Alejandro Aranda

Musically, Aranda's early influences included classical music like Beethoven, Bach and Chopin, along with Dead Can Dance, Nine Inch Nails and many other classical and contemporary artists. He continued to seek music of all kinds, having an almost innate love for the field that kept pulling him towards the industry.

He started taking music seriously when he almost injured his hand in a factory working and the sleeve of his shirt was caught in the machine. He said of this incident:

“When I turned 20, I almost lost my hand,” Aranda, now age 25, reveals to Yahoo Entertainment. “I was working at a warehouse and I got my hand stuck in the conveyor belt, and I could've really lost my hand. … It got stuck in between, and then it caught my flannel shirt; I was wearing a long sleeve and it caught. If I wasn't wearing that, it would have basically ran my whole hand through it.”

While Aranda was thankfully able to extricate himself from the machinery without any serious injuries, the situation served as a wake-up call to the young virtuoso and it was then that he decided to pursue music seriously. The incident was referenced in the lyrics of his song "Millennial Love".

He started paying attention to the calling he had.  Of this time, he has also admitted that he was seriously depressed most of his life.  Aranda used the music to deal with his emotions and feelings.  He started playing the piano and picked up guitar around the age of 19 or 20. Busking on the streets of Pomona, CA he got comfortable with being himself in front of people, he also played at Open Mic Nights and backyard concerts, basically wherever he could. Of this time, he said it took him a year to get comfortable with singing and playing in front of people.

Aranda was discovered by Twin Shadow on Instagram after he reached out to Twin Shadow and sent him a clip of music he was working on.  Twin Shadow messaged him back and asked him to come over.  From then on, Twin Shadow believed in him, offering him odd jobs and teaching him music production.  He also helped Aranda by giving him a laptop and everything he needed to produce music.  In 2016, Twin Shadow played a tribute to Prince at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  It was here that Aranda played his first show, playing the piano as people came to the show.  Following that Twin Shadow asked him to go on the road with him as a musician in 2018.   As a keyboardist, guitarist and back up singer, they opened for artists like Beck, played festivals and even made an appearance on the Conan O’Brien Show.

In 2017, Aranda won Artist of the Year with CSUN and Five of Five Entertainment. It was from here that he started gaining traction in the world of music. [2]

He stayed at friends’ houses and played at bars and outside on the street; playing wherever he could.  He was playing at a backyard show in 2018 when an American Idol producer took notice and approached him.  The producer wanted him to go to a private audition for American Idol.  Aranda said of that time that he wanted to just try it and see where it went.  It was during a time he said when “I just wanted to make $20 so I could put it towards my car.”  

Aranda’s American Idol audition in front of the judges was aired on ABC on March 6, 2019.  He spoke openly about the anxiety and panic attacks he had during his experience on American Idol.  He mentioned that he wanted to quit all the time.  He had to get used to being in front of cameras even though cameras scared him. He struggled to play on national television and be 100% himself.  He said the people on the show were amazing and really helped him.

Aranda was the only contestant to play 7 original songs in the show’s history, even though producers encouraged him to play covers.  Aranda said he told the producers, “No, I’m not going to do that.”  When they asked what he was going to play, he told them he would like to play his original songs.  Playing originals is always a risk they said, but Aranda said that he had nothing to lose.  If they “...decided not to air it, I would be fine with it.”  When he presented them his original songs, their reaction was, “These are your songs?”  He replied, “Yes, these are my own songs.”  He eventually advanced to the finale where he performed 4 originals and lost to Laine Hardy.  When asked if he was glad he didn’t win, he said it was a blessing.  “I don’t like playing music in terms of competition.  Music is an outlet tool for me.  I enjoy presenting music and sharing music.  I love music in general.  I am doing it from an honest place.”  [3] 

He received a private audition through someone who attended a backyard concert that he performed, and on April 6, 2019 he auditioned on Season 17 of American Idol in Los Angeles, CA. Alejandro performed two original songs, “Out Loud” and “Cholo Love.” Immediately, the judges were drawn to him. Luke Bryan said, “I just feel like I’m in the presence of greatness.” and “It was like watching my favorite movie that I did not want to end.” Katy Perry said, “Okay Alejandro, I think you're the winner. I think you're really special. I think you're an absolute genius.”[4]

His audition video was released on February 6, 2019, and as of August 22, 2019 it had reached 14 million YouTube views, 8.5 million more than any other Season 17 contestant’s audition.[5] On March 16, 2019, Stevie Nicks wrote (on Instagram) a prophecy saying he will “perform across great stages of the world” and “...let me welcome you to the grand stage that will be your home for the rest of your extraordinary life.”

Unlike other contestants, who typically perform covers of other artists' songs, throughout Aranda's Idol journey, he performed seven different original songs.[6][7] He played 10 years on American Idol in Hollywood Week and also in the finale with an orchestra, making him the only contestant to perform four original songs in the finale of the show. In total, he played seven original songs on the show.

Alejandro Aranda was born on August 11, 1994 in Pomona, California. While he has attested to having two parents as well as sisters, not much is known about his past. In an interview with Launch Left, he talked about his family and the fact that he was not close to them.[23] However, he drew a lot of inspiration from his past to determine the type of person he wanted to be. During the Launch Left interview on January 14, 2020, Aranda did say that while he’s not that close to his family although he does love his family.

He was home-schooled in California.  His social background during that time led him to feeling scared to express himself.  He pushed himself to start speaking out in public.  He has often referred to himself as ‘within’ himself for most of his life, escaping to the library to discover music whenever he could.  He wanted to cultivate his own world view, supporting people, not judging people, not being mean, and using his soul to become the person he wanted to be.  He drew a lot of inspiration from his past to determine the type of person he wanted to be.