2025 was anything but Ordinary for Alex Warren. This year he went from a TikToker who pulled pranks to an international star who’s pals with Ed Sheeran, Joe Jonas and Lana Del Rey. Here’s a dive into Alex’s career so far.
What began as viral fame pulling pranks on TikTok evolved into a fully fledged music career, culminating in global smash Ordinary. The emotionally charged completely changed Warren’s life who was living in his car prior to its release.
In the UK, Ordinary spent a staggering 13 weeks at No1, the longest chart reign of the decade and the most consecutive weeks at the summit ever by an American male artist.
He repeated that success in the States, earning 21 million official streams in a single week.
Written for his wife Kouvr Annon, Ordinary’s emotional power comes from Warren’s relatability. He endured a difficult upbringing, losing both parents young but he turned grief into his greatest weapon.
Tragedy inspired his music and he turned loss into purpose, while fans connected to his brand of dark humour which involved naming his tours Little Orphan Alex Live and Cheaper Than Therapy Tour.
“It’s almost like we have a club – it’s a club of f***ed up humour that you can cope with,” explained Alex who has been known to autograph family ashes people bring to his gigs. “Once you lose someone like that, you get to join the club. I think it’s a coping mechanism, if anything.
“Everyone on the internet tries to be perfect and I do things differently.
I think people like that. I don’t try to be perfect, I don’t think I’m perfect. I don’t have a perfect life. I’ve gone through a lot of traumatic things and I write all my music about all the traumatic things I’ve gone through.”
Debut album You’ll Be Alright, Kid showcased Warren’s emotional range from vulnerable ballads like Eternity to rousing collaborations with Jelly Roll and Rose.
Alex will need to invest in a bigger mantlepiece in 2026, as last year he already bagged the 2025 MTV VMA for Best New Artist with nominations for Grammy Awards to come.
He’s taking it all in his stride: “I’m happy, I never thought I’d get one [hit].
“If another one happens, that’s amazing, but at least I know that I’ve been able to do it once. If I die a one-hit wonder, thank God. It’s just a cool thing and I could not ask for more.”
A huge inspiration for Alex, both musically and spiritually is Lewis Capaldi.
“I wanted an outlet in music,” he said. “I didn’t see it until I heard Lewis Capaldi when I was 18, and he started writing about loss.
“That was something that was hugely inspirational for me. That got me through a lot of stuff. I wanted to be that for someone else. I wanted to help other people.
“The one thing that I did that was super selfish was assume that this was all me. I assumed that this only happens to me. And I’m the only one who has lost his parents, and I’m the only one who goes through these feelings.
“And as I started to play these shows and as I started to write these songs, I realized that it’s way more than you think. No matter who you are, no matter what you do, no matter how much you make or what your skin colour is, you go through loss. You understand that you have things that you lose every day. Your family members, your friends, your loved ones, your dog.
“And that’s the one thing that’s universally connecting everyone — understanding that piece of you is gone. And everyone tries not to talk about it.
You can’t articulate when you lose someone and going through grief, it’s something you cannot articulate. You don’t know how to go through it.
Making music that allows you to articulate that feeling. And so I’ve just been really focusing on that.”
Alex’s celebrity circle reflects his multifaceted career: he first made a name for himself alongside social creators such as Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae in the Hype House collective, and now counts established star like Joe Jonas and Ed Sheeran friends.
They never know what they’re going to get with Alex either – Joe recalled how he once covered himself in shaving foam to promote their collab Burning Down: “He is very clever on socials and so I’ll just go with it as I know he’s up to something. He is a good dude and we have lots of fun together.”
Lana Del Rey loved Ordinary so much she even sang it to Alex when they hung out at Stagecoach festival.
Meanwhile, Ed did what Ed does best and took Alex to a pub to get him “drunk” and he had to be rescued by his wife a few drinks later.
It’s clear this is only the beginning of an extra-Ordinary career.
