WATCH: Boychik (Ben Levi Ross) Releases New Single & Video 'Next to You'

Today, composer, actor and vocalist Boychik, the musical moniker of Ben Levi Ross, announced their poignant debut self-titled LP due out September 9, along with a brand new, stirring single and video, "Next to You," out everywhere now. PAPER Magazine, who debuted the single and video for the album announcement, says "Next To You" is an "orchestral highlight of Boychik's 10 total tracks," adding that it "sees Ross reflect on anxieties surrounding their childhood." Their new website and line of Boychik merch also launches today.

The highly-anticipated arrival of Boychik, the self-titled, ten track body of work, is years in the making. It's one that carefully chronicles the deepest parts of the multi-disciplinary artist Boychik, and the multi-dimensional person, Ben. It necessarily brings Boychik's queer voice and lived experiences to the forefront, bearing their heart on their sleeve, but not without bandages and bruises. "There's a lot about the release of this record that scares me. I've sat on this music for many years. For a long time, writing music was a very private solitary act. But I found collaborators that created an environment for me to open up this music safely." They continue, "Being able to expand this sound into what it is alongside Jake Luppen, Nathan Stocker and Brad Oberhofer was one of the greatest joys of my life." With such an intimate collection of music being made public, Boychik hopes the forthcoming time capsule is handled with care.

Along with the announcement comes "Next to You," an orchestral, elegant, anxiety-ridden love song, one that manages to be both solemn and hopeful at once. "I was raised in a Jewish household that was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm practically always thinking about when the goodness will end," Boychik shares. "When the blessings will become curses. I think the sentiment can be summed up with the line,"It's a heaviness down in your bones; knowing what we have is not guaranteed and I'm left alone. What it is to love and be loved on the truest level, and the soul crushing fear that it may be pulled out from under you." "Next to You" is a fearful, tight grip on a deep and true love that one wishes to never slip away.

Explaining the inspiration and construction of the song, Boychik adds, "We were super inspired by Roy Orbison's string arrangements on songs like 'In Dreams.' Those beautiful little angel flurries. This was the first track I worked with Brad Oberhofer on, and watching him run around the studio going from instrument to instrument was like watching a mad scientist. He is a true renaissance man when it comes to music. From tremolo guitar to xylophone... the man can do it all."

Directed by Will Colacito and produced by Boychik, the visual follows the musician into a candle-lit dressing room of an empty cabaret bar. Putting on show makeup and stumbling through the empty bar, they peer into the camera lens, bringing viewers into their dream-like, solemn world, putting on the show of a lifetime for a crowd of no one. In the grand tradition of Chicago, Cabaret, Sunset Boulevard, and of course Diane Keaton as Annie Hall singing in that one scene in the club, Boychik joins the ranks of sad, drunken ladies, singing their blood memories into the void.

The latest single follows the previous layered, piano-driven single, "Bombed Out Building," whose lyric video premiered exclusively with V Magazine. V Magazine wrote, "Boychik shares the emotions that come with giving the deepest part of yourself to another. With lyrics like "but the deepest parts of me were always for you," the single tells a heartbreaking revelation. Along with the single comes a new lyric video. Depicting images of an empty castle lit up by hues of green, it gives fans a better insight into the world behind the song."

"Bombed Out Building," while light and layered, allows Boychik to calm their anxiety and explore the depths of true love-from the fear of falling-to discovering the comfort and safety within each other and everything in between. Honest and vulnerable, the track is a tender, thoughtful exploration of love and natural uneasiness that comes with the early stages of falling.

The forthcoming project's debut single "Dust After Rest," is a track that frees Boychik of any gender constraints, and is filled with hope, gratitude and profound authenticity. The track premiered with PAPER Magazine, who wrote, "Like with all queer expression - complex and expansive - the visual identity surrounding Boychik is just as important as the music itself." The track allows Boychik to, as they put it, "Zoom out and see my existence as finite and precious. The fact that I will return to dust has always helped alleviate my pain."

1883 Magazine, Cool Hunting, and many more enthusiastically embraced the single, with 1883 Magazine calling it, "powerful yet poignant, freeing yet, at times, filled with fraught," and Cool Hunting writing that it is filled with, "profound depth and beauty."

After a year of studying theater at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, Ross exited to join a national tour of Dear Evan Hansen, where they took the titular role from 2018-2019. In 2020, they went on to star in the Kennedy Center's production of "Next to Normal"and by 2021, they made their film debut in Netflix's Tick..Tick..Boom!. Now, in 2022, Boychik's artistry expands further into uncharted territory-filled with confidence, boldness and vulnerability-and much more.

"Next to You," out everywhere now, aims to preserve a pure, profound love, while cautiously confronting the fear of it being ripped away. Stay tuned for the cinematic self-titled debut from Boychik, one that through a queer body and mind proudly claims space complete with vivid, deliberate narratives- out September 9 and available for pre-order now. The previously released "Bombed Out Building," and "Dust After Rest," are out everywhere now.

Connect with Boychik on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter for much more to come.