ALEX WARREN: THE HITS INTERVIEW

Alex Warren may have the most chaotic backstory in pop music.

Born and raised in Carlsbad, California, Warren lost his father to cancer when he was nine, leaving him and his three siblings to be raised by an abusive, alcoholic mother. She kicked him out at 17, and he spent the next months either living in a car or, if lucky, crashing with friends. (His mom died when he was 21.) The scars he carries from his upbringing aren't just emotional; he has a .177-caliber bullet lodged in his lung, the result of a target-shooting mishap involving a friend's parent.

Meanwhile, as a tween, he’d become fascinated, if not obsessed, with recording and posting content to Vine, YouTube and any other platform he’d come across. The videos, goofy and charming, some filmed with his girlfriend (now wife), Kouvr Annon, found an audience, notably on the new app TikTok, where he eventually attracted more than 17m followers.

Soon he ditched the car and moved into Hype House, an influencer McMansion where his content-creating housemates included Dixie and Charli D’Amelio, Chase Hudson and Addison Rae (it was Warren who named the house). A Netflix series on the creator collective followed.

As Hype House ran its course, Warren, who’d sometimes post videos singing and playing guitar, pivoted to a music career. With his huge social following in tow, and guided by manager Brian Sokolik of Odd Projects, he signed to Atlantic Records in 2022 (reeled in by VP of A&R Michael Parker) and released his debut album, You’ll Be Alright, Kid (Chapter 1), in 2024. The songs “Carry You Home" and "Burning Down" became small-scale hits, but it was the February release of “Ordinary,” a moist-eyed devotional love song, that has propelled Warren to the verge of music stardom.

Currently #4 on Spotify global and #8 on the Spot U.S., “Ordinary” is shaping up to be this year’s equivalent of Benson Boone's “Beautiful Things,” an unstoppable power ballad that dominates both streaming and radio for months on end.

We caught up with Warren in Manchester, U.K., where the 24-year-old was still adjusting to performing for crowds in the thousands.

“Most musicians would be stoked if they sold out of 2,000 tickets,” he says. “When we sell out in three seconds, I get upset, because that means there are so many people who are going to miss out.”

If there’s one thing HITS knows about, it’s selling out.

Let's start with “Ordinary.” How did the song come about?
We wrote “Ordinary” three months ago. I immediately wanted it to come out. I knew it was special. I write all my songs with the same people, same producer I've always worked with. We wrote that record about my relationship with my wife, Kouvr. We’re both 24, we met when we were 18, she slept in a car with me. I think it's rare today to find true love, with phones and social media and all these different things. And so we wrote “Ordinary” about how love is falling out, but we found something crazy.

Which came first, the music or the lyrics?
First thing was, well, it sounds like a harp on the record, but it's a rubber bridge guitar that my buddy Cal Shapiro brought. Adam Yaron, the producer I work with, started playing the opening riff and we were like, "Wow, that sounds so cool." Adam, Cal, Mags Duval and I sat around the fire for 30 minutes, worked on it, woke up the next day and finished it.

Did you think “Ordinary” was a hit as soon as you wrote it?
Kouvr and I listened to that song, on repeat, for 40 minutes straight on a car ride, trying to find something we didn't like about it. And we couldn’t find anything. And then we played it for other people, and everyone was like, "This is insane."

But there was a little pushback from my team when I said I wanted to put it out so quickly. Some people thought I should wait. I was like, "Guys, please trust me on this.” So I started promoting it on TikTok, and the feedback I got was enough to get it through the door.

Was floating it on TikTok your way of saying, "Look guys, we need to go with my gut.”
I commend my team. They're very strong-minded, they know things. But it’s important for me to utilize that following I have. If I feel strongly about a record and my fans do, too, that's indicative of something that's going to be special.

I don’t know if you intended it, but after you wrote “Ordinary,” did you think to yourself, this could be a perennial wedding song?
No. In fact, I have a song called “Carry You Home” which I wrote for my wedding. With “Ordinary,” we were trying to depict love in a cool and interesting way. Mags and I are Christians, and we try to bring God and biblical references into our songwriting.

Am I wrong to think there's a worship music influence to the song?
For sure, to all my songs. It’s a huge part of what I grew up listening to. I love the way those songs make me feel.

Not to jinx it for you, but it’s easy to picture you performing “Ordinary” at the Grammys with a big gospel choir in the background.
That would be amazing. I can see definitely a gospel choir…

Also, again, probably not what you intended, but it feels like such an obvious song for syncs and for commercials, from burgers to weight-loss drugs.
We're just waiting for Ozempic to hit us up! Truthfully, I don't pay attention any of that stuff. I let my team handle that. But I do love the promotional cycle. I know a lot of artists don't. But I love posting on TikTok.

