[Alexander James Rodriguez](https://www.instagram.com/iamajrodriguez) is only 14 years old and has already achieved what most people can only wish to in their lifetime. Born in Spain, raised in Britain, but now calling sunny Los Angeles home, the actor, recording artist, and now host of his own talk show is the definition of a multi-hyphenate, someone who’s passionate about every endeavor that comes his way.
At the top of the new year, Alexander will be launching his family fun talk show, The ALEXANDER Show, paying tribute to his biggest influences such as Graham Norton and James Corden, reeling in a melting pot of teenage guests from actors and singers to authors and social media influencers — any rising star who’s making a positive impact in the world today.
Alexander’s most recent movie, _Replica_, sees him stepping outside his comfort zone, learning fight choreography and stunt coordination. He’s also thrilled to announce the animated television series _Bee and Puppycat_ will be streaming on Netflix, as he’s starred as the voice of Cardamon since he was 7 years old.
On the music tip, Alexander just released his critically-acclaimed new single and visual for “Cherry Bomb,” which even got playlisted on [**Justin Bieber's Spotify Playlist**](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7hPB7pa0fRo7iySIYoBchs?si=38733e9de8024ad5). Additionally, he’s super excited to be dropping his newest single “Alright,” showcasing his growth and evolution while bringing back that funky pop vibe that’s prominent in Britain.
Flaunt caught up with Alexander via Zoom, who was enjoying the holidays in his Los Angeles home. Read below as we discuss his background, biggest influences, his sound, inspiration behind “Cherry Bomb,” catching the attention of Bieber, new single “Alright,” shooting _Replica_, launching his own talk show, _Bee and Puppycat_ being his first big break, his new Christmas song and giving back, goals, and more!
**Talk about your roots and where you’re from.**
I was born in Marbella in Spain. Half of my family is from England, and the other half is from Spain. Most of my immediate family live in England though, but I still have a lot in Spain dotted around Madrid and Murcia. I moved to Los Angeles when I was 4. We frequently travel back and forth between England and America for work and to visit family and friends.
**Who are your biggest influences?**
I’d say my mom is my biggest influence. She’s the one who has kept me going and motivated, at the same time as myself. Recently through music and the genre of music I’d say, Harry Styles is a big influence for me. People like One Direction, Niall Horan, and BTS are definitely the vibe that we’ve moved into with my music.
**How would you describe your sound?**
When I first progressed into music, I was still trying to find my place and sound. As time has moved on, I have gone from very bright bubblegum pop to me evolving into more of a Bruno Mars, BTS, British pop sound. Which is how I would [describe “Alright”](https://ffm.to/alright007) that is releasing January 14. But in the beginning, and certainly with my song “Cherry Bomb,” it has been more high energy pop. I have grown as an artist, and person, so this new year listeners will hear a more pop funk vibe with lyrics that reflect that growth.
**Who or what inspired “Cherry Bomb”?**
“Cherry Bomb” was inspired by quite simply, food. We listen to charting music from the likes of Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, and BTS and wanted to create a song that would be fun yet have some cool bass added as well. The concept behind “Cherry Bomb,” was literally me eating strawberries because that’s my favorite fruit. It is hard to rhyme with strawberries, so the lyrics moved to more berries, then cherries. From there came “Cherry Bomb.” We came up with the idea of a girl being the cherry bomb, someone that is drop dead gorgeous and yet both sweet and sour – basically the full package.
**Whose idea was it to shoot the music video at a diner?**
We wanted to originally shoot the music video at a High School, but because of COVID restrictions, we couldn’t really do that. We began scrolling and scouting locations until we found the classic American diner. We thought it was simple yet incredible, and with some fresh fruits and cakes to dress the place, costumes to pop too, we could really liven it up. We thought about the colors a lot actually, the vibrancy, and the neon, all of the cakes and candies were selected specifically to match and ultimately really lift the music video and of course song. The concept was fun, vibrant, mainstream pop.
