Alexander Stewart has had a significant impact on the music scene with his heart-capturing voice and memorable melodies. Originally from Toronto, his love for music started at a young age and has led him to international recognition. Alexander gained popularity through his covers of popular songs on his YouTube channel, where he infused each note with raw emotion and authenticity, earning him a devoted following and industry attention.
Embracing his musical journey, Stewart embarked on an exciting path as a singer-songwriter, delving into his own original compositions. His artistry shines through in every lyric, weaving heartfelt stories that resonate deeply with his fans. From infectious pop anthems to heartfelt ballads, Alexander’s versatile songwriting and powerful vocals have earned him critical acclaim and a loyal fan base.
- Before discussing your accomplishments from the current years (of which there are many!), we want to start by talking about the beginning of your journey. When and how did you start making music?
I started singing when I was very young, I was part of a lot of choirs. I was a boy soprano and loved it a lot! Then my voice dropped and I fell out of love with it. Then I found my way into pop music, and when I was fifteen I started making covers on YouTube and that led me to Los Angeles! When I was doing covers the original goal was always to make original music I just needed to find a way into the industry. That leads me to current times, I’ve been in LA writing songs for a couple years now and I couldn’t be more excited about it.
- What was your first big break in the music industry, and how did you land it?
I think it’s interesting because I don’t think I ever got a ‘big break’. I’ve always been just steadily pushing myself since I was fifteen. I started on YouTube, went to Musically, Vine and then Instagram, we’ve just slowly been building this community of people and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon!
- How would you describe your musical style? What sets you apart from other artists in the industry? Do you have any particular musical influences who inspire you?
One of my biggest inspirations is Sam Smith. Their first album, In The Lonely Hour, was the first album I ever bought and I think you can still hear a huge part of that in my music today. My music is sort of based off of real instruments and being big ballads that you can sing along to! It’s a lot of heart-breaking music about things I’ve been through as a young guy living in Los Angeles. There’s a lot of real human experiences that I share with everyone on this planet, I think it’s really cool that I get to put those into words and music and melodies that I can then play for everyone!
- Social media has played a big role in your rise to fame. How do you use platforms like Instagram and TikTok to connect with your fans, and how has this impacted your music career?
I owe so much to Instagram and TikTok, they’re incredible apps for keeping in contact. I post on Instagram or TikTok every single day, I read every comment. I try to reply to every single Instagram DM, it’s such an incredible way to connect with people that support my music and support me. It’s been instrumental. I’ve posted songs on TikTok that have gone ‘viral’, whatever that really means! It’s introduced my music to tons of people that hadn’t heard of me before. I think that’s so cool and something we’re only just experiencing for the first time ever at the moment with social media and accessibility to artists.
- Of all the songs you have released so far, which one is your favorite and what does it mean to you?
I have a few but one that’s really special to me is Blame’s On Me. That song was such a change in how I look at song-writing from my point of view. It was such a new level of honesty and vulnerability. For it to be received so well by people was a really cool thing! It made me want to be more honest in my song-writing, not that I wasn’t before, but just on a deeper level.
- You recently announced your European tour; how do you feel about so many people from around the world listening to your music? Where are you the most excited to perform?
I think it’s crazy that people want to come watch my shows! I write music because it’s therapy to me, so the fact that it connects with people enough that they would want to spend their night with me is such a crazy thing to me. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it! There’re so many places that I’ve never been on this tour and so many places that I’ve been to and I love. I couldn’t possibly pick one. I’m ecstatic to go to all of them and meet all the new people! It’s going to be life-changing.
- You’ve just released your new single Leave Me in the Dark and it already has a million Spotify streams. What can you tell us about it? What was the creative process of this song?
It’s about a toxic relationship honestly. My last relationship wasn’t the healthiest of all time! We were together for a minute but it ended with silence, there was no goodbye or resolution. It was just sad and that’s what the song is about. It’s about not necessarily being ghosted after the first date but it’s about how something that went on for so long can just end without a goodbye. That left me, at least, with so many questions.
- How important is visual storytelling to your music, and how do you integrate that into your music videos?
I think visual storytelling is so important. Music and visuals go hand in hand. You hear the songs that I write but I see them in my head as I’m writing them and things I want to do in the video. The music video for ‘Leave Me in The Dark’ I have a blindfold on, that’s a very literal representation of that song. For the ‘Blame’s On Me’ video, half of it is me sitting in the backseat of a car alone, that’s because after that conversation which didn’t end well, without a goodbye, I hopped in an Uber and sobbed in the back of it! It’s all stuff that relates directly to my life, it’s really cool to be able to create that for people to see.
- You’ve also worked with Rita Ora in one of her music videos, what was that experience like and what did it mean for you to be involved?
That was such a fun experience! I’m so grateful for Rita asking me to do that. I showed up to do her music video, I had a very small role as cake boy! I just handed the cake to the door and that was it! I was honestly there for about 15 minutes but it was super fun. I’ve loved Rita forever and I love her music so when she reached out I was obviously through the roof about it, it was an absolute yes, of course! Everyone was so nice to me and it was so fun to be a part of that.
- How did you feel when you got the news that you’d be supporting Charlie Puth on his upcoming US tour this summer? What other artists would you like to meet and collaborate with in the future?
I felt so many emotions but mostly just grateful. I was actually in my room and my manager called me and said: ‘are you sitting down?’ I said ‘no but I can be!’ I sat down and he just said ‘you’re opening for Charlie Puth!’ That’s obviously such a dream come true. My two best friends were there and they just piled on top of me on the bed, it was the sweetest moment and I’ll never forget that. Sam Smith would be the dream. Their music is some of the most influential music out there to me, that would be such a dream.
- You have already performed at a number of music festivals and concerts, but which has been your favorite live performing experience, and why?
I mean I just finished the Canadian shows from my last tour and those have to be up there. I’m Canadian and that’s home for me. But also the crowds were wild, it’s still so new to me to hear people singing back almost every lyric of every song I’m singing up there. I will say Canada went hard!
- Your music touches on personal and emotional themes. how do you navigate the process of sharing such vulnerable experiences with your audience and what kind of response have you received from fans?
It does! I write most of my music from a sad place because I feel that is the emotion that gets the most out of me. It’s one of the most powerful emotions for me personally, probably for everybody honestly! I think for a while I wrote about it but maybe not to the level of honesty that I aspire to write about now. A lot of that came from writing Blame’s On Me, I was terrified to put that song out because it was me admitting fault! I hadn’t really done that in a song yet and I was scared of how people were going to react to it. The reaction was really positive. Again, I think all of this comes down to being honest with everybody and being honest with yourself and the music will just be elevated from that.
- What can fans expect from Alexander Stewart in the future?
I mean, a lot more songs and a lot more touring! And an album hopefully, very soon. Songs and touring are the two things that I will definitely be doing and I can’t wait. Hopefully I’ll see you in a city near you very soon!
Gabriela Basanta