40 Fun Facts About Alec Benjamin

Alec Benjamin released 'Jesus in LA' after which guitar idol, once a poster by his bed, said he loved it?

John Mayer is sent Benjamin's new songs, and his praise for this one was among the reasons it came out. In 2019 he joined Benjamin on stage at a sold-out Los Angeles show.

Which Canadian singer joined Alec Benjamin on the 2019 duet version of his breakout hit 'Let Me Down Slowly'?

Alessia Cara added her own lyrics and vocals to a song Benjamin had first released solo in 2018. The duet gave him his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.

Before music took off, Alec Benjamin's first job was teaching which martial art at a studio in his hometown?

Karate earned Benjamin a black belt, but he quit teaching after hearing that a person he liked did not think it was cool.

Dropped by his first label, Alec Benjamin built a following by staging impromptu shows in which unlikely spots?

Parking lots outside concerts by stars such as Shawn Mendes and Troye Sivan became his stage for six months, and he handed out business cards to passers-by.

A 12-year-old's dance to Alec Benjamin's 'I Built a Friend' on which TV competition helped win him a record deal?

America's Got Talent aired Merrick Hanna's audition to the song in 2017, which sent it up the iTunes charts and made labels ask who the unsigned singer was.

Which Minecraft YouTuber teamed up with Alec Benjamin for the 2021 single 'Change My Clothes'?

Dream released the duet as only his third song. The unlikely pairing reached the UK and Irish singles charts.

Which rapper does Alec Benjamin rank among his all-time favourite artists, praising his way with words?

Eminem sits beside Paul Simon and Jason Mraz on Benjamin's list of all-time favourites, because he wants songs that have something important to say.

Why did a teenage Alec Benjamin first start learning guitar, around the end of high school?

To impress a girl was the plan, and it failed, but he enjoyed learning so much that he kept going so he could sing without an accompanist.

Alec Benjamin's nostalgic song '1994', full of childhood memories, is named after the year of which event?

His birth year gives the song its title, and the verses trace how the world grew heavier as he got older, with the 9/11 attacks as his moment of awakening.

Justin Lubliner, who managed Alec Benjamin's rise, also signed which teenage future superstar to his Darkroom label?

Billie Eilish became the template for Benjamin's team, who focused on building him as a touring act as his shows grew wilder.

Alec Benjamin grew up with his family, across the street from his grandparents, in which Arizona city?

Phoenix was his base while, still a teenager, he emailed songwriters cold and then travelled to Los Angeles and the UK to write with them.

Which major label signed a teenage Alec Benjamin, then dropped him soon after he handed in his first album?

Columbia Records kept the rights to those recordings, so he could not put them on Spotify or iTunes and uploaded phone demos to YouTube instead.

Alec Benjamin was enrolled at which university when he signed his first record deal?

USC was where he was living in a dorm when the deal came. After the label let him go, he rebuilt his career from open mics.

Which record label gave Alec Benjamin a second chance in February 2018 and released 'Let Me Down Slowly'?

Atlantic Records heard the song among the demos that persuaded it to sign him, then made it his first single for the label.

Alec Benjamin made his national TV debut in January 2019, singing 'Let Me Down Slowly' for which talk-show host?

James Corden had him on The Late Late Show, where he sang with an acoustic guitar in front of a flower shop set on the day the duet version was released.

Alec Benjamin prefers which word to 'singer-songwriter' when describing himself, because his songs tell stories?

Narrator is the label he chose after deciding he needed a new word for what he does. It echoes the title of his 2018 debut mixtape, Narrated for You.

These Two Windows, the title of Alec Benjamin's 2020 debut studio album, is his metaphor for what?

His eyes are the windows: he argues every theme has been written about before, so only the teller's point of view makes a retelling new.

Which Alec Benjamin song did he say is about the day he realised he was no longer a child?

Death of a Hero is about the downfall, in his eyes, of someone he really looked up to. In 2019 he played it on stage with the guitarist he grew up admiring.

Which Alec Benjamin song did he write for his sister, with verses about a classmate and his grandparents?

If We Have Each Other saves its final verse for her. It is the opening track of his 2018 debut mixtape and has gone double platinum in the US.

Which Alec Benjamin song is about one of the first girls he liked, who said she loved him before he was ready?

Water Fountain ends with the roles reversed: by the time he had grown up and still had feelings for her, she had moved on.

