Alec Benjamin Talks 'Jesus In LA,' Starting Over, And How Social Media Can Ruin His Day

By Larisha Paul


"I just don't aspire to be a failure. That's like my biggest fear," singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin says to MTV News on a call from Los Angeles. "I'm being very sincere with you now


In the past six years, the 25-year-old has amassed 218 million views on his YouTube channel, with nearly 65 million of these coming from "Let Me Down Slowly," a susceptible plea for a soft end to a relationship. (That song has also racked up over 353 million Spotify streams.) Yet he started more modestly, singing and playing guitar for fans waiting outdoor venues where Shawn Mendes and Troye Sivan were scheduled to headline. Some days it's nice in the event you already have some familiarity with the music to get people beyond you," he says.


Before Benjamin had even released his mixtape Narrated For You in November 2018, he had already embarked on tours with Jon Bellion and Hoodie Allen. Just a number of months immediately following the tape's release, Benjamin performed one of its cuts, "Death of a Hero," at one of the final shows of his sold-out Outrunning Karma tour alongside his musical idol John Mayer. "I just texted him and asked if he would do it, and he mentioned yes," Benjamin says. "He's just like a friend, so it was just like you would ask any other friend to do you a favor."


Benjamin also appeared on Mayer's Instagram Live show Current Mood signaling how social media has fueled his rise. For now, it's led to possibilities working with Khalid and Alessia Cara, and as he teased earlier in July, possibly Sivan in the near future. Billie Eilish shared a brief ukulele cover of Benjamin's "Water Fountain," also, and a Bryson Tiller co-sign helped begin his 2019 on a high note.


Considering all this visibility matched with the singer's alluring talent as a songwriter, it's hard to understand how Benjamin could doubt his ability to succeed. Nevertheless his story is even deeper. What the numbers don't reveal is how in 2013, the Arizona-born singer moved to California, secured a record deal shortly soon after, created an album, and was promptly dropped subsequently. So he began again from scratch.


MTV News talked with Benjamin about the whirlwind trajectory of his career, how he secured a second chance at achieving his dreams, his new single Jesus Christ in LA," and more.


MTV News: Did you grow up in a very musical household?


Alec Benjamin: I didn't grow up around music. I discovered music a little bit later in life. I had habitually been interested in poetry although I didn't really picture it as something that you could really do for a living. I began to get into guitar at the end of high school, because I really loved singing. I wanted to accompany myself, so I learned guitar so that I could supply a backdrop for my voice without relying on other people. That turned into [not wanting to] sing other people's songs, and thus that's how I fell into it. Some days I think it was an accident, although then I look back and I'm like, it makes sense.


MTV News: Tell me about your transition from Phoenix to Los Angeles.


Benjamin: I went to [the University of Southern California] for each year, then I dropped out of school. I got a record deal my first year, and then I got dropped by my record label. I did a ton of shows and began over again. I made a bunch of new music, and that's how I ended up here. I played a lot of shows outdoors of other people's concerts. I did pretty much whichever I may to build up a fanbase and keep writing music so that whenever the possibility came around that I could get a second chance, I could be ready for it.


MTV News: What happened soon after that experience of being signed and then dropped?


Benjamin: I didn't hope to give up. Since I had left school, I did not have a Plan B. Attempting to play in front of other people's concerts, playing on the street, going into open mics – just any possibility I got to perform, that's what I did. In six months, I'd played 160 shows, and spent the initial half of 2017 writing songs. I had one song that I had re-recorded called "I Built a Friend" that did really well. That got me the eye a couple of record labels. The starting of 2018 was any time If I signed with Atlantic Records and I began putting out my music. I had already written a majority of the mixtape that I put out. I began putting out a song each month or so, which is what I'm beginning to do again right now.


MTV News: How has being a musician caused you to have to stop outdoors of your comfort zone?


Benjamin: Social media isn't something that I'm traditionally comfortable with, and that's piece of my job. I love it because it assists the me connect with so several people in different parts of the world, and offered numerous possibilities for me. It changed my life totally, nevertheless at the same time there really are sides of it that I don't really like. I am a really sensitive person, and there can be one small thing that can ruin my day. You have got to have thick skin, and I do, however at the same time social media can some days really be something that's hard for me to manage. That's one of the primary things and the hardest things that I do on a day-to-day basis.


MTV News: What has been the most surreal moment of your career thus far?


Benjamin: Getting to hang out with John Mayer at his home was probably the coolest thing ever. He noticed my music on The world wide web and reached out to me. ... ["Death of a Hero"] is his preference song of mine, I'm pretty sure. That's the song that he noticed that made him become a fan of my music. ... We have a lot in usual. He's been a really excellent sounding board for me, and my career, just giving me advice.


MTV News: What is Jesus in LA" about?


Benjamin: This song is just about moving out to California. I feel like coming from Phoenix, and wanting to prepare music, there's not the same quantity of possibility afforded to you [there] versus any time whenever you stay in Los Angeles. I guess I routinely thought that I would find happiness moving out here. I suppose in some ways I did, however I came out here and I got dropped. I ended up finding out that the things that were really essential to me I had already had.