Alexander 23 Talks About Not Being Good Enough in His New Song, “Mars”

The first time I heard Alexander 23’s songs was at Alec Benjamin’s concert. At the time, nobody knew who this ambitious 23-year old was. But after Alec Benjamin’s tour, Alexander 23 became a fan favourite. His emotional experimental song, “Dirty AF1s” had a completely different style from mainstream pop and his iconic voice caught many people’s attention.

In “Mars”, he talks about how he tried to give a girl the world but she “wanted Mars too”. The song opens with a classic plucked synth that sounds like a filtered 80s electric piano and pitch-shifted vocals hinting at the melody of the verse to come. This technique is used by many artists now to create layers using just the vocals. Particularly, artists such as Billie Eilish use this to create very thick harmonic textures.

When he starts the verse, a simple R&B beat kicks in. The beat is very much driven by the sixteenth-note cymbal figure. This gives the song a very chill vibe which suits the lyrics of the song.

“You don’t love me/You just love when other people say/ “Oh my god, they’re cute together.” This is such an honest and relatable statement. With everyone now using social media to show off their relationship status, it seems like fewer people are dating for love, but rather dating to date.

The more I listen to “Mars”, the more I fall in love with it. It’s an ‘easy listen’ at first but the more you read into the lyrics, the more painful and relatable it becomes.

Watch the lyric video for Alexander 23’s “Mars” here: