Growing up in Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, Alex discovered music when he was three, thanks to his father's record collection, he told the Hollywood Reporter. "He mostly had classic rock, on vinyl and tapes. Aerosmith and Queen, a lot of music like that," says Alex. Listening to music grew into playing music when Alex was four. "I started with the violin and that's when I knew I wanted to play [music] for the rest of my life."

Alex's musical knowledge quickly expanded. "I took piano lessons. Then I started playing guitar and bass and from there started learning other instruments." But American Idol wasn't exactly Alex's first brush with musical fame. He was able to learn about songwriting and the music industry from his 2nd cousin, country star Jo Dee Messina.