Alexa Cappelli’s Heartfelt Confessions and Dating Advice in Latest Single “Temporary”
Rising pop singer-songwriter Alexa Cappelli is no stranger to sharing dating advice in her heartfelt ballads that can resonate with any listener. Cappelli’s acclaimed sophomore EP Confused @ 22 is immersed with insights into young adulthood, navigating the dating world, and documents the relatable thoughts a 20-something-year-old who has no idea what they want. Following the EP release, Cappelli released a liberating, infectiously fun confessional titled “Temporary,” that is inspired by her past summer romance that taught her about being comfortable with herself and becoming decisive.
Her classic pop sensibilities and emotional confessions resemble diary entries, ones that contain messages of wishful thinking, self-awareness and empathy. “Temporary” is the melodic electro-pop single of the summer!
Empowering, defiant, and immediately catchy, “Temporary” explores the mixed emotions of breaking off a ‘situationship.’ Cappelli says, “‘Temporary’ is a nostalgic song that makes the future of my love life seem less daunting, being proud of myself for knowing what I want and not settling for anything less. When I wrote ‘Temporary,’ I had finally processed my previous summer situationship and how I ended things. It was the song I needed to remind myself that I did the right thing by not trying to change them. I want the kind of love that doesn’t need convincing, the love that is sure on both sides of the street.”
The pop sensation doesn’t hold back any tears as she fearlessly opens up about her experience with the lyrics, “I couldn’t settle, you couldn’t change.” The track proves to be one of emotional empowerment as the songstress comes to fruition with her decisiveness. She asks the question “What’s love if it’s temporary?”
Alexa Cappelli shares she is in the midst of creating her debut album, which offers further insight into her artistic evolution, her love life, and the vulnerabilities that she’s navigated throughout young adulthood.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Thank you for sitting down and talking to Unpublished. For any of the Unpublished readers who aren't familiar with your earlier debut EP release Confused @ 22, can you give us a quick introduction?
[ALEXA]: I was about to release a single in May 2021, and by the time I had posted it on social media and got a really good response, I had thought through the idea of putting it on a project and so the next few months was just me writing and solidifying a group of songs that I felt like worked really well together. Somebody on my team had come up with the title of the EP, and I was like ‘wow.’ These are all songs about experiences that I've had as a young 20-something who doesn't really know what she wants, and if she does know what she wants, she hasn't been comfortable enough to admit it yet. Just figuring out what my life is going to look like and coming to terms with how it's been up until that point. My song “The Fence” was definitely the turning point for me because I realized I don't want to be this person anymore. I want to be decisive and I want to be proactive, and I feel like I have been for the majority of my life, but there's definitely when I have my moments. It's really cool to think even through this EP, and to the next project that I'm releasing and how the tables have turned which is really exciting.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Very beautifully said. Are there any artists that inspire you either lyrically or instrumentally? Whether that's just music you love to listen to or music that you pull inspiration from into yours?
[ALEXA]: Totally, always. I really love Julia Michaels as she is one of my favorite inspirations, songwriting-wise, I'm such a fan of her. I love to think about how I can share my own thoughts like the way that she shows her own thoughts is really cool. She just says things that are magical, and it really does encourage me to just say whatever's on my mind. I love Taylor Swift because she's very poetic and all the things that she has written and released are so beautifully said and wrapped up. I love those two – songwriters and very strong women. Growing up, I listened to a lot of Kelly Clarkson, so vocally I was very inspired by her. Sonically I'm listening to a lot of Sabrina Carpenter.
[UNPUBLISHED]: When you're not making music in the studio, what do you do to help inspire your creativity?
[ALEXA]: A lot of my creativity recently has just been validating my opinions and the way that I process things. For example, when I wake up, I usually wake up very neutral – at least in my mood – and if I'm journaling, I have to journal every day to decide what am I actually feeling today? Otherwise, I'll just go through the motions and forget that I'm a human. I journal all the time, and I think about what I'm passionate about. I'm reading a lot of books about climate change and spirituality. I like reading. I like drifting. I like hiking. Being in nature is a great way for me to be inspired.
[UNPUBLISHED]: A lot of your songs hold heartfelt confessions and like they're all from your personal experiences. Your latest single release “Temporary” touches on a lot of relatable emotions that listeners can experience when going into the dating world or navigating relationships. What inspired this song and how did the creative process look like for you?
[ALEXA]: I cry a lot, definitely a lot of crying. I had a summer fling last year and it feels like a cheap way to say it, but just saying a fling because it definitely felt like a lot more than that. We've never really dated and it was long distance, so we saw each other like once or twice, but just the feeling was there. Especially with long distance, we can idealize people if you’re not in the same room as them. After meeting him and having some more logistical conversations about each of our lives and my goals, I realized we don’t want the same thing. I realized it would be more fair if we didn't do this, like I want him to find somebody that can do the things that he wants to do with him and encourage him and the same for me. I want to find somebody that can encourage me and I can encourage them and be on the same path. I really am grateful for that experience.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Felt like a growing pain as well.
