Alec Benjamin has had a long road to becoming a well-known singer-songwriter, but his journey was important in forming the musician he is now.
With enthusiasm and determination, he has pursued a career in something he is passionate about.
Here are 29 interesting facts about Alec Benjamin that you should know.
Alec Shane Benjamin is 30 years old. He was born on May 28, 1994, in Phoenix, Arizona, which makes his star sign Gemini.
He has an older sister named Logan, who was born over 2 months premature. Logan has been a huge supporter of Alec’s musical career.
Alec didn’t come from a musical background. His father would play guitar as a hobby, but other than that, he had no musical influence growing up.
At school, Alec was seen as quiet and kept himself to himself. He did not have much thought about his career until he started listening to more artists such as Eminem, Paul Simon, and Dr. Dre.
When he reached high school, Alec started practicing singing at home. He used his father’s guitar to teach himself to play, alongside tutorials on YouTube.
At age 16, he started to write and compose his own songs on his computer at home. At the time, many 16-year-olds were posting YouTube videos of them covering famous songs, but this is where Alec was different.
From the age of 17, he began immersing himself in the music scene, emailing record companies and artists and playing in parking lots and outside concert halls to get noticed.
As a teenager, he traveled to LA and even the UK to physically immerse himself in the musical community.
His first job was as a karate instructor at a karate studio in Phoenix. He was a black belt, but stopped going because a girl he liked didn’t think it was “cool”.
When he graduated from high school, Alec decided he wanted a future in music, so he enrolled at the University of Southern California.
Through a friend of a friend, Alec met Sacha Skarbek, who had written songs for Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey.
This friendship sparked and they began writing songs together in Sacha’s studio in London. Alec went to Europe with no financial backing.
While in Europe, he started playing small concerts, such as Berlin Music Week, where he started to grow a fan base.
In 2013, he landed his first record deal with an independent label called “White Rope.” They recorded and released his debut mixtape.
In 2014, at age 20, Alec was offered a record deal from Columbia Records to produce his debut album. Although this appeared to be a dream come true, Columbia Records canceled the contract 24 hours after receiving his album submission.
After this blow, he decided to start again and in 2016 he uploaded his first song “Paper Crown”. The song became an overnight sensation and has over 4 million views on YouTube.
This started to regrow Alec’s fan base, so a few weeks later, he uploaded another single, “The Water Fountain,” which gained over 10 million views on YouTube.
In 2016, he co-wrote the song “New York Soul, Pt. 2” for Jon Bellion’s debut album, “The Human Condition.”
His music is relatable as it talks about everyday life, and as the fan base kept growing, Alec kept uploading. In 2017, he released the track “I Built A Friend” on Spotify, which got more than 4 million views in 12 months.
2017 was a pivotal year in Alec’s career, as his song “I Built A Friend” was used by contestant Merrick Hanna on the 12th season of America’s Got Talent. The song was used as the backing for Merrick’s dance performance.
On February 1, 2018, Alec signed with Atlantic Records after seeing his self-made music video for “I Built A Friend,” and they were overwhelmed by his creative talent.
His 2018 release of the track “Let Me Down Slowly” gained traction worldwide, with millions of views. Later in the year, Canada Music certified it gold.
Alec released two mixtapes: the first, “America,” on April 22, 2013, and “Narrated For You,” on November 16, 2018.
“These Two Windows” was Alec Benjamin’s first studio album, which was released on May 29, 2020.
As of 2020, Alec had an average of over 5 million listeners per month on Spotify and over 130,000 followers on SoundCloud.
In 2020, it was estimated that Alec’s Net Worth was $750,000.
He admits that he is camera-shy, and he is quite secretive about his personal life.
As for Alec and pets, in March 2019, Alec posted to his Twitter that he couldn’t get a dog so he would get a goldfish instead. We’re not sure if he ever got a goldfish, but he eventually caved and got a dog, which he named Zoe.
Alec is 5 foot 11 inches (180 cm) in height.
Alec Benjamin’s story of trials and tribulations inspires anyone who wants to pursue a career as a musician.
He has shown that with persistence and time if you have a passion for something, you can make your dreams come true!
