Alec Benjamin

“I’ll be like, ‘Mom—is it good or is it great?',” pop singer Alec Benjamin tells Apple Music about his process for deciding whether a song will make the cut. “Every 10-15 songs she’ll be like, ‘That’s a great song.’ And I’ll be like, ‘Alright, I can use this song.’ But if it doesn’t get the mom stamp of approval, then I can’t put it out.” So far, Benjamin’s mum hasn’t led him astray. He went on to say that she’s the subject of his 2020 single “Demons”, a melancholy but lively track about someone who’s been a lifeline during the singer’s dark times. Benjamin’s openness, honesty and vulnerability make the singer/songwriter’s particular brand of earnest, mellow pop music special. Born in 1994 in Arizona, Benjamin hustled to get in front of an audience, busking in car parks outside of concerts and doling out business cards to help people remember him. His debut 2013 mixtape America established his moody, youthful voice, but “Let Me Down Slowly”—a lonesome, powerful duet with Alessia Cara—gave him his big break. Benjamin’s gift for mesmerising melodies and his light-as-a-feather vocal style recalls Ed Sheeran. He arrived fully realised with 2020’s These Two Windows, a debut full-length that mixes the simplicity of his folk-pop leanings and heart-on-sleeve sentiments with glitzy, electronic pop production.