Alex Warren: Get to know the Ordinary hitmaker

2025's off to an absolute blinder for Alex Warren. In less than three months, the Carlsbad-born singer-songwriter has scored three Top 40 singles and announced his biggest UK headline shows to date.

Now, with current track Ordinary on course to earn Alex his first-ever Top 5, we thought it high time we got to know him a little better.

We caught up with Alex backstage in Paris to talk his upcoming album, beating imposter syndrome and, um, Benson Boone's shirtless scooter riding. Yep.

MORE: Where every Alex Warren song and album has charted in the UK

Hey, Alex! Congratulations on the success of Ordinary, your first-ever Top 10 single...

Thank you. Ordinary’s one of my favourite songs I’ve ever written, lyrically and sonically. I don’t know anything else that I’ve written that sounds that cool.

I wrote it in December. We spent a week in December writing all the songs on the album, then I went back and recorded them in January. I didn’t like it at first, but when I got the recording I thought 'holy sh*t, this is sick!' I was like 'I have to put this out,' and my team were like 'no, you’re not gonna do that, we’re pushing songs on radio.'

I just started teasing it and the fans wanted me to put it out!

That's the beauty of the industry these days, that two-way relationship with the fans...

My relationship to my fans is so unique. I feel like a lot of the songs I write, minus the love songs, people are very involved in because they’re about trauma that they’ve gone through, too. It’s almost like a healing weapon to combat it. It’s really cool to have this bond with my fans.

They don’t feel like my fans, it feels like a grief group in a way. It’s people who’ve gone through similar situations who’ve felt alone. Hopefully they don’t feel alone listening to these songs.

I try to go out of my way to talk to them and hear the life stories these people have. I never thought some of these songs would help people.

You touched on the album, how close are you to completing it?

I just need one more song, so I’m finishing it right after my Europe trip. I’m going back to LA, but it’s pretty much done. 

I’m really excited. I’m singing four new songs on this tour, but I’m excited for the album coming out so I can play all of them. This is one of the first times I’ve thought 'damn, I don’t know what the single's going to be;' I think they’re all great!

Great predicament to find yourself in! You sound super proud of it...

I am! I only write my own songs, I don’t take take demos. I have terrible imposter syndrome, too. If I put out a song that I hadn’t written and it went viral and became my biggest record, I’d have a hard time dealing with that. 

I only write the same music with the same people. I’ve had the same producer [Adam Yaron] for my entire career, and I work with two writers who I adore and are like family to me. We hang out outside of work and they’re all committed the same way I am.

How did you land on that special formula?

It’s luck, honestly. I’ve done the ‘dating’ thing, I’ve worked with so many people, but it’s difficult because not many people can relate to my story. One of my writers has lost his dad, his name’s Cal, and Mags is Christian like me. We take a lot of Biblical references and were inspired a lot by worship music.

These aren’t worship songs, but with Ordinary, for example, we wanted to create a love song that said ‘our love is so strong that angels in Heaven – a perfect place with perfect people – are jealous of the love we’ve found.

Not everyone we work with is religious, but I just love people’s stories in general. I’m not writing about God, I’m just giving perspective that everyone can digest.

Your current tour finally hits the UK later this month, how are you excited are you to bring it over here?

It’s a really fun show. There’s this one song I wrote called Can’t Stop This, and it’s kind of rap, weirdly. It’s such a fun record – if you like Ordinary, I think you’re going to really like it. Everybody’s jumping, everyone’s getting down to it.

By the time the London show hits, I’m going to be so seasoned on that record.

What's your favourite thing to do on tour when you're not performing?

My wife and I go to every zoo we can on tour; we’re big animal people. We love the food culture in London a lot, too. And the accents. 

Do you know how badly I wish I had a British accent in America? They sound so cool to us!

Which city's top of your bucket list to visit right now?

I’m doing an Australia tour, I can’t wait to do that. I love the places I’ve already been, too. The Nordics are really fun. I’m a big cold plunge and sauna guy, and I feel like European culture has such a sense of community.

If I had a superpower, I’d love to be able to speak every language and understand every person. I’m such a nerd when it comes to that sh*t!

We love that you make such a conscious effort to go out and explore each city, rather than going from hotel room to stage to tour bus...

It was Benson Boone who convinced me to do that! When I first started out I was so nervous, thinking ‘get as much sleep as possible, sing and go to bed.'

Benson and I were talking – he’s been my friend for four years now – and he was saying 'don’t get sleep, go on a Lime scooter and explore.' He’d been out in the sketchiest area, at 4am, on a Lime scooter. He’s like 'bro, go out!'

He’s shirtless on a Lime scooter in downtown London. I’m like 'bro, what are you doing?' He just doesn’t give a f*ck! I thought 'I’m 24, I’m getting older, I’m going to be 35 by the time I’ve blinked and I’m not going to have enjoyed these years of my life.’ 

It’s such a cool life I live, and I’m so terrified I’ll lose it, that everything has to be perfect. But recently, I’ve been thinking 'let’s just go explore!' It’s such a weird life that I live.

Finally, Alex, the age-old question: other than your bestie Benson, who's top of your wish list to collaborate with?

I’d love to work with Lewis Capaldi. He’s one of the people who really inspired me to get into this space, and I think our voices would complement each other. I’m always writing songs and thinking 'damn, Lewis would love this!'

Benson’s doing a great job, and guys like Myles Smith are really showing what a different language of pop could be. Chappell Roan’s really keeping pop alive; it’s making me really excited about music. 

This past year’s been really pivotal with new artists coming up the ranks like Doechii. There’s some real talent. Oh my God, RAYE, too. RAYE’s insane. I love her. 

I’m grateful to even be in the same conversation as a lot of these people, even though I don’t think I’ve got the amount of talent in my entire body that they have in their pinky finger!

Alex Warren's Ordinary is out now via Atlantic Records.