View source for Gregg Alexander

{{short description|American singer-songwriter and producer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{distinguish|text=the rugby league player [[Greg Alexander]]}}
{{Infobox musical artist  <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name             = Gregg Alexander
| image            =
| caption          =
| background       = solo_singer
| alias            = {{ublist|Alex Ander|Cessyl Orchestra}}
| birth_name       = Gregory Aiuto
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1970|5|4}}<ref name="AMG"/>
| origin           = [[Grosse Pointe]], [[Michigan]], U.S.<ref name="AMG"/>
| instrument       = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar|keyboards|drums|bass}}
| genre            = {{hlist|[[Alternative rock]]|[[power pop]]}}
| occupation       = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter|producer|musician}}
| years_active     = 1989–present
| label            = {{hlist|[[A&M Records|A&M]]|[[Epic Records|Epic]]|[[MCA Records|MCA]]|[[EMI]]|[[Warner Chappell Music|Warner Chappell]]}}
| past_member_of   = [[New Radicals]]
}}

'''Gregg Alexander''' (born '''Gregory Aiuto'''; May 4, 1970)<ref name="AMG">{{cite web|author=Andrew Leahey |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/gregg-alexander-mn0000195040/biography |title=Gregg Alexander &#124; Biography |publisher=AllMusic |date=May 4, 1970 |access-date=May 9, 2014}}</ref> is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist for the alternative rock band [[New Radicals]]. 

After the release of their only album, ''[[Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too]]'' (1998), the group disbanded and Alexander shifted focus onto production and songwriting work for other artists. Since then, he has been credited on the singles "[[Life Is a Rollercoaster]]" and "[[Lovin' Each Day]]" by [[Ronan Keating]], "[[Inner Smile]]" by [[Texas (band)|Texas]], "[[Murder on the Dancefloor]]" and "[[Mixed Up World]]" by [[Sophie Ellis-Bextor]], all of which were commercial successes in the early 2000s.

Alexander won a [[Grammy Award]] for his contributions to the 2003 single "[[The Game of Love (Santana song)|The Game of Love]]" by [[Santana (band)|Santana]].<ref name="AMG"/> He also co-wrote songs for the film ''[[Begin Again (film)|Begin Again]]'', including "[[Lost Stars]]", which was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]].

==Early life==
Born in [[Grosse Pointe, Michigan|Grosse Pointe]], [[Michigan]],<ref name="AMG"/> Alexander was raised in a conservative [[Jehovah's Witnesses|Jehovah's Witness]] household. He received his first guitar at age 12 and taught himself to play several instruments. He and his sister, Caroline, played piano and Gregg composed songs. 

==Career==
===Early career===

At age 14, he joined a band, The Circus, with his older brother, Stephen Aiuto, and classmates George Snow and John Mabarak. In 1984, they played their high school's [[battle of the bands]], a competition that also included John Lowery (later known as [[John 5 (guitarist)|John 5]]). At age 16, Alexander signed his first recording contract with [[A&M Records]] after playing his demo tapes for producer [[Rick Nowels]]. He released his debut album, ''[[Michigan Rain]]'', in 1989 at age 19, to little notice. In 1992, he signed to [[Epic Records]] and released ''[[Intoxifornication]]'', consisting largely of re-released songs from ''Michigan Rain'', and was again ignored.

===New Radicals (1997–1999)===
{{Main|New Radicals}}
In 1997, Alexander formed [[New Radicals]], a revolving-door band with no permanent members other than Alexander and his long-term collaborator [[Danielle Brisebois]]. In October 1998, they released the album ''[[Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too]]'', which sold more than one million copies. The single "[[You Get What You Give (song)|You Get What You Give]]" was released that autumn and was an international hit.<ref name="AMG"/> It was not long after New Radicals' success that Alexander became tired of the constant media attention and an exhausting touring schedule. In July 1999, "[[Someday We'll Know]]" was announced as the band's second single; several days later, Alexander announced he was disbanding New Radicals to focus on production work.<ref name="AMG"/> On January 20, 2021, New Radicals reunited for a one-off performance of "You Get What You Give" on [[inauguration day]] for [[President Joe Biden]]. Used as a rally song at Biden campaign events, the song was a favorite of Joe's son [[Beau Biden]], who died in 2015. The song's lyrics were recited by his sister [[Ashley Biden|Ashley]] during the eulogy at his funeral. 

The band had rejected offers to perform over the preceding 22 years, but wanted to honor this day and honor Beau, a military veteran. Prior to their performance on inauguration day, Alexander said: "We pledged if Joe [Biden] won, we'd get together and play our little song both in memory and in honor of our new president's patriot son Beau and also with the prayer of Joe being able to bring our country together again with compassion, honesty and justice for a change."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Exclusive: Watch the Complete New Radicals 'You Get What You Give' Inauguration Performance|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/new-radicals-you-get-what-you-give-inauguration-1116957/|website=rollingstone.com|date=January 20, 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

===Songwriting and production (1999–present)===
[[File:Glasto2023 (6 of 468) (53009112304).jpg|thumb|right|Alexander's song "[[Inner Smile]]" was a commercial success for Scottish band [[Texas (band)|Texas]] (pictured) in 2023]] 
Since the summer of 1999, Alexander has written and produced hit songs for several artists, including Brisebois, [[Enrique Iglesias]], [[Texas (band)|Texas]], [[Geri Halliwell]], [[S Club 7]], [[Melanie C]], [[Rod Stewart]], [[Hanson (band)|Hanson]], [[Sophie Ellis-Bextor]], [[Mónica Naranjo]], and [[Ronan Keating]] (he co-produced and co-wrote the album ''[[Destination (Ronan Keating album)|Destination]]'').<ref name="AMG"/> Alexander's composition "[[The Game of Love (Santana song)|The Game of Love]]", recorded by [[Carlos Santana|Santana]] and [[Michelle Branch]], earned him a [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals|Best Pop Collaboration]] prize at the [[45th Annual Grammy Awards]].<ref name="AMG"/> [[AllMusic]]'s [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] described Alexander as "the catchiest, smartest professional mainstream pop songwriter of the early 2000s."<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r635500/review|pure_url=yes}}|work=Allmusic|title=Reason Review|access-date=October 19, 2006}}</ref>