**Best memory from shooting?**
Aside from the dance rehearsals with British choreographer Marvin Brown, probably eating the cakes after the shoot. \[laughs\] I didn’t enjoy smelling them at the beginning of the shoot, because I had to make my way through the entire 4-hour shoot inhaling all those smells, before I could eat any of the Bundt cakes, cupcakes, candies, and everything. At the end of the shoot, we shared out all of the cakes and fruits and chowed down, which was nice.
**How’d it feel to have your song on** [**Justin Bieber's Spotify Playlist**](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7hPB7pa0fRo7iySIYoBchs?si=38733e9de8024ad5)**?**
The second I heard about it; I was shocked and very happy. It’s still there, which is incredible, so Justin Bieber definitely knows it’s there, and has heard “Cherry Bomb”. It wasn’t a mistake, which I’m super happy about. \[laughs\] It’s been on there since the songs release. I guess you can say I was very much speechless and still am. I love that he is so supportive of upcoming artists. I think it’s important we all help hold each other up when we can.
**Did that boost the song in any way?**
Yes, most definitely. It was already traveling at quite a speed since the release of the song was highly anticipated. We had some great dancers in the music video, who were all super excited to see the final product, so we decided to give the song its own launch party. I had never had a launch party before, “Cherry Bomb” was my first. We had ice cream, candy and cupcakes, and a really bright purple carpet. All these elements help elevate a song, but Justin’s personal playlist has really helped get the song out there and heard by more people. I am delighted it’s still continuing to rise. I’d love to hear it on the radio one day.
**What can we expect from your new single**[**, “Alright”**](https://ffm.to/alright007)**?**
My new single “Alright,” releases January 14, and has quite a funky pop sound. My influences with this song are definitely more Dua Lipa and BTS – still pop of course, but with more bass than I have released before now. “Alright” has a very funky beat and bass, we wanted to incorporate all of that in the song, along with slightly less sugary lyrics. I love to use the rasp in my vocals and I definitely got to showcase my range more in this new record.
**What was your first big break as an actor?**
My first big break was at age 7 when I was hired to be the voice of Cardamon in the animated TV series, _Bee and Puppycat_. Cardamon is the purple haired landlord of Bee, and he speaks in a British accent, which is pretty cool and easy to pull off. \[laughs\] We recently found out that _Bee and Puppycat_ is releasing on Netflix. From there, I worked on a bunch of other commercials, and films including, _Alice Through The Looking Glass_ and I have even worked on an Xbox video game where I was able to work with motion capture and green screen. Recently I filmed the movie _Replica_ with Mickey Rourke.
**How was it shooting on the set of _Replica_? I know you had to learn fight choreography and stunt coordination.**
I play the younger version of the main character in the movie – the backstory. My scenes are set in a juvenile detention center, which were filmed in a former correctional facility in Los Angeles. It was a pretty miserable place. My character has a big fight scene, so I had a crash course in fight choreography and had to learn how to safely pretend to fight. It was a lot like dancing if you think about it that way. \[laughs\] When rehearsing the scenes, I was taught to stand 3 feet from the person when you punch them. Your hand is literally 3 feet away from the other actor’s face so it’s really all about the acting, the camera angles, and how it comes across on camera. As an actor, I learned how to shake out aggression correctly using my hands too. That was pretty shocking to learn. It was fun to figure out how to fight on camera, it’s another area of acting I can add to my resume.
**Talk about launching your own talk show, The ALEXANDER Show. That’s huge!**
Thank you. At the top of 2022, I will be launching The ALEXANDER Show. It’ll air on Saturday mornings and is powered by The BUZZ Network. It’s a family talk show, where we introduce upcoming teen stars with interesting stories, new movies, music, book releases, as well as social media influencers and basically young people that are making a positive impact in the world. I am really excited to share everyone’s amazing stories on screen.
