The singer-songwriter—who competed as a duo with his father as part of Team Ariana on season 21 of The Voice—recently left Republic Records after three years of suppression, which left him completely unable to release music.
Now, as an independent artist, Sasha is gearing up to release his debut album on the heels of the first single from the project “Just Like You,” which the 25-year-old originally wrote when he was back in high school.
SO.GAY caught up with Sasha to chat about his new material, his frustrating experience at Republic and the subsequent freedom that has come from going independent, what it was like working closely with Ariana Grande, writing songs from his perspective as a trans artist and much more.
So.GAY: You recently dropped your song “Just Like You,” which you originally wrote in high school. Talk to me about sort of some of the themes that you’re singing about in the song and what it was like revisiting those ideas so many years later.
Sasha: It was a time in my life where I was at the start of my transition, and so I was stepping into myself and my own identity for the first time, and then it was my first relationship, which was actually a really short-lived relationship. It’s funny that I wrote a whole song about it, because it was like a few months, maybe, but it was very impactful because it was my first relationship with another trans person. The themes of the song are yearning, and really a yearning to be understood and what it feels like to be seen by someone and fully accepted.
It’s weird, because it was a time in my life, too, where I was not even fully passing. I was still dealing with transphobia and transitioning, so it’s very emotional.
So.GAY: Has songwriting always been a way for you to parse through different feelings and perhaps better understanding your own identity?
Sasha: Yeah, definitely. I think I started writing these at, like, 13 years old, and it quickly became a diary. Even before I was out as gay or saying anything having to do with my sexuality or my gender, it definitely became a place where I could express myself wholeheartedly, where I could fully flesh out a song about a girl or something at a time where I’m closeted. It was the release that I think if I didn’t have, I would have gone crazy, and it’s remained that thing throughout the years, and it always comes back to identity, whether that’s trans identity or just me and growing up and coming to terms with that.
So.GAY: Is this song part of a larger project that you’re working on? How does it fit into what you have planned for this next stage of your career?
Sasha: Yes! I’m gonna be coming out with an album on June 26 which is my first ever actual fully studio recorded and produced album. So, it’s a cool moment for me, and the fact that that song can fit in there, I think is really special, because it’s the oldest song that’s on there—it’s really the oldest song that I’m still even keeping in my rotation of songs—and so I think it’s cool when I look back on it, that it’s getting its moment. I think to myself about how, when I was first writing it, I was so different, and my life was so different, and I’d be really psyched that it was coming out on an album when I’m 24 years old.
So.GAY: This is also a part of you independently releasing your music, obviously, after a big struggle with your label, which we’ll get into, but this does feel like it’s something that we’re seeing more often, with artists like Bebe Rexha and Kim Petras also releasing music independently after previously being signed to big record labels. It’s a big swing, but you also must feel so free doing it this way.
Sasha: I was signed to Republic for like three years, and it’s strange, because getting a record deal from a place like Republic when I was a kid was my dream. I mean, I still can’t even believe it, even though it didn’t work out the way I wanted it to. I’m still like, “Well, I checked that off my bucket list, I guess.” But, it’s scary. Once I was finally dropped—which I wanted to be—you realize no one is holding me back now. Yet, the pressure is heavier because it’s time to swim, and there’s a lot of freedom in that, and a lot of fear and uncertainty, but it is way more…I’d say it’s way more fun, and not being creatively held down is so huge for me, because like why would I want to do music if I’m creatively held back? I’d rather do anything else.
So.GAY: But how did you not get too discouraged or even disillusioned with the industry overall? This is obviously your passion, but at some point there must have been a feeling of, like, “What’s the point if I can’t even release anything?”
Sasha: There was a mourning period. I felt like my—and I said this to them, too—I was like, “I feel like my career is just totally slipping away from me, and I feel like I’m in the really good years of my life where I should be creating.” I’m like, “I’m 21 years old. I am so ready. Let’s do this!” Now I look at it as it having given me a first-hand front seat view into how fucked it really can be, and sadly is a lot of the times, and I know that there are artists—so many out there right now—that are going through the exact same thing, especially artists that go on the competition TV shows.
So.GAY: Is this especially common in that realm?
Sasha: Yeah. That’s why people who go on The Voice…we don’t really see a breakout star, because you’re kind of thrown into that, and it’s sad, because it should be dreamy and beautiful, and they pitch it to you on it being dreamy and beautiful. But I’ve grown to the point now that I’m thankful that I got the rug pulled out from under me a little bit.
So.GAY: You’re still young, and you’re still early in your career, and you lost several years, but I feel like some people go through that for even longer.
Sasha: The thing is, they could have been like, “No, we’re not going to drop you,” and I would have had to deal with that. Like, I’m lucky that they just decided to end my contract.
So.GAY: Are there other people from your time on The Voice that you have spoken to about this or commiserated about this with?
Sasha: Yeah, definitely. I mean, few people from the show, besides me and the winners, ended up going on to work with Republic, and for the other people I know who did it was the same. It was the same exact thing. It was, and it’s really unfortunate seeing my friends go through that same thing.
So.GAY: I mentioned other artists that have gone through similar things with major labels, Kim Petras being one of them. As another trans artist in the industry with similar experiences, I’m curious if she is somebody that you’ve connected with or been able to speak to about this.
Sasha: I haven’t, but I’ve followed her whole story about it. It’s so crazy to me. I look at someone like Kim Petras, and I’m like, she should be able to do whatever the fuck she wants. She should just be able to release music and put stuff out. She has an audience and a fan base and everything, and so the fact that it’s happening to her… I mean, when it was happening to me, and I was a little fish in a big pond. I didn’t even have music out. But the fact that it’s happening to people who have this great career trajectory and momentum is really surprising.