In 2003, he wrote four songs on Iglesias' album ''[[7 (Enrique Iglesias album)|7]]'', under the pseudonym Alex Ander.<ref>{{cite web|author=John Bush |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/7-mw0000322710 |title=7 – Enrique Iglesias &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |publisher=AllMusic |date=November 25, 2003 |access-date=May 9, 2014}}</ref> In 2004, a new Alexander track, "A Love Like That," was released, uncredited, on the Internet. It was suspected to be a New Radicals outtake, as some of the lyrics appeared in the booklet accompanying ''Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reissue Theory: New Radicals, "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too" - The Second Disc |url=https://theseconddisc.com/2010/10/28/reissue-theory-new-radicals-maybe-youve-been-brainwashed-too/ |website=theseconddisc.com |access-date=4 August 2024 |date=28 October 2010}}</ref> Also in 2004, Hanson released "[[Lost Without Each Other]]," co-written by Alexander, on their album ''[[Underneath (Hanson album)|Underneath]].''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hanson.net/news/lost-without-each-other-australian-release|title=Lost Without Each Other Australian release - HANSON.NET|website=hanson.net|language=en|access-date=February 11, 2019}}</ref> "Why Can't We Make Things Work", written by Alexander (and [[Rick Nowels]]), was released by ''[[Any Dream Will Do (TV series)|Any Dream Will Do]]'' winner [[Lee Mead]] on his self-titled album in November 2007. In 2010, [[Boyzone]] released the single "[[Love Is a Hurricane]],"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boyzone.net/2010/04/new-boyzone-single/ |title=Boyzone - Official Web Portal – Official Boyzone Network |access-date=June 6, 2010|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222131926/http://boyzonenetwork.com/ |archive-date=February 22, 2012  }}</ref> written by Alexander and Brisebois.

Alexander co-wrote and co-produced the music for the musical romance film ''[[Begin Again (film)|Begin Again]]'', along with his longtime collaborators Brisebois and Nowels, as well as [[Nick Lashley]]. Their song "[[Lost Stars]]" was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]] at the [[87th Academy Awards|2015 Academy Awards]]. On the soundtrack album, Alexander, Brisebois, Nowels and Lashley are credited under the name Cessyl Orchestra.

On November 4, 2014, Alexander appeared and performed publicly for the first time in 15 years at the [[Hollywood Music in Media Awards]], singing "Lost Stars."<ref>Scott Feinberg: [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/hollywood-music-media-awards-gregg-746553 "Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Gregg Alexander Performs, Glen Campbell Feted"] ''The Hollywood Reporter'', November 5, 2014</ref> Since 2018, Alexander has been involved in writing sessions with [[Phil Thornalley]] and his 1970's singer-songwriter inspired music project, ''Astral Drive''. Two songs co-written by Alexander have been released: "Take Back the World" and "This Is the Place". Alexander assisted with production of [[The Struts]]' album ''[[Everybody Wants]]'' and co-wrote two songs: "The Ol' Switcheroo" and "Put Your Money on Me."<ref>{{cite web |title=Producer Mix: Gregg Alexander |url=https://tidal.com/browse/mix/006b1508f25e7a4936efce39f46c0c |website=Music on TIDAL |access-date=4 August 2024}}</ref> He also co-wrote and provided backup vocals for [[Spencer Ludwig]]'s 2016 single, "Right Into U"; and co-wrote (with Lashley and Nowels) the [[Kaiser Chiefs]]' 2019 song "The Only Ones".

In January 2024, Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "[[Murder on the Dancefloor]]", co-written by Alexander, became a viral hit due to its appearance in the film ''[[Saltburn (film)|Saltburn]]''. The resurgence of the song also carried over to social network [[TikTok]], which expanded the song's popularity. It rocketed back up to #2 on the UK Singles chart, and reached #51 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100]] singles chart.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Zellner |first1=Xander |title=Hot 100 First-Timers: Sophie Ellis-Bextor Debuts With 'Murder on the Dancefloor' Thanks to 'Saltburn' |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/sophie-ellis-bextor-hot-100-debut-murder-on-the-dancefloor-saltburn-1235578361/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=4 August 2024 |date=9 January 2024}}</ref> This became the biggest hit for Alexander's career since "The Game of Love" in 2003.

==Discography==
{{For|releases with the New Radicals|New Radicals#Discography}}

===Albums===
* ''[[Michigan Rain]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Intoxifornication]]'' (1992)

===Singles===
* "In the Neighborhood" (1989)
* "Smokin' in Bed" (1992)
* "The Truth" (1992)

===Others===
* "Promise Tomorrow Tonight" (1994, [[duet]] with [[Danielle Brisebois]] on her album ''[[Arrive All over You]]'')
* "A Love Like That" (2003, digital download)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{New Radicals}}
{{Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Song in a Feature Film}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Gregg}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Record producers from Michigan]]
[[Category:People from Grosse Pointe, Michigan]]
[[Category:Former Jehovah's Witnesses]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Michigan]]