I watch a lot of _The Graham Norton Show_ and _The Late Late Show_ with James Corden_,_ so it’s very influenced by the whole fun British talk show. We start off with the main interview, then 10 quick fire questions for rapid answers, and we end with a game. We have a few games lined up for the show already, and others have been drafted out, ready for people to play.
**How does it feel to have your own show so young?**
It’s wild. We started the concept of The ALEXANDER Show at the beginning of 2021, so it’s been in the works for a long time. After people began returning to work, we revisited the idea with The BUZZ Network, and it took flight from there. After that, it became a thing where we began pre-production, ordering the set furniture, designing the set, and booking guests on the show.
I’m very happy that I am able to have my own talk show which is a touch of British in LA. The set is made up of a Union Jack rug, ornaments, and nick-nacks. We’re a full-on, well-rounded British set, ready for the show to incorporate my background. The first game we are playing is “That’s So British”, where guests have to find out, based on what they smell, touch, or taste, the specific British food that we give them. I can’t wait for everyone to watch the show, I hope they love it.
**How was your Christmas?**
It was good thank you, we still have all the presents under the tree. I received a few cooking gifts to occupy my time during the Holidays, I ate loads and watched movies.
**What’s your favorite thing to cook?**
Well, I don’t usually cook, but I’m getting into it because my mom isn’t always the best at it. \[laughs\] I received this great Harry Potter cookbook which has all the recipes from the Harry Potter books and inside Hogwarts. I have already tried making Butter Beer. I’m going to cook a few things, and either burn the house down or make a great meal.
**Talk about your new Christmas song, “We Need A Little Christmas.”**
Yes so, I released my Christmas song, “We Need A Little Christmas” in November, and it’s been doing very well so far. I had a great time recording it and re-creating this classic Christmas tune. It’s mine and my mother’s favorite jazz hand Christmas song to turn up on the radio. We created a new baseline for it, brass section and even incorporated a third verse. The added verse is about gathering the family, drinking eggnog, and watching Hallmark movies, so as to add a more present day feel to this classic song.
**Talk about giving back and what you’re doing with charities.**
Last year I released the Christmas song [“Holiday in L.A.”](https://open.spotify.com/album/2pfxafuEd00ArCLrzJQJjT?utm_campaign=crowdfire&utm_c=) to benefit UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), in order to bring awareness to UNICEF. My original record “California,” that I released in May, I launched my own clothing line for No Kid Hungry, which is a charitable organization that supports families and children across the nation who can’t afford food. With every purchase of one of my California cropped hoodies or long sleeve shirts, we give back to No Kid Hungry. Each year we donate to St Jude’s Research Hospital, and I always give my time to those less fortunate. So far, I have performed live at over 20 different fundraising initiatives around California, the most recent being LAPD’s Operation Shoes for Santa, and I plan to do many more in the future.
**Being only 14, what do you like to do for fun?**
For fun, I usually enjoy playing with Legos, or drawing or writing songs. I know how to solve a Rubik cube, so fiddle around with that as well. Now, I’ve gotten into cooking. \[laughs\] which I would never have imagined 3 years ago that I’d be interested in cooking. I usually read a lot, I’m a little bit of a bookworm. I read a lot of fantasy, dragons, and mythology. I skateboard, surf, snowboard and ride my horse, or take my dog out for a walk.
**Goals yourself as an artist at this point of your career?**
I really want a label deal with Sony, Columbia, Universal, Warner, or any of the major music labels so I can take my music to the next level. As for acting, I definitely want to book more movies and TV shows. I want my career to be well-rounded with music, acting and my talk show, so I can bring awareness to different organizations and people by using my voice and platform.
**Anything else you want to let us know?**
I launched my winter collection for my new brand Brit World, which is a navy-blue beanie hat, and scarf, that can be bought at [https://iamajrodriguez.com/shop/](https://iamajrodriguez.com/shop/). People can find all my music, tour dates and acting releases there, and everything about me too. For up to the minute news, people can follow me on all social media platforms @iamajrodriguez
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