So.GAY: What’s your takeaway on why it happens?
Sasha: Oh my gosh, I think my takeaway on why it happens is that they don’t want to spend money on people, ironically, because they have billions and billions of dollars. If you get put with someone at a label who, like for me was a really negative middle-aged dude—nothing against middle-aged dudes, but he just didn’t understand. He didn’t get the vibe at all for me and, frankly, didn’t really like me, and I think it’s people low-key not doing their jobs. It’s really sad. I think they just like shelve people and they push people to the side and unless you’re a huge artist that’s making them a lot of money, they don’t want to dish out the money for you to record or to promote you.
So.GAY: Thinking back to your time on The Voice—you were part of a duo with your dad—and afterwards going on the talk show circuit, you were going viral… it was your first big hit of the fame machine. How do you look back on that time, which seemed from the outside like a mostly positive experience for you?
Sasha: Yeah, it was. When I look back on it now, I can’t believe I was coping with that, because it’s a lot all at once and really intense. And it was at a time in my life, too, where I was also passing for pretty much the first time in my life as male, and then very publicly going in front of millions and millions of people and talking about that and also leaving myself open to any criticism or comments. It was probably the most overwhelming time in my life, but it was really fun, and I’m really thankful for it. I just look back at myself, and I’m like, “I don’t know how I handled that.” I think I was just going through the motions of like, “Okay, I’m here, and this is what I do.”
So.GAY: And you should be proud of that younger version of yourself for handling all of that, because that is a lot.
Sasha: It goes on for so long, and you’re in this bubble being watched, and then you’re off, and the bubble gets popped.
So.GAY: You were on Team Ariana, and Ariana Grande is such a celebrated ally of the queer community. What was it like working with her and being on her team?
Sasha: Being able to work with someone that is just cool. I mean, she’s such a cool person, and she really became such a good friend to me and my dad and everybody on Team Ariana at that time. She treated us so specially and wonderfully, and we totally got special treatment compared to everyone else on other teams.
It was great. I would not have been able to get as far as I did at all without her, like the way that she coached was completely different from the other coaches. They did their jobs and did what they had to do, but she went completely above and beyond every time—like, FaceTime calls at midnight to decide songs—it was crazy. We were so lucky.
So.GAY: Is there anything that she gave you advice on about the industry and handling that portion of it that has stuck with you after these years?
Sasha: She very much guided me after the show in a way that was crazy. We had so many conversations about music and what I want and knowing what you want. I think my biggest takeaway was seeing her level of professionalism and talent and handling fame. Like, you’re that famous? That’s crazy, and I got a little look into that.
So.GAY: As an independent artist now, you get to answer those questions of what you want for yourself and position yourself in the way that you want. How do you think about those things now that you have your agency back?
Sasha: There’s so much fear in it. Living in the society we live in and going after a career that is very uncertain and based on the art you create and whether or not it’s good enough, the more I’ve been in this and creating and writing by myself, I’ve realized the most important thing is literally just to create things that I like and to do things with joy. I’m coming to terms and growing into the idea of accepting that the joy of it is more important than the success and the money, because you can have the success and the money, but with no joy, what the fuck is the point? I chose to do this for the joy, and so keeping that in it is really important, and that’s way easier when I get to have control over the songs I write and record and put out.
So.GAY: Over the past decade or so we’ve seen some queer artists break out in a really mainstream way, and I was just thinking about the different ways that they have presented themselves to the world and been marketed, and the things they write about. How do you think about that? Because I do think that some people have been pigeonholed as a certain kind of artist and some people are presented with more mainstream, broad appeal. How do you think about that balance as a trans artist?
Sasha: I write political music and very trans-centered music, and I’ve always done that, and over the past year working on this new album I’m trying to find the balance between the song about being transgender that blows up on social media versus another song that I’m really proud of, but it’s not about that. I’ve been really finding the balance, and I think it’s just about realizing that I can do both, and I kind of have to, because I can’t turn that part off of me that wants to write songs about identity and political stuff. I guess I’m just trusting my gut that if I just write songs that I want to write, it has to lead somewhere, and I think success can look like a lot of different things too.
So.GAY: And those things can absolutely sit side by side on an album together, and probably makes for a better album, quite frankly. You mentioned going viral on TikTok, and there has been a lot of conversation about TikTok and how it drives things in with the music industry. How do you consider going viral and how it carries over to other kinds of success or not?
Sasha: After being on social media now for so many years and doing music on social media for so many years—and I think a lot of artists feel this way—it’s like, you could have a song blow up on TikTok and you’re like, “This is really great! This is a thing I made, and people like it,” butt you’re still stuck in this bubble or you see people blow up with these huge songs that actually end up charting, and they’re on the radio—and then you never fucking hear from them again.
So I’ve had to very much try to balance out my relationship with social media, because obviously everyone loves when something goes viral, and it’s given me moments in my life, but getting caught up in the numbers of it, that’s something that has fucked me up, because then I post something that I think is really good—and it very well might be really great—but if it doesn’t hit those numbers…
So.GAY: Lastly, is there one song from the upcoming album that you are particularly excited for people to hear?
Sasha: There’s a song on there called “Hellhound,” and it’s a breakup song, and it’s definitely one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written. Getting to see all of those songs come to life fully produced was really cool, but that one in particular, watching it take shape…and it was a song I was sitting on for a little over a year. It’s been my favorite song on the album since we recorded it, and I’m very excited for that one to be out.
