EQUATE .LSTNS ALEXANDER STEWART TAKEOVER
Alexander Stewart is a force to be reckoned with – As an independent artist, the Toronto-born and now LA-based artist first honed his craft in the recording studio throughout high school, eventually gaining viral recognition with his rendition of Camila Cabello’s ‘Havana’ and achieving significant success with his 2020 single, ‘Backwards‘. To date, he has surpassed over 200 million streams across various platforms with his previous singles.
There is no stopping him though: Alexander has been announced as one of the support acts for Charlie Puth during his upcoming US tour in the summer of 2023, and funnily enough, Charlie Puth was one of Alexander’s biggest inspirations when he first started out. Additionally to that, he will be performing at the renowned The Great Escape Festival in Brighton this week (catch him at BRIGHTHELM on Friday 12th May at 11:30pm), as part of his UK and European tour.
This week, he takes over our playlist – there are some serious bangers included, as well as some incredible throwbacks. Hint, he will also be releasing a new single soon – find out more below.
EQ: How do you feel about performing at TGE – what can your fans expect from the performance ?
AS: I feel honoured to perform at TGE, I think it’s a really, really cool festival and I’m super excited to play it. It’s a quicker thirty minute set so I’m doing a smaller version of the set I’ve been doing on tour with some of my favourite songs. A lot of sad songs! You can probably expect a very emotional set with some hype. Emotional and hype, that’s what I’d say!
EQ: The performance is part of a UK and European tour, how is it going so far ?
AS: The tour is going amazing. I’m from Canada, I now live in Los Angeles and I’m touring Europe. I actually cannot believe that I’m touring Europe! It’s a crazy thing because numbers on the screen can so easily become just numbers. When you’re actually on the ground, in these different places and meeting these people in real life it’s just an unbelievable feeling that I can’t really put into words.
EQ: You will also be supporting Charlie Puth in the US, exciting times for you! Do you have a pre performance ritual?
AS: I actually do! I get very nervous and very quiet and then about thirty seconds before I go on, my guitarist and I have a chant and a handshake we do. I can’t tell you what the chant is because it’s top secret and the handshake is hilarious. I will have to record it one time and show everyone what exactly we do.
EQ: Word on the street is that you’re releasing new music soon, can you unveil any news yet?
AS: Yes, I’m releasing a song on May 19th, it’s called ‘I’m Trying‘, it’s about mental health. It’s about time that I talk about my struggle with mental health: anxiety, depression, OCD. I haven’t talked about it for a long time because I didn’t really feel comfortable talking about it. But after lots of therapy and feeling okay with it myself, I decided I wanted to put out this song to help other people. I want to let people know that they’re not alone and if they’re struggling, they can talk to friends and family because people really do care and people are really loved! Everyone deserves a beautiful life and if I can help anyone feel a little less alone, then that’s the point of the song!
EQ: What song is on repeat on your personal playlist right now?
AS: So many! I’d have to say Kill Bill (Doja Cat Remix), I think her verse is insane! It’s basically just a storytime which I haven’t heard someone do in a long time. If you haven’t heard it, you should absolutely go listen to it! I’m currently trying to memorise all the lyrics because I love singing along to it.
Check out his playlist picks below!
SZA x DOJA CAT – KILL BILL (REMIX)
DAVID GUETTA x ANNE-MARIE x COI LERAY – BABY DON’T HURT ME
LADY GAGA – SPEECHLESS
TAYLOR SWIFT – CRUEL SUMMER
ALEXANDER STEWART – I’M TRYING
… COMING SOON, so stay tuned! ‘I’m Trying’, is out May 19 on all streaming platforms. Tickets for his European tour are available on ticketmaster.co.uk.