Alexandra Ashley Hughes (born 31 July 1985), known by her stage name Allie X, is a Canadian singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. She is signed to Sleepless Records. Hughes began her career by performing in televised talent shows in her native Canada. She continued releasing under the name "Allie Hughes" before switching to her current moniker. After moving to the United States, she released the song "Catch," which reached the number 55 spot on the Canadian Billboard Hot 100. Katy perry also refers to her song catch as her "spring jam."
Early life[]
Hughes studied classical piano and voice at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, and graduated from Sheridan College's Musical Theater Performance program, and also studied musical theater.
Career[]
Hughes started her career under the name Allie Hughes in Toronto around 2006, performing indie, melodramatic pop, and pop music. In 2008, she was in the Canadian How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, and was eliminated after two episodes. Her acting credits include Triple Sensation, The Boys in the Photograph, King, Being Erica, and Instant Star. Her songs have been featured in Rookie Blue, Saving Hope, and Love Me. She was one of four musicians to receive the Canadian Film Centre Slaight Music Residency Showcase in 2013. In July 2013, she moved to Los Angeles and began working with producers Cirkut and Billboard. Having not been satisfied with her sound, she spent time learning about sound design and production. In February 2014, she released the song "Catch," her first released under the name Allie X. Katy Perry made a comment about the song on her Twitter page calling it a "spring jam". Her single reached No. 55 on the Canadian Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Her EP CollXtion I was released on April 7, 2015, in Canada. The Toronto Star described her as a private person who created a different persona for her performances.
Artistry[]
Hughes cites her influences as Mariah Carey, Mark Mothersbaugh, Tom Petty, and author Haruki Murakami. Placed as having a soprano Fach, Hughes describes her melodies as being "soaring pop, borderline theatrical Disney," while her lyrics, "always seem to be darker." She compares songwriting to a science experiment in which you put two people's brains together for a few hours and see what they can come up with. In explaining the X in her name, she stated that it represents the unknown variable in algebra.
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
Title | Details |
---|---|
CollXtion II |
|
Cape God |
|
Extended plays[]
Title | Details |
---|---|
CollXtion I |
|
Catch EP |
|
COLLXTION II: ɄNSOLVED |
|
Super Sunset |
|
Super Sunset (Analog)[59] |
|
Singles[]
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CAN [21] |
CAN CHR | |||||||||||||
"Catch" | 2014 | 55 | 17 | CollXtion I | ||||||||||
"Prime" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Bitch" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Catch" (re-release) |
2015 | — | — | Catch EP | ||||||||||
"Never Enough" | — | — | Catch EP and CollXtion I | |||||||||||
"Too Much to Dream" | 2016 | — | — | CollXtion II: Ʉnsolved | ||||||||||
"All The Rage" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Old Habits Die Hard" | — | — | CollXtion II | |||||||||||
"That's So Us" | — | — | CollXtion II: Ʉnsolved and CollXtion II | |||||||||||
"Paper Love" | 2017 | — | 21 | CollXtion II | ||||||||||
"Need You" (featuring Valley Girl) | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Casanova" (featuring Vérité) | — | 44 | ||||||||||||
"Focus" | 2018 | — | — | Super Sunset | ||||||||||
"Not So Bad in LA" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Science"[62] | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Little Things" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Girl of the Year" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Can't Stop Now" | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Last Xmas"[63] | — | — | Non-album single | |||||||||||
"Devil I Know"[64] | 2020 | — | — | Cape God | ||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Promotional singles[]
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Fresh Laundry" | 2019 | Cape God |
"Rings a Bell" | ||
"Regulars"[65] | ||
"Love Me Wrong" (with Troye Sivan)[66] |
Music videos[]
Title | Year | Director(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
"Bitch" | 2014 | Jungle George | [67][68] |
"Catch" | 2015 | Jérémie Saindon | [69][68] |
"Sanctuary" (live) | Unknown | [70] | |
"Too Much to Dream" | 2016 | Jungle George | [71][68] |
"All the Rage" (live) | [72] | ||
"Casanova" (live) | [73] | ||
"All the Rage" | Jungle George Maluko Haus |
[74][68] | |
"Old Habits Die Hard" (live) | Taylor Heres | [75] | |
"That's So Us" (live) | Unknown | [76] | |
"Too Much to Dream" (live) | [77] | ||
"Paper Love" | 2017 | Renata Raksha | [78] |
"Casanova" (featuring Vérité) | India Sleem | [79] | |
"Not So Bad in LA" | 2018 | Unknown | [80] |
"Fresh Laundry" | 2019 | Ssion | [81] |
"Regulars" | [82] |
Songwriting credits[]
Year | Artist | Title | Album |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Troye Sivan | "Bite" | Wild EP |
"Talk Me Down" | Blue Neighbourhood | ||
"Youth" | |||
"Lost Boy" | |||
"For Him." | |||
"Suburbia" | |||
"Swimming Pools" | |||
2017 | Seohyun | "Moonlight" | Don't Say No |
Lea Michele | "Heavy Love" | Places | |
Jaira Burns | "Ugly" | Non-album single | |
Leland | "Mattress" | ||
BAP | "Think Hole" | Ego | |
2018 | Ferras | "Coming Back Around" | Non-album single |
The Vamps | "Pictures of Us" | Night & Day (Day Edition) | |
Troye Sivan | "Seventeen" | Bloom | |
"The Good Side" | |||
"Plum" | |||
"What a Heavenly Way to Die" | |||
"Animal" | |||
Betty Who | "The Other Side" | Sierra Burgess is a Loser OST | |
Leland | "Lights" | ||
2019 | "Another Lover" | Non-album single | |
2020 | BTS | "Louder Than Bombs" | Map of the Soul: 7 |