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\n \t\t\t\t\tJoe Jonas Dressed Up in Drag on TikTok and Fans Are Losing\u00a0It\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n
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\n\tEven before the Hype House disbanded the same year, Warren had already begun to pivot into a music career, a passion of his since he began playing guitar as a child. He released his aching, guitar-driven debut single, \u201cOne More I Love You\u201d as an independent artist in June 2021, and the track quickly drew a following on streaming platforms. With a manager already in tow \u2014 Odd Projects\u2019 Brian Sokolik, whom he first met four years ago through a former agent \u2014 the two began to field major label offers. Warren signed with Atlantic Records in 2022.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe were looking for a label that really understood Alex as a person and would teach him what works best,\u201d Sokolik recalls. \u201cOur first meeting with Atlantic, it was pretty obvious that it was home. They came in and were brutally honest about what was good and what wasn\u2019t, but in a really productive, constructive way.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\tIn the months that followed, Warren\u2019s life, both professionally and personally, continued to accelerate: he dropped his first single under Atlantic, \u201cHeadlights,\u201d in August 2022, and followed it with \u201cChasing Shadows\u201d that December. He then kicked off 2023 by proposing to Annon before embarking on his first headlining tour. He continued releasing more singles through last year all while maintaining his content creation career, pumping out daily TikTok videos and Instagram Reels.<\/p>\n
\n\tOver time, Warren has become more comfortable with his music reflecting his challenging upbringing. His father passed away when he was nine years old, after which he lived with his mother, who struggled with alcoholism and died in 2021. She kicked Warren out of the house just after he turned 18, and he spent the next five months homeless. Reflecting today, he\u2019s grateful to be able to channel such painful experiences into his music.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI recently started doing this thing where I write about those [experiences], and I try to take control in a way,\u201d he says. \u201cFor me, something really beautiful is taking something so sad and dark, and what most would view as something that ruined their life, and turn it into something that can help people.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Alex Warren photographed December\u00a019, 2024, in Los Angeles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\tLast May, during a set of studio sessions in Los Angeles, Warren felt particularly inspired by such memories, and began to write with collaborators Adam Yaron, Cal Shapiro and Mags Duval. The result was \u201cBurning Down,\u201d which came together in just a day, among other tracks over the course of the productive week.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve always let people walk all over me, and \u2018Burning Down\u2019 was a song I always wanted to write, but never had the balls to do it,\u201d he says of his biggest hit to date, released on Sept. 20, one week ahead of his debut album, You\u2019ll Be Alright, Kid (Chapter 1)<\/em>. Warren\u2019s deep, husky voice frees himself from the blame of an unhealthy relationship over a stomping piano beat.<\/p>\n\n\tHe put his social media savvy to good use to bolster the song\u2019s hype leading up to its release, posting a number of videos to his 16 million TikTok followers lip synching to the song with Annon. From Warren\u2019s perspective, there\u2019s no gimmick in getting his followers \u2014 whom he affectionately calls his \u201cfriends\u201d \u2014 to listen to his music. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe drawback for a lot of musicians is that they don\u2019t necessarily understand social media,\u201d he says. \u201cIn my career, I have been so open with my friends who follow me. They know everything about me and we\u2019re so connected and I love that. I\u2019m thinking of these people while I\u2019m writing these songs, because I\u2019m thinking about what I would want to hear if I was still going through that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHe knows what his fans want and will respond well to,\u201d Sokolik adds. \u201cAlex will tell me, \u2018I have an idea for a video. I\u2019m going to tease this and see how people respond to it.\u2019 If they respond the same way we are, then full steam ahead \u2014 and that\u2019s exactly what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Joe-Jonas-new-years-eve-show-24-25-billboard-1548.jpg?w=237&h=147&crop=1\")
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