Alec Benjamin
American singer and songwriter (born 1994)
Alec Shane Benjamin (born May 28, 1994) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician, born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. His 2018 single "Let Me Down Slowly", from his debut mixtape Narrated for You, became his breakthrough and reached the top 40 in over 25 countries.
01Life and career
Alec Shane Benjamin was born on May 28, 1994, in Phoenix, Arizona, where he and his sister were raised. As a teenager, in the 2000s he moved to Los Angeles, California. He started writing songs at 13 and learning guitar in high school, and released his first extended play (EP) America in 2013.
Benjamin signed with Columbia Records and enrolled at the University of Southern California. However, Columbia Records ended their partnership weeks after he submitted his album. After the termination of his partnership with Columbia, he went on a self-funded tour in Europe, opening for Marina Kaye in France and Lea in Germany. He promoted his music by performing in parking lots outside concert venues and handing out business cards to passersby.
Benjamin's debut 12-song mixtape Narrated for You was released on November 16, 2018. It features the songs "If We Have Each Other”, "Water Fountain," "Annabelle's Homework," and "Let Me Down Slowly". On February 1, 2018, Merrick Hanna auditioned for America’s Got Talent, using Benjamin's song "I built a friend". This would help Benjamin gain traction and soon after he was signed on with Atlantic Records. "Let Me Down Slowly" was later re-released as a single with Alessia Cara. While promoting the mixtape, he started creating his "Can I Sing for You?" series of videos on YouTube, in which he performs acoustic versions of his songs for people in public.
Benjamin's debut studio album These Two Windows was released on May 29, 2020. It peaked at number 8 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart. His second album, (Un)Commentary, followed on April 15, 2022.
He occasionally records Mandarin versions of his songs, having been inspired by his father, who had incorporated Chinese culture into his work as a medical doctor through acupuncture and eastern medicine. He collaborated with popular Chinese actress Zhao Lusi on a Mandarin version of "Water Fountain".
As of November 2025, Benjamin's total of monthly listeners was estimated to average 12,992,615. Alec Benjamin’s net worth is estimated to be around $4 million.
02Influences
Benjamin has cited influences such as Eminem, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Paul Simon, Joe Venneri and Chris Martin of Coldplay. He has also expressed admiration for Kendrick Lamar and classic singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Carole King, and Jackson Browne.
03Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
AUS |
BEL (FL) |
NLD |
SWI |
UK | ||
| Narrated for You |
|
127 | - | 100 | 59 | - | 25 |
| These Two Windows |
|
75 | 22 | 99 | 42 | 27 | 52 |
| (Un)Commentary |
|
59 | , | , | 84 | 62 | , |
| 12 Notes |
|
, | , | , | , | , | , |
| ", " denotes an album that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
Mixtapes
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US Heat. |
BEL (FL) |
CAN |
DEN |
FRA |
NLD |
NOR |
SWE | |||
| Narrated for You |
|
127 | 3 | 121 | 62 | 10 | 130 | 59 | 5 | 20 | |
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| America |
|
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
AUS |
BEL (FL) |
CAN |
DEN |
IRE |
NLD |
NOR |
SWI |
UK | ||||
| "Paper Crown" | 2014 | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | Non-album singles | |
| "End of the Summer" | 2016 | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | ||
| "The Way to Nowhere" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | |||
| "I Built a Friend" | 2017 | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | ||
| "Let Me Down Slowly" (solo or featuring Alessia Cara) |
2018 | 79 | 25 | 4 | 55 | 7 | 17 | 22 | 6 | 20 | 31 | Narrated for You | |
| "Boy in the Bubble" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , |
| ||
| "If We Have Each Other" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , |
| ||
| "Death of a Hero" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | |||
| "Outrunning Karma" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , |
| ||
| "1994" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | |||
| "Must Have Been the Wind" | 2019 | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , |
|
These Two Windows |
| "Jesus in LA" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , |
| ||
| "Mind Is a Prison" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , |
| ||
| "Demons" | 2020 | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | ||
| "Oh My God" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | |||
| "The Book of You & I" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | |||
| "Six Feet Apart" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | Non-album single | ||
| "Match in the Rain" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | These Two Windows | ||
| "I Built a Friend (2020)" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | Non-album single | ||
| "The Way You Felt" | 2021 | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | (Un)Commentary | |
| "Change My Clothes" (with Dream) |
, | , | , | , | , | 70 | , | , | , | 67 | Non-album single | ||
| "Older" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | (Un)Commentary | ||
| "Shadow of Mine" | 2022 | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | ||
| "Speakers" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | |||
| "Devil Doesn't Bargain" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | 30 | , | 95 |
| ||
| "Different Kind of Beautiful" | 2023 | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | 12 Notes | |
| "I Sent My Therapist to Therapy" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | |||
| "Pick Me" | 2024 | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | ||
| "King Size Bed" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | |||
| "Found You First" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | |||
| "The Knife in My Back" | 2025 | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | ||
| "Pretending" | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | |||
| ", " denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "New York Soul, Pt. II" (Jon Bellion featuring Alec Benjamin) |
2016 | The Human Condition |
| "Eyes Blue Like the Atlantic, Pt. 2" (Sista Prod featuring Powfu, Alec Benjamin, and Rxseboy) |
2020 | Non-album single |
Other certified songs
| Title | Year | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Water Fountain" | 2018 |
|
Narrated for You |
| "If I Killed Someone for You" |
|
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Alec Benjamin”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Alec Benjamin.png by Rudy Mancuso, CC BY 3.0
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