ALEX KO BRINGS BACK MILLENNIAL POP WITH HIS SINGLE 'BROKEN-HEARTED CLUB', OUT TODAY

WORDS RACHEL EDWARDS - PHOTOGRAPHY VICKAR ADAM

Considering his feet barely touched the ground when he was playing the lead of the West End's Thriller Live, R&B artist Alex Ko is surprisingly grounded. The Manchester-born singer, dancer, and all-round performer has already lit up global stages, and he continues to prove that his talents are endless (we get it, give the rest of us a chance!) with his brand new single Broken-Hearted Club, out today.

The song has all the best components of a heartbreak Millennial pop song. “It’s about choosing joy, even when you’re hurting,” Alex explains. “We all need that space to dance our pain away sometimes.” Alex is no stranger to struggle, as he recalls how difficult it was to navigate an industry where Asian performers are underrepresented. Rather than allowing this to hold him back, however, he has continued to carve his own path, ultimately becoming the representation that he needed to see when he was growing up.

An extension of his EP Sentiments, 'Broken-Hearted Club' sees Alex tap into his more playful side. It’s a reminder that emotional pop doesn’t have to be heavy to pack a punch. We spoke to Alex about heartbreak, success and how to navigate the ever changing landscape as an artist today.

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Rachel Edwards: Hi Alex! I can see that you're sitting beside a sign saying ‘my favourite sandwich’. So it seems fitting that I ask, what is your favourite sandwich?

Alex Ko: My favourite sandwich has to be Matthew McConaughey’s TikTok viral tuna mix right now! I'd never have thought to add apple and celery and a little bit of wasabi... I love it, to the extent where my friends saw me a couple of days ago and were like "are you eating a lot of bread...?".

RE: (Laughs) Rude! So anyway, so tell me about Broken-Hearted Club.

AK: It's an extension of my EP Sentiments which was released in January. I wanted to progress the energy a little bit. Sentiments is a lot more subdued. It's laid back, it's lo-fi, and I wanted to do something for summertime that reflects how I'm feeling right now. At the moment I'm listening to Feedback by Janet Jackson. Nearly every single day I'm listening to something that's got that heavier beat so I wanted to make something with a bit of a rush to it.

RE: Would you say you are a romantic?

AK: Definitely a romantic. A little bit excessive sometimes with how romantic - and expensive - the romance can get.

RE: Are you the grand gestures type?

AK: Always. It was my boyfriend's birthday four days ago and instead of buying clothes, I was pricing up a New Year's trip to Sri Lanka. I had to say to myself "You're about to release music, what are you doing? Stop it!". So I did buy clothes instead.

RE: What is your tip for surviving heartbreak?

AK: Learn from your past mistakes and don't jump back to the same old habits. Something that I've learned is that you might say to your friends "Oh I wouldn't do that, I wouldn't put up with that" but the moment that you're in it it's completely different. Now I've been in a relationship for nearly four years and I'm happier than ever, we've never even had one fight - and it's not boring either. It's the fact that I chose to listen to my own advice that I give other people. You often leave something and end up finding someone else that fits the same mould. This time I literally just chose a different mould. I chose a different type of person and it worked out well.

RE: Are you good at not stalking exes or when you break up?

AK: I'm an Aquarius so if you annoy me I'm good at being stubborn and not talking to you. But sometimes I'll check what they're up to... I'm very good at forgiveness. One of my best friends is my ex from when I was 15. I can see with exes that at the time they weren't right for me but that doesn't mean that they're not good people.

RE: You've got a very mature outlook on love I'd say. So growing up did you know you wanted to work in music?

AK: I think it was something that I knew the moment I was spat out! I've loved music since I was jumping in the bouncy chair to Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson. My family's very musical. They're not into music in the sense of performance, but I was raised in a very eclectic family. So my sister loved her Limp Bizkit and Nirvana, my mum loved Nina Simone, Nat King Cole and my dad loved Celine Dion and The Bangles... And I loved Steps and Vengaboys. It all just mixed. We expressed our emotions through music.

