Milow releases "Boy Made Out Of Stars"

Belgian-born singer-songwriter Jonathan Vandenbroeck, known as Milow, was putting the final touches on the 170-page zine accompanying his latest studio album, Boy Made Out of Stars, when the L.A. wildfires hit, coming close to his home in Venice, where he’s lived part-time since moving there in 2012.

“These fires have been a heartbreaking reminder of how fragile the things we love can be,” writes Milow, reflecting on how many of the places that inspired the album—and where several of its 15 music videos were shot—were left scarred or destroyed. “I’ve been deeply moved by the resilience of this city and its people. L.A., with its breathtaking nature and electric energy, continues to inspire me.”

Just as Milow’s previous album, 2022’s Nice to Meet You, was a response to the Covid pandemic, Boy Made Out of Stars is, in his words, “a love letter to L.A.—to its beauty and the strength that keeps us moving forward.” The album represents the latest chapter in his musical journey, its title evoking childlike wonder, with stars symbolizing creativity and hope. “It touches on psychedelic exploration and cosmic transformation,” Milow explains. “It’s about modern boyhood, challenging traditional ideas of masculinity, embracing vulnerability, and celebrating the fluid, evolving nature of identity.”

From the very first track, “One by One,” recorded at the legendary Village Studios in Los Angeles with producer Jamie Hartman and accompanied by a video shot in Malibu near the same tree featured on the album cover, Milow captures the dynamic spirit of his adopted U.S. home. It’s where he and his longtime girlfriend have been raising their two children.

“Working on Boy Made Out of Stars has been a journey of rediscovery. I stepped back for a while to breathe, to be with my family, and to soak in life’s most ordinary and extraordinary moments. I wanted to return with something honest, raw, and alive—music that reflects the messy, beautiful reality we all share.”

The project is more than just a collection of songs. “It’s a reflection of where I am right now—how the past few years have shaped me and how these stories found their way into the music.”

As part of the album rollout, Milow created the ultimate Boy Made Out of Stars zine, or as he calls it, “a time capsule,” filled with handwritten song lyrics, behind-the-scenes glimpses, studio photos, and snapshots from the making of all 15 music videos. “Every page is a piece of this journey—a way to bring you closer to the stories and creativity that shaped this album.”

Like all of Milow’s albums, Boy Made Out of Stars serves as a personal diary, a dialogue with his global audience. The album will be released on his own independent Homerun Records and distributed by Sony Music.

Tracklist

1. One By One

2. Get Up And Go

3. Family Tree

4. Leave It Just Like This

5. Dancing To Sad Songs

6. Batman Sign

7. Castaways ft. Florence Arman

8. I’ve Been Expecting You

9. Tell Me Twice

10. Lost In The ‘90s

11. Boy Made Out Of Stars

12. Crazy For You

13. Mona Lisa

14. Clear & Simple

15. Mama Aya

Song Highlights

“Family Tree” is perhaps the most personal song on the album. It’s about Milow’s father, Ivo, a musician who recorded original songs in Dutch at a Paris studio in 1975. After his father passed away in 2008 at 53, Milow received his father’s recordings on vinyl from an aunt. “I couldn’t bring myself to listen to it for years,” he admits. “It sat in my basement collecting dust, a quiet reminder of everything I’d lost.” With the help of AI, Milow extracted his father’s voice and turned it into a duet. “Hearing his voice again after so long was overwhelming. It brought a flood of emotions—grief, love, and an unshakeable sense of connection. The result is a song about how music bridges generations and keeps loved ones close, even after they’re gone.”

Other highlights include the ‘50s-style pop ballad “Leave It Just Like This,” written in a 400-year-old farmhouse, with the actual sounds of birds drifting through the open windows. “The theme is simple—happiness. Writing good songs about being happy, or being happy with someone, is surprisingly difficult. Sometimes the simplest topics are the hardest to capture,” Milow explains.

“Batman Sign” is a tongue-in-cheek reflection on self-doubt, vulnerability, and the joy of finding a soulmate. “It’s about how love and connection can anchor you, even when your inner world feels chaotic.”

“I’ve Been Expecting You” came to life on an old Steinway Model Z piano and was captured in a single take at Belgium’s Daft Studios, with contributions from Zagreb pianist Petrit Çeku and longtime collaborator Tom Vanstiphout on acoustic guitar. “The song brought out a lot of emotion when writing and recording it,” says Milow.

“Lost in the ’90s” references Born in the Eighties, the opening track on Milow’s debut album. It draws from his experiences playing in bands while dreaming of getting discovered and tips its hat musically to Tom Petty’s Into the Great Wide Open.

The title track, “Boy Made Out of Stars,” pays tribute to the touring life, recorded live in the studio with his band in the spirit of Jackson Browne’s The Load-Out.

Meanwhile, “Crazy for You,” the last song recorded for the album, is a playful pop ode to the highs and lows of love.

The rock-driven “Mona Lisa” was inspired by late-’90s alternative bands like The Rembrandts and Sixpence None the Richer, with a video that recreates the performance clips Milow grew up watching on MTV.

“Clear and Simple” is a heartfelt song about love at its purest—“steadfast, evolving, and deeply human.”

The closing mantra-like “Mama Aya” was inspired by a meditation retreat Milow attended in early 2024. “It was a profoundly spiritual experience that helped me find closure with people I had lost and rediscover confidence in my voice—both literally and metaphorically.”

With Boy Made Out of Stars, Milow offers a body of work that proves once again that the sky’s the limit for this ever-evolving musician.

About the Artist

Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, Milow was drawn to alternative rock bands like R.E.M., Radiohead, and fellow Belgians K’s Choice. Seeing Ryan Adams perform his album Gold in Paris in 2002 was a turning point. “After that show, I bought my first acoustic guitar,” Milow recalls. He immersed himself in studying pop-rock legends like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, and Jackson Browne.

Milow’s breakthrough came with his unlikely acoustic cover of “Ayo Technology”—a 50 Cent song featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. Initially performed for a late-night Belgian radio show, the cover quickly became a hit, topping the charts in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, and Belgium, and reaching the Top 10 across Europe.

Fluent in French, German, Dutch, and English, Milow tours extensively, playing 70 to 100 concerts a year across the globe.

Tour

Milow is set to tour throughout Europe with stops in Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium and more. Belgian dates include De Roma in Antwerp, Triangel in Sankt Vith and two nights at Het Depot in Leuven.