The 25-year-old Toronto artist is betting on rock's future, and writing hundreds of songs per year to prove it. His new single "Cruel & Beautiful" shows the honesty that drives his music.
His newest single "Cruel & Beautiful" is only his sixth released song, but he's written countless more.
"I've got probably 50 or 60 songs I write in any given year [for my own project], and 'Cruel & Beautiful' is the best one I had,” the artist tells Billboard Canada during a quick break from a session in Toronto. "I'm in the studio every day, whether it's a co-write or plugging away at my own stuff. It's non-stop."
Things have escalated quickly for the young artist since then. He's played big shows with rock legends like Aerosmith's Joe Perry, Foreigner, Tom Cochrane, Big Wreck and Robert DeLeo from Stone Temple Pilots.
"Opening for a band like Foreigner, that's first generation rock & roll right there," Edward gushes. "If you think about it, my generation is the last generation that gets to meet, connect and collaborate with the first generation while they're still touring. It's amazing, because I get to learn from the best to ever do it. So my intention is to pick up that torch and run with it."
At 25, Edward is used to being the youngest guy in rooms full of veterans, but he sees his generation as the one that will keep straight-up rock alive.
"We grew up with our parents' record collections, which had artists like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Guns N' Roses, some of the greatest music ever," he says. "A lot of us are looking for that level of authenticity today. I think my generation is going to be an important turning point for rock music.”
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Edward explains "Cruel & Beautiful" is a perfect example of that mindset. The song features his mentor Eric Steckel, a lifelong guitar prodigy like Edward who started playing with John Mayall when he was just 12 years old. Lyrically, it's a personal and no-nonsense song about the duality of love, the highs and lows of romance and how painful that can be.
"I'd say really only 2 or 3% of the songs I write are good enough to get to the point of putting out, and this was one of the ones we just instantly knew was going to be a smash," he says. "You can just feel it in your gut."
Edward is in the second year of a songwriting deal with a Canadian publishing company, which keeps him in the studio writing music like a day job. He's spent many days in Toronto, while also travelling to hubs like New York, L.A. and Nashville and working with people behind hits by Three Days Grace, Buckcherry, Train, Billy Talent and more.
"It's a lot of coffee and crumpled up pieces of paper," he says, painting a picture of his process. "You have to just be instantly vulnerable. If you can't, you're going to have a really hard time. It's honest music, you know. It can be intense."
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It's honed his muscles as a player and as a writer, though he's still ultra-selective about the songs he chooses to release. He has "three or four more" that he feels as good about, and plans to get to L.A. to finish recording them for a new EP that will come out in early 2026.
In the meantime, he'll keep writing, recording and filling the cutting-room floor. Between his own songs and songs for others, he's writing hundreds per year.
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"I think that’s why they're so good," Edward jokes. "Because we’ve gotten rid of so many."
This feature on Charlie Edward is part of NXNE's 2025 spotlight series. NXNE is part of AMG, the parent company that owns Billboard Canada.
