Royel Otis

Blending a sunny, laid-back indie-pop with '90s alternative and '00s post-punk influences, Australian duo Royel Otis have garnered critical buzz and chart attention. They broke through with a 2023 viral cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "Murder on the Dance Floor," helping push their 2024 full-length debut, Pratts & Pain, into the top 10 of the Aria Albums Chart. In 2025, they returned with Hickey, featuring the hit "Moody."

Guitarist Royel Maddell and singer/guitarist Otis Pavlovic had worked separately in the same circles around the beach town of Byron Bay, New South Wales. Eventually introduced by their girlfriends, the pair bonded over, of all songs, the soft rock duo the Alessi Brothers' “Seabird.” In 2019, Pavlovic sent Maddell some demos to collaborate on, and a partnership was born. Royel Otis' first EP, Campus, was issued in 2021, but the duo hit their stride on the 2022 follow-up Bar & Grill. Anchored by melodic guitar riffs, synthesizer fills, and Pavlovic's enthusiastic vocals, tracks like “Oysters in My Pocket” and “Bull Breed” made inroads with local tastemakers. They further honed their style with 2023’s Sofa Kings, which earned a nomination for Breakthrough Artist at the ARIA Music Awards, Australia’s biggest music awards ceremony. Single “Kool Aid” was accompanied by a video nominated by local radio station Triple J for Australian Video of the Year.

Their reputation solidified at home, Royel Otis set out to expand their horizons on their full-length debut album Pratts & Pain. Recorded in London with producer Dan Carey (Wet Leg, Fontaines D.C., Hot Chip). Songs like “Fried Rice” and “Heading for the Door” connected further with new fans -- but the duo’s biggest success to date was a canny cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor's “Murder on the Dance Floor” for Triple J’s long-running covers series Like a Version, recorded just as the original song scored an international chart bump following its inclusion in the 2023 film Saltburn. Bolstered by a positive note from Ellis-Bextor herself, the single crossed over into the Top 40 of Australia’s pop chart and topped Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart. It also helped push Pratts & Pain into the top 10 on the Aria Albums chart upon its release in February 2024. That August the duo released a live cover version of the Cranberries' song "Linger," which cracked the Billboard Hot 100.

In May 2025, Royel Otis returned with the song "Moody" as the first single off their sophomore full-length, Hickey. The song, which evoked the '90s-hip-hop-infused-slacker-pop of Beck, reached number four on Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart. ~ Matt Collar & Mike Duquette