[ALEXA]: Totally, because not only do I have so many songs about him, and I think a lot of it is because I really liked him and the potential of the relationship that we could have had was definitely something I was getting over. It's definitely a struggle, but I'm happy that people are resonating with it. My experience is not toxic, but it was just hard for me to admit that I didn't want this because it just seemed it was perfectly fine. There are people who have messaged me and have said, ‘this song gave me the courage to leave my toxic ex,’ and I'm like thank God. I'm glad that people can resonate with it in any kind of relational context.
[UNPUBLISHED]: That's such a strong connection and support to have from your listeners.
[ALEXA]: I feel like they’re my friends. I was just on TikTok live before this, getting ready to do my makeup and making my breakfast. Everyone wanted to hear my next song and wanted to find out what was going on in my world. I don’t know what’s going on in their worlds and how they’re relating to my songs, so it’s a really cool way to be able to connect with them in that way.
[UNPUBLISHED]: If you could describe “Temporary” in three words, which would you choose?
[ALEXA]: Nostalgic. Empowering, that’s so weird because it’s like a duality you could listen to when you’re really sad one day and are crying, but then you can listen to it another day and it makes you feel great. It’s the song that I needed to hear. I would also say fun.
[UNPUBLISHED]: My personal favorite lyric from the song is “I couldn't settle, you couldn't change,” and to me that just speaks on a personal level of needing to stand strong in your boundaries. What is the message you hope your listeners can take away from this single in terms of being in the dating world or relationships?
[ALEXA]: These relationships aren't about changing anybody or trying to fit a certain mold. No, it's about standing back and just watching them as they are and like observing; if the person that they are makes you uncomfortable, then that’s not your person. Without any control of who this person is like, and have to recenter it to if they work for you and your life. I think the idea of changing people is very difficult, especially if it is in a romantic context. If you want to be friends with somebody and encourage them to be something like okay, but once it's relational it is a little bit more sticky. Just leaning into the things that make you who you are, what you want. I saw this quote and I loved it. What is for you is looking for you, and the more you stick to the things that make you thrive and bring you to life, the same things are going to bring that person to life as well. Maybe someday, you’ll meet that special person and that will be the most special thing ever.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Moving forward towards your fashion sustainability efforts and your personal style. I read that your family has launched the nonprofit and the thrift shop, A Lot of Good Thrift. I was wondering if you design your own fashion or wear your own designs at photoshoots, concerts or music video shoots?
[ALEXA]: I have worked with stylists. I shop sustainably for ethical reasons, so I care about the environment and the people who are working for companies that don't pay the garment workers, that breaks my heart so I would prefer to shop secondhand. I only shop secondhand and wear secondhand to all my videos, photoshoots and everything. As far as being a fashionista, I'm a wannabe, but I'm not quite there yet. I do accept all the help I could get.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How would you describe your fashion aesthetic?
[ALEXA]: I like bright colors. I like when things are kind of tight and there's something else that isn't as tight, or the balance of that, like the duality. Again, I love bright colors. If you scroll through any of my Instagram feeds or on TikTok, it’s all bright colors. I think also on a deeper level, just the intention and the extra steps that it takes to get sustainable pieces for my content and from my wardrobe, like there is that just level of intentionality that I try and strive for everything, In my music as well, as thinking about all the things in the way that I'm representing what I believe in sustainably.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You recently announced a signing with a new label Arista Records, huge congratulations. How are you feeling in this current area of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you?
[ALEXA]: There’s been meeting a lot of new people, of course with anything like teamwork wise, there's such voices in the mix and I am so grateful to have like their support and encouragement of my next project – which is going to be an album – so I'm super excited about that. I've done two EPs, like I'm ready and I'm excited and my fans are excited and it's just really cool to invite them along into that. I've been doing a lot of sessions and writing a lot of songs. This upcoming fall is going to be more of an introspective time for me to write alone and see what comes with that. The album needs to be more of introspective material, so we’re gonna see what happens, but I’m excited and happy and so is my management team. My manager Jaime Bilotti from Mutuals Agency is killer and so amazing.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What is your wildest dream as an artist? If you can have one thing happen, like a milestone or dream collaboration you hope to achieve in your career, what would that look like for you?
[ALEXA]: I want to go on a world tour so badly. I want to travel, I want to sing, I want to hug people, I want to talk to them. I could look into my cell phone screen on TikTok live and I could say, ‘hey you're so loved and so valuable,’ and call each person by their name, but it's so different when you're in person and can say it to their face and you can experience a song together. I think that would be a dream. I have been praying for that and hoping for that for so long. A touring dream collab would have to be with Ryan Tedder’s (One Republic) work. I would love to do something with him someday.