Do you still have the same zeal for creating and posting content that you did when you were 15?
Oh yeah. I have a great partner who posts content with me, and we probably post three times a day. We’re a well-oiled machine.

Do other artists come to you for advice on that front?
Yeah. I have a lot of experience. I love data and analytics. I didn't finish high school, but I obsess over algorithms. And I have experience in social media. I’m blessed to be friends with amazing musicians like Myles Smith and Daniel Seavey, and I want to do anything I can to help them.

So you're the kind of guy who's always looking at his Spotify and TikTok numbers. You get under the hood.
I try to. There’s no one who's going to fight as hard as I am for my own career, so I want to be studying everything and help my team better understand the space as well.

Does Atlantic come to you and ask you for advice on how to run their digital media department?
I don't think they ask me. I give unsolicited advice.

How did you end up signing to Atlantic?
They were the first people to tell me I wasn't perfect. When I was taking meetings with labels, about four years ago, I would play them my songs, and everyone was like, "This is the best song I've ever heard in my entire life." And I knew it wasn't. I would ask the A&Rs, "What would you do to this?" And they'd be like, "It's perfect. You don't have to change a thing. We can send this to radio." I'm like, "That's not true, because this is not a finished song." I met with Atlantic, and they're like, "I would change this, I would change that.” I was like, "Yep, sign me up.”

How did you come to find the confidence or the drive to create content in the first place?
I was 11 years old, and my neighbor had just gotten a webcam. I don't know why, but I was obsessed with posting on YouTube. It was 2011. This is when YouTubers were just becoming a thing. There was no money in it. But I just loved the idea. My dad knew he was dying, so he would film everything. And that made me feel closer to him, I guess. So I would go to my neighbor's house, turn on the webcam and just start talking to it.

Were there YouTubers you were drawn to?
Not really. I was obsessed with jail-breaking things and taking apart computers and putting them back together and posting about it. I learned how to do all that at 13.

Were your friends like, "What is wrong with you, dude?”
I was taking apart computers because I had no friends! I was always the first person on content platforms like Vine. I would post singing videos, unboxing videos… I did a Doritos commercial with my brother and we submitted it to the company. Then when I was 14, 15, I became obsessed with the “Gangnam Style” trends. We were always trying things.

I was just a lonely kid who found it cool that I could post on the internet and people could see it. Now, there are so many people who come out to me at these shows and they're like, "Hey, I've been following you since the beginning." I'm like, "Okay, but what beginning?" They're like, "In 2018, when you were living in your car, I was there for that." And that's such a special moment, when I get to meet them. These people got me out of my homelessness. They know what I've been through. That’s why it's so important that I try to give everyone the time of day. Now, with things getting a lot bigger, I am struggling… It’s important for me to make sure that these people know that they matter to me.

You were a founding member of Hype House. What lessons from that experience do you take with you into the music business?
I don't think anything. Wait, actually, I'm lying. I learned a lot of things. I made a lot of mistakes during that time. I was a homeless kid with no friends, and then all of a sudden I was on the internet posting vlogs and millions of people were watching them. At Hype House, I eventually found out who I was, and that I have a story to tell that can maybe help people.

I remember this so vividly. I was doing a podcast with Logan Paul, and I told him my whole story, and at the end of the podcast he cut off the cameras and goes, "Why don't you tell people about this?" And I was like, "What do you mean?" He's like, "Why aren't you talking about this? This could help so many people." And I played him the songs I wrote, and he's like, "Put that out."

I was so scared to release music, because I had failed many times before to be a musician. Growing up, I would play talent shows, and no one cared. And my mom would use that and tell me that I wasn't good enough, that I couldn't sing, that I should shut up.

But Logan was so right. These are songs and stories that people need to hear, people who feel like they're alone and no one understands what they're going through.

Are there musicians you look up to, whose careers you admire?
I love Ed Sheeran. He’s such a respectful person, and his work ethic is absolutely insane. He's so involved, and I love it.

You're labelmates. Do you know him?
No, I haven't had the benefit of meeting him. Who else… Post Malone, because he's so respectful to everyone. Lewis Capaldi is super inspirational to me, I really look up to him.

I hear some parallels between you and Benson Boone…
I love Ben. Benny and I share songs with each other and give our thoughts and opinions. He would come over to my house after a session and be like, "Listen to this song I wrote.” Most people would play it on their phone. He would come in and sing it for me live in my living room. And it would sound perfect.

Did you hear an early-stages “Beautiful Things"?
I did, actually. Also, "Pretty Slowly.” It's on my phone as we speak, the old version of it, and I listen to that a lot.

Last thing: What's the plan for the next album? Are you working on it?
It should be done soon, actually. I go to L.A. right after this to finish it. I’m shooting for a July release. We'll see. And if not, you'll see me on TikTok asking for people’s opinions.