Alex Warren Was ‘Terrified to Show People’ the ‘Real’ Him — Now, He’s Ready (Exclusive)

Alex Warren continues to strike a chord.

If you thought you knew the viral content creator-turned-chart-topping musician who first came onto the scene on social media five years ago, think again because the person you hear on stage is “not” who you saw on screen.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Warren — who recently wrapped his global headline You’ll Be Alright, Kid Tour in support of his recently released debut album — opened up about why he’s pursuing a career in music while reflecting on his viral career trajectory that led him here.

“It’s definitely really trippy,” Warren, 24, tells PEOPLE when thinking back about all that he’s accomplished in his life to date, going from being homeless at age 17 and sleeping in friends’ cars to his current rise to stardom as a multi-talented musical artist. “I don’t really look back much,” he admits.

Why? Because the California native says he “still” hasn’t “accomplished” what he envisions for himself. “I think I’ll know where I want to be after a few albums,” he foresees, explaining how his music has always stemmed from his personal life experiences, including loss and love.

“I’m still finding out who I am. I’m 24. I just got married,” he says of tying the knot with his longtime love Kouvr in July. “I want to have kids. I want to write songs about my kids. I want to do all these things,” he shares, noting that the goal has “nothing to do” with “how big of a show” he wants to play.

That, in part, is because the artist considers music “an outlet” to express himself. “It’s always been for me… It’s therapy,” shares Warren, who often pens lyrics to cope with losing both of his parents. “Ever since I turned 12 or 13, I turned towards music to help me with grieving the loss of my dad.”

That’s around the time he wrote “One More I Love You,” which went on to become his debut single released in 2021. “It was just a way for me to feel and still is today,” he says of songwriting. “I think I would be a fully messed-up, different person if I didn’t have an outlet like music.”

The vulnerability and full transparency that is displayed in both Warren’s music — and famously, the unscripted banter he has with fans on stage between songs — is his candid way of effortlessly connecting with his audience in a style that he hasn’t ever done before.

Warren compared his showmanship today to the performance he gave his million-plus following on social media, particularly seen in the videos he’d create as a member of the viral Hype House. The content creation mecca, which later spawned a show on Netflix, allowed creators to film together.

“When I was doing social media, it was almost like I was playing a character. I feel like a lot of what I was doing was kind of not fake, but it was definitely not me,” admits Warren. “And music was the first time that I had ever put out me.”

Warren reveals he was “terrified to show people who I was” at the time by sharing all that he’s “gone through” in life. “I’m okay with them hating a character,” he says of his past self, though adds, “But when I give them all of me and I give them the real me, I’m terrified that people won’t like it.”

He continues, “And when I came out with music, that was the first time I had completely been like, ‘Hey, this is me.’ And people liked it. I didn’t see one hate comment out of millions of people, and that was the first time for me. Really cool.”

Warren left the Hype House in 2022. “It wasn’t leaving the house that drove me to do music. I did music and doing music is what drove me to leave the house,” he makes clear, noting that music was always part of his life but creating comedy videos online “immediately” racked up the views.

“I tried to be a musician for so long but never saw success and the one second I tried to do comedy, it immediately worked for me,” he explains of why he leaned in. “I worked so hard to get to where I was, I was afraid of committing to it because I never wanted to go back to homelessness.”

Warren says his departure from the content house was when he “started really leaning into” his music. “When I left, I realized that there were a lot of things holding me back,” he says. “A lot of people told me I was crazy; and thankfully, I didn’t listen to them because I’m really happy.”

In August 2022, Warren signed with Atlantic Records, where he continues to win over fans with his vulnerable pop melodies and intimate song lyrics combined with his passionate vocals present in his singles and throughout his debut album, You’ll Be Alright, Kid (Chapter 1). 

“Carry You Home,” Warren’s biggest global success to date — boasting over 151M global streams, impacting US Top 40 and Hot AC radio outlets nationwide and charting in over 15 countries on Spotify — is featured on the album, along with his newly released track “Burning Down.”

Warren “channeled” a mix of experiences from the content house and his real home to write the song, which exploded on TikTok with more than 157M views and became his first Billboard Hot 100 hit since its release in September.

The fame and music successes achieved are hard to ignore, but Warren — who says he picked up a guitar for the first time at around age five, “wanted to be a Nickelodeon actor really badly” and aspired to be like the Naked Brothers Band — says he “never thought” he was onto something.

“Truthfully, making music has never really necessarily been like, ‘Oh, I’m going to get famous and rich off of it’,” he says. “I got really lucky off the bat. People liked it,” he says, explaining that he now just looks for ways to “make a song that helps” him and other people.

“I think that was the important thing I was looking for and what I still look for in a new song today,” he says. And despite his decision to share the “real” him through his music, he’s still searching for a bit of himself along the way.

“I couldn’t tell you who I am if you asked,” Warren says, adding, “And I think I will succeed in life when I’m able to tell you exactly who I am when you ask.”