Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Ruel started singing as a child and was discovered by M-Phazes when the vocalist was 12 years old. In April 2017, Ruel released his debut single "Golden Years", with M-Phazes. In June, Ruel made his live radio debut performing Jack Garratt's "Weathered" on triple J's Like a Version. At 15, he was the youngest-ever featured performer on the segment. The video gathered half a million video views in less than 48 hours.