Alex Warren releases sophomore album WILDCHILD featuring Nile Rodgers and John Mayer

Alex Warren WILDCHILD is the singer-songwriter’s highly anticipated sophomore album, released via Atlantic Records.

Released via Atlantic Records, the 14-track album explores love, grief, family, healing and personal growth, while featuring special contributions from legendary musicians Nile Rodgers and John Mayer.

LISTEN TO WILDCHILD

Alongside the album release, Warren has also unveiled the official music video for “Emerald Eyes”, one of the project’s focus tracks.

WATCH THE OFFICIAL VIDEO

A deeply personal meaning behind WILDCHILD

Long before the chart records, sold-out arenas and international success, Warren was affectionately called “Wildchild” by his late father.

The nickname came from Warren’s childhood habit of climbing, doing backflips and finding different ways to defy gravity. Years later, it became the inspiration for the title of his second full-length album.

For Warren, however, WILDCHILD represents much more than a childhood nickname.

“Growing up, I was always climbing, doing backflips, and jumping off things, so my dad referred to me as ‘Wildchild’,” Warren explains. “It stuck with me until my mom passed away. When I was writing this body of work, I would often think of my parents.”

Warren says his father, who knew he was dying, recorded a series of videos speaking to his son. Those recordings became an important source of inspiration while Warren was creating the album.

“On the first album, you were learning about who I was. This album teaches you who my parents were and who I am now,” he says.

From heartbreak to creative freedom

Musically, WILDCHILD combines pop hooks with cinematic soundscapes and energetic production, reflecting Warren’s growing confidence as an artist.

The album was written across 2025 and 2026 and created with longtime collaborators Adam Yaron, Cal Shapiro and Mags Duval. Recording took place between Nashville and Los Angeles, including sessions at Warren’s home studio, Gnome Recording Studios, Gold Pacific Studios and Woodshed Recording Studios.

The project also represents a shift in Warren’s approach to creating music.

Following the enormous success of his global hit “Ordinary”, the artist says he no longer feels pressure to recreate the song’s success.

“It’s funny because everyone would always ask me if there was a lot of pressure to make another song like ‘Ordinary’,” Warren says. “I actually have no pressure anymore. I had this weight lifted off my chest.”

Instead, Warren says the success of “Ordinary” has given him the freedom to experiment.

“That song changed my life, and I never had to worry about having another one like it because it would be virtually impossible, so I have the freedom to experiment and have fun with music,” he adds.

Nile Rodgers brings funk to “Emerald Eyes”

One of the album’s standout moments comes with “Emerald Eyes”, which features a contribution from legendary guitarist and producer Nile Rodgers.

The song begins with a sparkling piano before developing into a rhythmic arrangement built around bass, claps and a funk-inspired guitar riff.

Warren describes the track as his “pump-up song”, combining a love-song sentiment with an energetic sound inspired by early-2000s club music.

“It’s a love song, but it makes you want to dance like a song you’d hear at the club in the early two-thousands with a modern twist,” he says.

Rodgers’ contribution, Warren adds, took the track to another level.

The official music video for “Emerald Eyes” is also out now.

WATCH “EMERALD EYES”

LISTEN TO “EMERALD EYES”

John Mayer features on the emotional title track

The album closes with its namesake track, “WILDCHILD”, which builds from acoustic guitar and choir harmonies into an emotional instrumental featuring a guitar solo from John Mayer.

Before Mayer’s solo, listeners hear a voice memo from Warren’s father asking: “Are you having fun, Alex?”

For Warren, the song became a way of processing the loss of his father and finding a sense of closure.

“‘WILDCHILD’ was difficult for me because my dad and I never had closure,” he says.

Warren was nine years old when his father died and says he used the recordings left behind by his father as inspiration while writing the song.

He also reveals that his father was a huge John Mayer fan, making Mayer’s contribution particularly meaningful.

“My father was obsessed with John Mayer too, so I thought it would be cool to end on an instrumental with a solo from him,” Warren says.

“The last thing you hear is John ripping on the guitar.”

A soundtrack for healing

At its heart, WILDCHILD is an album about continuing to move forward despite loss.

Warren says the project represents where he wants to go creatively and hopes listeners will find something within it that speaks to their own experiences.

“I’m so proud of WILDCHILD,” he says. “Creatively, this is where I wanted to go. If you relate to even one part of it, I’m happy.”

The album’s themes of grief, love, connection and hope are particularly personal for Warren, who says he is now comfortable with who he has become.

“I’m happy with who I am now, and I’m ready to take over what my dad didn’t get to finish as a husband and, someday, a father.”

With WILDCHILD, Warren continues a rapid rise that has seen his music connect with millions of listeners around the world.

LISTEN TO WILDCHILD

The WILDCHILD tracklist

1. Emerald Eyes
2. Same Stars
3. Passenger
4. Rescuer
5. Cry Wolf
6. Fine Place to Die
7. Are You Having Fun, Alex?
8. I Miss You More
9. Only Thing Left
10. Fever Dream
11. Won’t Go Back
12. Last Time
13. WILDCHILD

About Alex Warren

Alex Warren is a Grammy Award-nominated, multiplatinum Southern California artist who rose to international prominence with his breakthrough single “Ordinary.”

The seven-times-Platinum hit reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Global 200 Ex US chart for 10 weeks and topped the UK Songs Chart for 13 weeks. It also became the top-selling song of 2025 and spent a record 16 weeks at No. 1 on US Pop Radio.

His debut album, You’ll Be Alright, entered the Billboard 200 in the Top 5 and produced further hits including “Eternity”, “Bloodline” featuring Jelly Roll, “On My Mind” featuring ROSÉ and “Burning Down” with Joe Jonas.

Warren’s catalogue has accumulated more than 11 billion streams, while his live career has included performances at the American Music Awards, MTV VMAs and Grammy Awards, as well as appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

He has also shared stages with artists including Ed Sheeran at Coachella and Jelly Roll at Stagecoach, alongside headline arena tours around the world.

Now, with WILDCHILD, Warren is continuing to build on that momentum while telling a more intimate story about where he came from and who he is becoming.

WILDCHILD is available everywhere now.

LISTEN TO THE ALBUM