As one of the rising American singer songwriters, Alec Benjamin just released a new single called Jesus in LA on July 16, 2019. Alec Benjamin’s new single Jesus in LA provides an interesting account of the singer recollecting on his disappointment and isolation that he had to face when he had moved to Los Angeles to pursue his music career. The song starts off with a guitar strumming as he starts his recollection of when he “shook the hands with the devil” when he was given false hope of starting up his music career at a young age.
The artist shared his personal experience from leaving home at an early age to start his career. Alec Benjamin had moved to Los Angeles leaving everything behind in his hometown Phoenix.
When they sold you the dream you were just 16//Packed a bag and ran away//And it’s a crying shame you came all this way//’Cause you won’t find Jesus in LA.
Despite his effort to follow his dreams, he was left alone as he was dropped from the label (Columbia Records). Even though the story behind Jesus in LA was considered to be one of the hardest times, the artist keeps an upbeat melody while repeating the lines ‘Cause you won’t find Jesus in LA. Throughout the song, the song is matched with a casual upbeat and the nonchalant voice of Alec Benjamin as he was still searching for hope. As the artist sings:
I’ve been looking for my savior//looking for my truth//I even asked my shrink//He brought me down to his level//Said, ‘Son, you’re not special//You won’t find him where you think.’
The artist’s use of Los Angeles is a symbol of hope and dreams, but he uses the absence of Jesus to imply his journey on realizing how to find happiness, hope, and success.
He sings,
And that is when I knew that it was time to go home//And that is when I realized that I was alone//And all the vibrant colors from the lights fade away//And I don’t care what they say
Los Angeles wasn’t what the artist was looking for in the end. It wasn’t the hope and happiness that he had in mind. The singer was able to recognize that this was not where he wanted to be. In fact, he had already had happiness when he was with the people that he loved (his family and friends). His happiness was already within him, he just never realized this fact. After the release of Jesus in LA, the artist said, “hope and happiness isn’t always where you think you’ll find them.”
After being dropped from his record, the artist continually created demos on his iPhone and uploaded his demos to YouTube, but he wasn’t recognized until 2017 when his song was used during an audition for America’s Got Talent. Since 2018, he signed with Atlantic Records and released his debut single Let Me Down Slowly, which entered into the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified as gold.
Alec Benjamin had began as an “isolated, lonely artist” that had just dropped out of college and struggling to make a living through gigs to selling out tours in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Europe, and the United States.
After his successful debut single, Alec Benjamin have been releasing numerous singles to share his story. Benjamin shared that he is just a narrator rather than a singer songwriter. His lyrics allow all listeners to illustrate images and create nostalgic memories, creating a relatable story for everyone.
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