Today, the now-unmasked singer-songwriter BoyWithUke, aka Charley Yang, announced his upcoming international “Burnout World Tour,” his final tour in support of his latest studio album, Burnout, released this past Friday, November 15, via AWAL Recordings. Burnout is his fifth studio record and final album under the BoyWithUke moniker, as well as his first full-length project dedicated to his true self after removing the mask that turned him into an internet sensation.
Tickets went on sale Friday, November 22, at 10 a.m. local time at boywithukemusic.com.
Listen to Burnout HERE.
Watch the “Pitfall” music video HERE.
On Burnout, BoyWithUke said: “‘Burnout’ to me is music that most closely resembles who I am right now. Creating it filled me with so much joy, excitement, anxiety, and pain. It is everything I have left in the tank as BoyWithUke, and I am so proud.”
The international tour includes dates in Europe/UK, Asia, and North America, with notable stops in London, Tokyo, Seoul, Los Angeles, and more. In preparation for the new record and tour, BoyWithUke has dedicated his time to enhancing his live shows with a band and special effects, ensuring an experience that matches the complexity and layers of Burnout. This will also be the first BoyWithUke tour to feature a full band instead of a solo performance.
From the moment his Minute Long Songs on TikTok took off in 2020, BoyWithUke's life has been moving at the speed of light. With nearly 1.5 billion streams, his breakout single “Toxic” achieved Platinum status and reached #1 on Alternative Radio. His performance of the song remains the most-viewed Genius Open Mic video to date. His breakout success was followed by multiple Platinum records, including “Two Moons,” “IDGAF (with blackbear),” and “Understand.” He has captured the hearts of millions online, played sold-out headline shows internationally, and earned praise from Rolling Stone, Billboard, Consequence, Ones to Watch, and others.
The album title Burnout originates from a passage BoyWithUke read by a psychologist: "The notion of burnout (itself a metaphor) indicates that we have used up a limited quantity of something too quickly, because we were burning the candle at both ends." He admits, "I was feeling tired because it’s been go, go, go since I started. I read that and thought, 'Oh, cool. Makes sense. I'm not alone in this feeling.' There was a period last year where I felt real identity issues—like, am I this extroverted character, or am I Charley Yang? But now I think I've found a really good balance between work and personal life."
Charley Yang has experienced many changes while being BoyWithUke, from ending his first long-term relationship of four years to leaving a major label deal. Sonically, he has graduated to producing stadium-level songs that still preserve his ability to be vulnerable. While he acknowledges that some fans might not immediately embrace his new direction—including more electronic elements and unconventional song structures—BoyWithUke is finally in a place to make music for himself. Lyrically, he explores themes of love, the struggles of juggling fame and personal life, letting go of the past, and deep personal trauma. Through Burnout, he unveils not just the man behind the mask but how he came to be.
“I would love for fans to take away a good story from the album,” says Yang. “Looking back, the entire project was basically written in chronological order after my breakup. I definitely went through a bit of a fuckboy phase, which was quickly followed by sadness and guilt over the end of my first long-term relationship. In the end, I was able to heal and change for the better. I also hope this album can help fans grow and change. A lot of my older music was created during some of the worst years of my life, and for people to resonate with those lyrics is both good and bad. Hopefully, the fans can also heal and move forward with their lives.”
Burnout is BoyWithUke’s skillful attempt to experiment with diverse sounds and genres while exploring the intricacies of self-identity. With the mask off and nothing to withhold, this next era of BoyWithUke promises to reveal and expand on Charley Yang’s journey—both as and beyond “the boy with the mask.”
