Alexander 23 functions as a pop producer while crafting his own understated, romance-focused material. He surfaced during 2019 through a hybrid approach that blended dejected underachiever energy with light, digitally assembled pop on the track “Dirty AF1s.” Even as streams accumulated for pieces such as “IDK You Yet” and the Selena Gomez duet “Rare,” the performer kept his name hidden until it emerged that Illinois native Alexander Glantz stood behind the project. His next EP, Oh No, Not Again!, arrived in 2021. During the same period he expanded his reach by co-producing Olivia Rodrigo’s number-one Hot 100 single “Good 4 U,” taken from the Grammy-winning album Sour. Subsequent live dates alongside John Mayer and Tate McCrae paved the way for his first full-length effort, the 2022 Interscope album Aftershock, which Dan Nigro produced. Additional singles followed, among them 2023’s “How to Drive” and 2024’s “On My Mind” with Cory Wong.
Glantz grew up in Deerfield, Illinois, outside Chicago. During high school he acquired several instruments on his own and later left a Pennsylvania college to focus on music. After spending multiple years producing and writing songs in Los Angeles, he initiated his solo career in 2019. At the outset he withheld his identity, using the social-media banner “Who is this?” before issuing his Interscope debut single in March of that year. Following “Dirty AF1s,” he joined Alec Benjamin on a U.S. tour and performed at Lollapalooza in August. His first EP, I’m Sorry I Love You, appeared that October.
Throughout 2020 he put out “IDK You Yet,” “Loving You Gets Hard,” “Brainstorm,” and the Selena Gomez collaboration “Rare,” several of which later surfaced on the 2021 EP Oh No, Not Again!. He also co-produced Olivia Rodrigo’s Hot 100 chart-topper “Good 4 U” from the Grammy-winning album Sour. In April 2022 Glantz resumed solo activity with the jangly breakup track “Crash.” That year he also supported John Mayer and Tate McCrae on the road. June brought “Somebody’s Nobody,” the lead single from his debut studio album Aftershock, which Dan Nigro produced and which carried co-writing contributions from Olivia Rodrigo, Amy Allen, and Jeremy Zucker. The record reached stores in July 2022; touring included a headlining run, support dates with girl in red, and festival sets at Lollapalooza and Firefly. He joined Kenny Beats on the song “ill” and teamed with Laufey for the holiday track “Ain’t Christmas.” The solo singles “How to Drive” and “I Wanna Live Forever” surfaced in 2023, while “On My Mind,” featuring Minneapolis artist Cory Wong, appeared in early 2024.