RE: There is the millennial pop feel to your music. What is your favourite millennial song?

AK:  I don't think it's classed as millennial but Janet Jackson's song Again  has always been a song that I've gravitated to because it's sweet. It's very poignant. That's how I like to write my music as well. My EP Sentiments is very poetic, I talk about things with a sense of maturity. It doesn't beat around the bush.

RE: And speaking of Janet Jackson, you were in the West End's Thriller! Can you moonwalk?

AK: Yes, I'm always talking about a Jackson! I can't moonwalk but I can do the Beat it dance.

RE: That's amazing. I watched that music video really recently, it's insane. Do you feel like you've moved away from theatre and West End now or would you like to still do that alongside your solo project?

AK: Well over the last five years I've 100% lent into being an artist. It's something that I always wanted to do. Working on the West End was a whirlwind experience and I was so grateful to be a part of it but it fell into my lap. It's not something that I trained for, I always trained to be a session musician. Thriller fell into my lap because someone handed me a cutout from a newspaper! I wouldn't say no to going back into West End but it would have to be the right fit. I'm an artist first and I have to find projects that make sense and don't separate me from that.

RE: What do you think is one thing in life that shaped you to be who you are today?

AK: I think my struggles have shaped me. I think the way that people have treated me or discounted me or disregarded me. I've had a lot of that throughout my life, especially because of how I look. Imagine the amount of times I've walked into a building to sing R&B soul music with other musicians singing the same, but no one else is Asian. I felt like I've had to prove myself ten times harder, and I did. That's what gave me my bite.

RE: Have you had Asian fans saying that you've inspired them as well?

AK: Yeah, you know what, no one's asked me that question before, so I've never had to think about it. But I remember when I was on West End, it brought me to tears, because I came out of the theatre and I did some meet and greets. People had flown over from Japan and Korea and they were just like "how did you do it? How have you got there?". It was such an inspiration for them because there were no other opportunities for them. When I came out of West End, a very successful choreographer told me that I'd be wasting time there because there aren't West End opportunities for Asian people.

RE: It's true, you need someone to show you that it's possible and to inspire you for you to see it in yourself. It's so fulfilling to come face to face with people you have inspired. What do you think the best thing about being a musician is right now?

AK: I think accessibility is an amazing thing for musicians now. For an artist who was born in 1991 and loved the mystique of the superstar, it's a little bit shocking because I still want the mystique. I want that air of superstardom where you don't know who they, where they are, what they're doing. Nowadays it's not the case unless you're Beyonce. You have to always be present and there's a pressure to be constantly uploading content and telling people your sob stories. I find that difficult, but also I find it lovely because there are so many people like myself who actually have been given a voice and who wouldn't have been given a voice back in the day.

RE: And what would you say the worst thing about being a musician now is?

AK: Saturation. I think everything's so easy and attainable to create, so the market's so saturated. The music industry has always been about numbers and popularity, but more than ever now, it's more about social popularity rather than talent. Before, you would be pushed on certain platforms like radio and television but now you have to come with the viewers and the following already in place. You are the record label, you are the manager, you are the marketing, and it's such a difficult ask for many artists, including myself, to sit there and go up against people who have that viral following. Those followers most likely won't generate into real fans or fans that will go to their concerts. But labels see the numbers and are instantly sold.

RE: What's success to you?

AK: Success to me is setting a goal and achieving it. In past years I was in a state where I was chasing the dream and I wanted to be filling out stadiums. I'll never say no to that but I think as time has gone on and in order to protect my mental state and keep me going, I had to change my mindset to survive, because realistically being famous and filling out all of these stadiums takes a long time. It's not an overnight thing unless you're extremely lucky. Right now, releasing this song on the 4th of July is a massive success. I set out a goal, I wanted to release something for summer, and here I am doing it.

RE: Yes, it's so important to celebrate every step! Lastly, what is your favourite F-Word?

AK: Fanny!