laszewo)The Sun Comes Up "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
As featured artist +List of singles as featured artist Title Year Album "Hurts" 2019 "On Air" 2022 Anomaly
Other charted songs Title Year Peak chart positions Album USDance NZHot "Breaking News" 2018 45 31 Kids at Play "Big Love" 2020 18 40 Here for Now "Talk" 2022 35 — To Believe
Remixes YearTitleArtist 2014"Mastodon"Milk N Cookies"Hearts"Dan Black"Home by Now"Bombay Bicycle Club"Buffalo Bill"Moxie Raia"Paris"Magic Man"Crazy"Magnifikate"Compass"Zella Day"Body Gold"Oh Wonder"Inside Outside"Chiefs and Nick Acquroff 2015"Never Sleep Alone"Kaskade"Discipline"Club Cheval"Broken Record"SoySauce 2016"Blasé"Ty Dolla Sign"I Wish"The Knocks and Matthew Koma"Genghis Khan"Miike Snow 2017"All Night" Chance the Rapper"Telegraph Ave. (Louis Futon and Louis the Child Flip)"Childish Gambino 2019"The Wave"Elohim"I Dreamt We Spoke Again"Death Cab for Cutie
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