What’s the secret formula to nailing your America’s Got Talent audition? Canadian Alex Sampson—his hometown of Atikokan is so small that they could effortlessly fill the pews of Pasadena Civic Auditorium with no squeezing at all—would simply pick up the material of his black short sleeve shirt and point to Simon Cowell.
He’s infamous for this minimalist fashion. The two of them look like a buddy and cop-duo already. But they’re only wielding velvet vocals that can transport someone back to decades prior when the sirens blared off of Chevrolet Impalas. Needless to say, Alex slid through with flying colors, captivating millions of people until they could croon ‘Pretty Baby,’ only for gaping shock to echo across the country when he just escaped the golden buzzer by being sent home during the semifinals.
Luckily for him (and us), we can still support Alex, mainly through his latest EP, Hopeless Romantic! We spoke to him about the body of work, geeked out with him over 5 Seconds of Summer, and more!
America’s Got Talent
Hi Alex. Welcome to the hive! Most people know you for this season’s America’s Got Talent, being a celebrated contestant who caused quite an upset uproar when you didn’t make it past the semifinals. But this isn’t the only competition you participated in, having entered your middle school talent show, simultaneously acting as the first time you sang on stage when you were ten, and thus clearly having manifestation skills! Do you have any upcoming plans to use these skills again? Are you vision-boarding your next achievement or something you want to accomplish?
I guess entering my middle school talent show was manifesting and foreshadowing, hahaha! There are so many places I can see myself going and things I can see myself doing, so let’s hope they come true! Praying for a tour!
If we were to click on “oldest” on your YouTube page, we would see quite a few covers, particularly in the realm of one of your favorite bands, 5 Seconds of Summer! As most talent contest shows center around their contestant’s singing covers, is there a particular song from that selection that you’d rework in an alternative life as your audition song?
I absolutely love 5 Seconds Of Summer, and in an alternate life, if I had to choose one of their songs to sing at my AGT audition, I would probably choose ‘Ghost Of You!’ It’s one of my favorite songs by them.
Of course, in the reality we’re currently in, your actual audition song was ‘Pretty Baby,’ with its sixties sound. In the rounds proceeding, you also went off to sing more original songs, often at the encouragement of Simon Cowell. These songs are on your upcoming EP, Hopeless Romantic, which gives you the unique advantage of having millions of people already connected to these songs. How do you think the conscious choice of consistently picking original songs to perform helped solidify your engagement after the show compared to The Voice, where judges pick out covers for you to sing weekly?
I think being able to sing my original songs on AGT was such a blessing and a huge opportunity. It solidified my engagement after my time on the show because the songs I sang were already out in the world, and they were mine! People who normally wouldn’t know who I am can go listen to them and share them with their friends and family. It’s an ongoing cycle that I’m very grateful AGT could do for me.
We can see its benefits through ‘Pretty Baby,’ which sat at number 6 on Canadian iTunes back in July, sandwiched between Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter! Can you walk us through how you felt at that moment?
Seeing one of my songs on the charts was such an amazing and emotional experience, let alone being in between two of the biggest names in pop music right now. It was unbelievable seeing that.
Hopeless Romantic
Can you spill to us where the name Hopeless Romantic came from? Blurry Vision was taken from a lyric on ‘BLIND,’ so is such the case again, and you’re dropping another Easter egg?
The title Hopeless Romantic kind of popped into my head one day. It was the very first thing I thought of calling this EP, and it just felt right when listening to all of the songs. I feel like it captures all of them perfectly. There was a song I wrote called ‘Hopeless Romantic’ that unfortunately didn’t make the cut, but I wrote that after I thought of the name, haha.
Speaking of Blurry Vision, you celebrated your debut album by tattooing it on your arm. Are you going to cap it off as just that, or is there another song, lyric, or this EP’s name that you will add to the collection now?
I got Blurry Vision tattooed on my arm because it was my very first project, and it was a special moment for me. I don’t think I’m gonna do it again for this one… unless it goes number 1! If I got tattoos of the title of every EP I made, that would look crazy. I might get one for my debut album, though!
What’s interesting about the tracklist of Hopeless Romantic is that it starts with a prelude! There are so many different forms of how one can come in, from strictly instrumentals to poetry and, even taking a note from one of your unreleased songs talked about on Joely Live: a voicemail. Do you have a preference, and is there an example of another artist’s prelude from one of their albums that stands out to you as being memorable?
When creating this EP, I really wanted it to feel like not just music but a piece of art. The last track on the EP, ‘Angel,’ ends with a beautiful string section, and I really wanted to match that with an intro of some sort to make the EP feel like it has a beginning and an end. I think Benson Boone’s intro to his debut album is very memorable, and I love how it fades into the first track on his album! Mine does something similar.
Fables And Mashups
We absolutely love how ‘The Girl Who Cried Love’ off Blurry Vision is a play from Aesop’s fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf! Are you constantly reading or flicking through poetry books to find things like that that you can wittily spin? Is it more of picking up phrases that you’ve heard someone else speak since that one, in particular, is so primarily known?
The idea for ‘The Girl Who Cried Love’ came about when I was in a relationship with this girl that was so back-and-forth. Although I’ve never read The Boy Who Cried Wolf, I know the story, and what was going on between me and this girl reminded me of it. So, I wrote the concept down in my notes, and shortly after, the song was written!
Speaking of your love for 5 Seconds of Summer, they have a track similar to your ‘Wallflower,’ theirs being called ‘Wildflower!’ Say we gave you some time to think of a mashup. How would you connect those two songs to form a third meaning?
That’s a good question! I think if I had to connect the two songs with a third meaning, it would have to be love! The lyrics in their song are talking about how much they love this person, how beautiful they are. and the way they make them feel. Mine has similar lyricism, except the person I’m singing about in mine doesn’t know how beautiful they are, and I wish they would come out of their shell and finally bloom! Hence the name ‘Wallflower.’
Finally, you have your release party for Hopeless Romantic at the Moroccan Lounge. Depending on when you answer this question, out of the three unreleased tracks we’ve yet to hear, what are you most looking forward to playing live or loved the reaction of?
I can’t wait to perform the new songs at the release party! I think I’m most excited to play ‘Friend Zone’ because of how fun it is. I think people are really gonna love that one.
We’re enlisting those categorizing themselves as a Hopeless Romantic—yes, Alex! It’s not just a brand-spanking new EP, which is out now on streaming services, but also the possible seedlings of a fandom name. All one has to do is match the synchronized beats of their heart on their sleeves to its songs and let us know through our social media, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, which now-released track out of the once hushed three is their favorite!
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