Alex Warren has credited Lewis Capaldi with giving him “an outlet in music”.
The 25-year-old musician has heaped praise on his fellow singer songwriter for being an inspiration to open op about his own experiences with loss in his lyrics.
He’s quoted by the Daily Star newspaper’s Wired column as saying: “I wanted an outlet in music.
“I didn’t see it until I heard Lewis Capaldi when I was 18, and he started writing about loss.
“That got me through a lot of stuff. I wanted to be that for someone else. I wanted to help other music.”
The former TikTok star – who rose to fame with worldwide hit single Ordinary – admitted he felt like he was the “only one” to have his feelings of grief, including the loss of both his parents at a young age.
Alex was just nine years old when his father died of kidney cancer, while his mother passed away from liver and renal failure in 2021.
He explained: “I assumed that this only happens to me. And I’m the only one who has lost his parents, and I’m the only one who goes through these feelings.”
Through playing gigs and writing songs, Alex discovered that people experience loss “way more than you think”.
He added: “You understand that you have things that you lose every day. Your family members, your friends, your loved ones, your dog.
“And that’s the one thing that’s universally connecting everyone – understanding that piece of you is gone. And everyone tries not to talk about it.
“You can’t articulate when you lose someone and going through grief. Making music – that allows you to articulate that feeling.”
Alex previously explained how his own music helps him preserve memories of his parents.
He told PEOPLE magazine: “The coolest thing that I’ve been able to do is keep my parents alive in some ways, whether it’s the music or the shows, and never not talking about them.
“Some people view that as a bad thing, but I love to keep them alive with my silly little jokes and my silly little songs.”