In the music video for 'Jesus in LA', Alec Benjamin reflects on his move to Los Angeles from inside what?

A phone booth is his perch in the Joey Brodnax-directed clip, which also has him strolling the city at night past locals who stand around in eerie silence.

The true story behind 'Jesus in LA' ends with a broke Alec Benjamin leaving Los Angeles to live with whom?

His parents took him back after he lost his record deal, his friends and his money. Being home with family, he says, was what finally made him happy.

Which Alec Benjamin song did he describe as being about the hard lesson that love cannot be bought?

Annabelle's Homework recalls him doing a classmate's assignments just to win their affection, and getting his heart broken anyway.

Which Alec Benjamin song about being bullied as a child gives its last verse to the bully's point of view?

Boy in the Bubble switches sides because Benjamin felt the bully's own story is something people do not talk about often enough. It has gone gold in the US.

Which Alec Benjamin song about a friend whose lifestyle would one day catch up with him also named his 2019 tour?

Outrunning Karma gave its name to the tour that closed with two nights at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. The song has gone gold in the US.

Which Alec Benjamin song is, in his words, about changing for a person you love?

If I Killed Someone for You is what he called a different and darker song for him. It went platinum in the US without ever being a single.

Alec Benjamin wrote 'Demons' right after a songwriting session with which R&B star produced nothing usable?

Khalid had just left the studio when the song arrived. Benjamin admits it is not his favourite on the album, and calls the track itself one of his demons.

Alec Benjamin's song 'Oh My God' nods to which classic sci-fi TV series he watched with his father as a child?

Lost in Space was a show his dad loved to quote, so Benjamin slipped a Will Robinson reference into a song about feeling adrift in the music business.

Which Alec Benjamin song title is his metaphor for trying to save a relationship that just isn't working?

Match in the Rain began as a line he sang into his phone five minutes before going on stage in Munich. He wrote the rest in the studio two months later.

Which Alec Benjamin single deals with domestic abuse, inspired by a friend who was not ready to talk about it?

Must Have Been the Wind was written to do the one thing he felt a friend could: let the person know he was there for them. It has gone gold in the US.

Which historic battle site names an Alec Benjamin song about standing by an unpopular opinion at any cost?

The Alamo was taught to him at school as a famous last stand, and he borrowed it for the times he is willing to lose friends over what he believes in.

Which famous New York venue did Alec Benjamin name as his ultimate goal after selling out Irving Plaza in 2019?

Madison Square Garden is where he said he wants to end up, a year after he was playing the Mercury Lounge, a room that holds about 250 people.

Which hitmaker, who gushed about Alec Benjamin online, co-wrote his 2021 single 'Older' with Ryan Tedder?

Charlie Puth struck Benjamin as one of the most amazing musicians he had ever been in a room with, and their song ended up on his second album.

Alec Benjamin co-wrote and sang on 'New York Soul (Part II)' for which 'All Time Low' singer in 2016?

Jon Bellion put the song on his album The Human Condition, then took Benjamin on the road as an opening act on the tour that followed.

Inspired by his doctor father's use of acupuncture, Alec Benjamin re-records his songs in which language?

Mandarin versions grew out of his father's habit of bringing Chinese culture into his medical practice, and one became a duet with actress Zhao Lusi.

In his YouTube series 'Can I Sing for You?', Alec Benjamin performs acoustic versions of his songs for whom?

Strangers in public suit him: he says he got into music for the human connection that faceless online fans cannot give.

Alec Benjamin opened for which former Fifth Harmony star on her Never Be the Same Tour in 2018?

Camila Cabello had him on the third leg of the tour, in the same year he signed his second record deal. He then sold out two headlining tours of his own.

Which heavy metal band does gentle folk-pop singer Alec Benjamin say he listens to, alongside Katy Perry?

Slipknot shares his playlists with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and straight pop, because he believes every genre has something it does best.

Alec Benjamin has described 'Jesus in LA' as a song staged as a conversation with whom?

The devil was his framing for a song about looking for something and never finding it, an idea he jokes Los Angeles writing rooms wave off as not sounding like a hit.

Alec Benjamin recruited his 'Let Me Down Slowly' duet partner simply by messaging her on which platform?

Twitter was all it took: he sent her a message and she was in. The new version carried the song onto the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.