Alex Blue is a figure that I wished I could have looked up to when I was growing up. When I was growing up, I never really saw anyone who looked like me in the media. As a Jewish Latina myself, I see her as a role model who creates music and lives the dream of the blonde hair and blue eyed main characters from the early 2000’s movies. Seeing her as a role model reminds me that I should be proud of my identity and not let anyone determine who I am.
In this interview, we focus on Alex’s music and her journey as a bisexual Jewish Latina singer. She talks about her journey with music and Judaism and also her upcoming EP with Rita Wilson called “Good Company” that will be released on August 28. If you are looking for a new artist to listen to, Alex Blue has amazing music! (This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity).
You can follow Alex Blue on Instagram, Twitter @imalexbluenow, and Facebook @imalexbluenow.
SL: May you talk about your journey with Judaism?
AB: I am fifty-percent Ashkenazi ethnically, but I did not grow up in a Jewish space. I grew up Evangelical from my dad’s side. A few years ago, I started looking into my past and was looking for connection. I looked into my ancestry and family member and recognized my Jewish roots. My wife and I went to “Intro into Judaism” classes in Nashville and it was a new space for me as I was scared to talk about my Judaism in a Christian household. I converted a year ago and am active in a temple in Nashville.
SL: Where did you grow up?
AB: Aurora, Colorado. A very conservative town.
SL: How did you feel growing up Latina and Jewish?
AB: I am starting to accept both my Hispanic and Jewish identity. I never felt “American white”, and I would see my Hispanic relatives on Facebook and my Jewish relatives on the Fourth of July. People felt like I looked “interesting” and different. When I was growing up, I would only see blonde hair blue eyed girls on television, I never had a Lizzy McGuire figure to look up to. Overall, I am still figuring out my identity, its complicated but I enjoy exploring. I wish I grew up with more of that culture. It feels like a colorful thing to be Hispanic and Jewish.
SL: When did you start getting into music?
AB: I loved music since I was four years old. I loved ShowTunes and sang with my mom and wrote songs at nine years old. At end of high school, I started making YouTube videos of me singing, then later sang covers for people with a lot of subscribers. During college I went on tour.
SL: How was the tour?
AB: I went as a part of someone’s show. It wasn’t that glamorous. We were in a ten person church van with no air conditioning travelling through North America. I was so young and I felt so lucky. But there are older men who abuse their power in the industry.
SL: How does your identity influence your music?
AB: Everything that is my identity seeps into the art I make. My identity is a part of what I put into the world as a twenty-eight-year-old stepping into the world as a Hispanic Jewish woman. A few years ago before I came out, I told my manager that I wanted to come out and he quitted when I came out as bisexual. Music is a step to becoming more and more myself. Coming out gave me a chance to not censor myself and become more real with myself. I create art that is more of me. I started writing Hebrew songs for the temple and put Jewish prayers into music. One of them is “Love Your God” under Alex G on Spotify before I went through my rebrand.
SL: Could you tell me about your rebrand?
AB: My rebrand started in 2020. I thought Alex G was a name that I did not choose for myself as someone could not pronounce my last name and a girl who makes YouTube. Alex Blue is a name I choose for myself.
SL: What inspired you to create “Yes But not Yet” and “Noise”?
AB: “Yes But not Yet” is a form of therapy; it is a song about my relationship with my wife. “Noise” is a personal video announcement of my rebrand to Alex Blue.
SL: What is your favorite song you created and why?
AB: Every song is transported to a feeling! “Mama” talks about family dynamics and relationship with her mom. I feel proud of when I listen to it once in a while. Song has not been recorded.
SL: What is your goal as an artist?
AB: The more I know about myself, the better art I can make. I want to be in tune with my experience. I try to capture a feeling, a memory, or a hope. I listen to art that I love, and not music that reminds me of a bad experience. People remember themselves and their own life through art.
SL: What is your next project coming up?
AB: My upcoming project is an EP that I made in collaboration with artist Rita Wilson and Darling West called “Good Company”.
SL: What is one piece of advice you would give?
AB: No one can take anything away from you! Your identity is yours and whatever you do with that is your business.
