INTERVIEW: Alex Aiono On New Song 'Work The Middle' & iHeartRadio Music Awards Nomination
By Nicole Mastrogiannis
February 27, 2017
It's an exciting time for 21-year-old Alex Aiono. Having amassed a following of millions of fans on social media for creating his own versions of popular songs like Drake's "One Dance," at the beginning of 2017, Alex revealed that he had signed to Interscope Records, and shortly after, released his debut single with the label called "Work The Middle."
[Buy "Work The Middle" on iTunes]
And if that weren't thrilling enough for the LA-based artist, who plays multiple instruments, this year Alex was nominated for an iHeartRadio Music Award in the Social Star Award category, which includes nominees like Todrick Hall, Jack and Jack, Hailey Knox, and more. Alex has over 4 million YouTube subscribers with half a billion views, 1.9 million Instagram followers, and 400k+ Twitter followers. Voting for the Social Star Award category is still open and will continue through the evening of the awards on March 5th.
We recently caught up with Alex at iHeartRadio HQ in New York City, and during an exclusive interview, he talked about his iHeartRadio Music Awards Nomination, what it means to him and what his fans who keep voting mean to him, as well as his brand new single "Work The Middle" and being signed to Interscope. Check it out below.
You are nominated for an iHeartRadio Music Award for the Social Star Award, congratulations!. How you feel to be nominated and what does this mean to you?
"I'm still trying to figure out who rigged the system and put me as a nominee because, I mean, in my head, I'm still a kid from Arizona who likes driving Jeeps, and plays basketball, and sings music for fun. This is the first time that I've been nominated for a big award like this, and it's crazy, let alone having the opportunity and the chance to actually win it. My fans are the greatest fans in the world, and I'll put them up against anybody, any size, any time, any place."
"Being able to have an opportunity to put them to the test, and to just show them a big thank you, this is kind of a nomination for them. This is their time, because it's a Social Star Award, and I wouldn't be on social media if it wasn't for the fans."
How does it feel to be nominated in this category with other social stars like Hailey Knox, and Jack and Jack, and Todrick Hall?
"They are all great social media influencers. Todrick has been ...I've been watching his videos since back when he would do, like 'Beauty and the Beat,' and do all of those classic videos. And Jack and Jack are huge. They've got millions and millions of followers, and their music's great. And Baby Ariel basically took over social media for the last two years, which is incredible. So, being able to be in the same category as people who I feel are definitely huge social media influencers, that is very gratifying to me in that I get to look back, and look at my family, and my team, and get to share this with the fans and everybody. So, it feels very cool that I get to be nominated with great influencers like that."
You were nominated for your YouTube channel, and you've posted so many great videos. Do you have a favorite?
"Honestly, my favorite YouTube video is whatever video I had just put out. That's kind of the same for when I write songs. Like, my favorite song is whatever song I wrote just recently. But, I'll always have a special place in my heart for 'One Dance.' It's the video that kind of put me standing right here. It's the one that put me with the label, and with a great team, and put me in front of millions of fans that I now am so blessed to have. So, I'll always have a special place in my heart for that, but it just changes."
What would you say to your fans who keep voting for you?
"The ones that keep voting for me? I would say thank you so much. You guys are incredible and keep on going because we still got work to do. It's not over until it's over, so tell your friends. Thank you for sharing me with all of your friends because I know that it's not just the fans that I have now, but it's them going out and sharing me with other people that are helping me get to this point."
Well, your fans have been showing a lot of love for you on social media to vote. Do you have a fan story that you'll always remember?
"We were playing a show in Long Island, New York, and I was out meeting the fans, and one of them was like, 'I literally just flew here from Dubai to come see you because you don't have a Dubai show.' And I was just like, 'That's crazy.' It's just crazy that people are so into my music and everything I love to do, that they would come from such a far place. So, that was really special. It was definitely one of the most memorable things. Even if they are like, 'I drove three hours, or I drove one hour, or I came to the show.' That's super special to me because fans are investing themselves into this dream that I've had since I was a little kid."
Amidst all of the excitement with the iHRMA nom, you also recently released your single, "Work the Middle." Tell us about the song and what it means to you?
"It's the first single I've ever put out, with Interscope Records. It's been a big process and for me. I've put out songs before, and we've done the touring thing before, and we've done promo, and radio, and all of this stuff before, but that was all independent, and all kind of self-fueled. We have an incredible team behind us at Interscope. We have an incredible team behind us at CAA, the management. They've all been there from the very beginning, so this time around I'm experiencing it in a new way. It's really a huge dream come true, especially for me and my fans. We've been on such an incredible journey together and having this payoff that it's had, especially with releasing 'Work the Middle,' the fans love it. I played a show for the first time [recently] where I sang the song, and the whole crowd was already singing along. It's different when I sing my 'One Dance' mashup -- people sing along, but this is a song that no one else ever sang. This is my [original] song. That's super important to me. I got a rush while onstage. It was the first time that fans were singing every single word to a song that isn't by another artist, and that's by me."
What else can fan expect from you? Are you working on an album?
"I can't say if it's an album yet, but definitely a lot of new music. [There are] other songs that we've written along the way with the label, and they're very, very exciting. They don't all sound like 'Work the Middle.' They are very different and they all have their own personality. It's fun that the fans get to hear that, and I get to share that with them, because they've been waiting for a long time for some new, original music, and I'm just excited to play that with them."
That's exciting! You have released music previous to "Work The Middle," and even wrote a song with John Legend, which is amazing. So, if you had to pick someone to write a song with for a new EP, or an album, or even a new single, who would it be?
"That's tough. It depends on what vibe I was wanting to go with. Like, writing with John was a dream come true because he's one of the artists that I've looked up to since I was a little kid. He was one of the reasons I started playing the piano, and started singing the way that I did, and he was the reason I always wanted to have a raspy voice when I sang. He was that kind of goal. But, if we're working on rhythm and we're working on that upbeat music, Pharrell and all of that classic Neptunes sound, I'd be to the moon if I got to work with them on something like that. And then, if I wanted to get a little bit more into the urban world, working with DJ Mustard or Mike Will, or one of those big, heavy-hitting producers would be crazy as well."