The not-so-ordinary rise of Alex Warren
When the emotional pop anthem “Ordinary” surged in streams and topped the charts earlier this year, Alex Warren saw his career cross the threshold from social media celebrity to bona fide pop stardom. Life changed in all kinds of beautiful ways, but none quite as monumental as this one:
“I was gifted with a Chipotle celebrity card, which I think is where I peaked,” he tells Lifestyle Inquirer in an email interview.
While obviously said in jest and true to Warren’s self-deprecating humor, the joke might not be entirely a joke after all, given his difficult past—when necessities weren’t always certain, and eating sometimes meant relying on food stamps.
At the age of nine, Warren’s father—a real estate agent who had provided them a relatively stable life—died of cancer, leaving the family in financial debt. His mom spiraled into alcoholism soon after, creating an unstable environment that eventually led to her kicking him out of their house. (She died in 2021.) So, from the age of 18, he spent periods of his life homeless, sleeping in friends’ cars, and sneaking into private gyms to shower before job interviews.
Determined to escape his circumstances, Warren turned to content creation, filming videos for platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Around this time, he met his now-wife, Kouvr Annon, through Snapchat. She moved from Hawaii to California to be with him, and together, they shared their romance online.
Buoyed by the hilarious prank videos he did with friends, Warren began amassing millions of followers and earning enough to help create Hype House—a collective of content creators that later spawned a Netflix show.
Is this a prank?
As his following grew, so did his creative ambitions. Music emerged as a feasible path. However, while social media gave him clout, it also came with the influencer stigma, which cast his efforts as mere vanity projects. But all that changed with his breakthrough hit, “Ordinary,” the lead single of his debut album, “You’ll Be Alright, Kid.”
Released last February, the song reportedly soared to No. 1 in 30 countries—including the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, where it held the top spot for 10 non-consecutive weeks. With over 1 billion streams on Spotify alone, “Ordinary” ranks among the biggest songs of 2025 so far. And with its massive success came mainstream recognition—and more importantly, a sense of validation and musical legitimacy.
To this day, Warren ironically feels he may have unwittingly set himself up in a prank of his own making. “To be honest, it hasn’t quite hit me yet,” the American singer says, reflecting on the roller coaster of a journey he has had. “I still wake up thinking it’s all a big prank.”
This might sound like a prank, but it isn’t. When Warren’s father was his age, he bought a car—a red Mitsubishi 3000GT—which he later had to sell when his wife became pregnant with the singer. But last June, Annon surprised Warren with an early birthday gift—the very car his father once owned.
“It feels really great being connected to him in that way. It’s probably the best present I could have ever received,” he says.
And with this heartfelt gesture, it’s no wonder that “Ordinary”—a song about love, devotion, and the understated power of the little things in life—was inspired by Annon. “My love language is writing music for my wife,” Warren says. “As our relationship grew and we got married, those were big moments I felt deserved a song or two. I look forward to writing many more songs about her.”
A letter to his younger self
Beyond love, his debut album—which features elements like chamber pop, folk-pop, and worship music—also explores other personal themes like self-compassion, growth, resilience, and healing. There are also tracks that center on family, like “First Time on Earth,” “Eternity,” and “Save You a Seat”—a tribute to Warren’s parents, who never got to see him marry.
Given the Filipinos’ strong, family-centered culture, is this something he resonates with personally? “Of course, I put family above everything,” he says. “I lost my dad at a young age, and then my mom a few years ago. It’s difficult living my life now without them. But thankfully, I have a great support system of friends and family around me.”
And, as the album’s title suggests, “You’ll Be Alright, Kid”—especially the eponymous track—is a letter to his younger self. Through music, he offers the reassurance he wishes he had received during his traumatic childhood.
“I think my younger self would have loved it. I didn’t have a lot of songs to relate to about grief and loss growing up, when my parents passed,” Warren relates. “I hope this album helps someone who may be experiencing something similar.”
With music becoming Warren’s biggest passion, he hopes to continue performing and writing songs, and channeling his personal struggles and experiences into relatable anthems for his growing fanbase. Whether or not he matches or surpasses the success of “Ordinary” remains to be seen, but one thing is clear:
“I feel very blessed that people enjoy the song as much as they do,” Warren says. “Regardless of anything, I’m just happy to be here.”
