Alex Warren Reflects on Life Before 'Ordinary' Fame as a ‘Chubby White Kid’ Who ‘Wasn’t the Best Singer in My Class’
- - Alex Warren Reflects on Life Before 'Ordinary' Fame as a ‘Chubby White Kid’ Who ‘Wasn’t the Best Singer in My Class’
Jack IrvinJanuary 5, 2026 at 9:44 PM
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Alex Warren on 'CBS Mornings' -
Alex Warren is opening up about his pre-fame life and early struggles
A preview of his upcoming interview with CBS Mornings aired on Monday, Jan. 5
Warren is nominated for Best New Artist at the upcoming 2026 Grammy Awards
How did Alex Warren's life look before fame?
In a preview of an upcoming interview with Natalie Morales on CBS Mornings, the "Ordinary" singer-songwriter, 25, opened up about his pre-fame life and early struggles ahead of next month's 2026 Grammy Awards, where he's nominated for Best New Artist.
"My entire life, I wasn’t the best singer in my class. I wasn’t amazing," admitted Warren, who first gained traction online as a member of the Hype House collective on TikTok before releasing his first song in 2021. "My choir teacher did not believe in me, to say the least."
Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Alex Warren in December 2025
The chart-topping artist continued, "I don’t have that stereotypical voice, I feel like. I put a lot of emotion into things, I have a raspy voice."
During his adolescence, Warren didn't feel as though he had "the voice that people liked."
"They liked the Justin Bieber, writing songs about girls, good-looking dude," he explained. "And I was a chubby white kid who was more red than anything."
Earning recognition felt "very validating" for Warren, whose full CBS Mornings interview comes out Jan. 26 as part of CBS’s Road to the Grammys coverage. "I think I’ve worked really hard to become who I am today and that was one of those moments I kind of got to look up in the sky and be pretty stoked," he told the program.
Since launching into music, Warren has charted five songs on the Billboard Hot 100: "Burning Down," "Bloodline" with Jelly Roll, "On My Mind" with Rosé, "Eternity" and "Ordinary," which peaked at No. 1.
He's nominated for Best New Artist at the upcoming 2026 Grammy Awards against Olivia Dean, KATSEYE, The Marías, Addison Rae, Sombr, Leon Thomas and Lola Young.
Anthony Devlin/Getty
Alex Warren in November 2025
Upon learning about the nomination, Warren — who's married to wife Kouvr Annon — said he "bawled in my wife’s arms" in an interview with the .
Reflecting on his past as a social media star, the performer added, "Everything that I went through back then definitely allowed me to do this."
The 2026 Grammy Awards air live from Los Angeles on Feb. 1.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
