Mariah Crom
Husband and wife duo Kat & Alex are blazing a new path in the music scene with their innovative blend of Country and Latin and CS Country is here for it.
After appearing on Season 18 of American Idol last year, Kat and Alex Georgia have since tied the knot and are chasing their dreams together in Nashville instead of the heart wrenching alternative they almost chose.
Back in April, the duo released their latest single “Heartbreak Tour,” a song that pairs their Latin roots and harmonious vocals with heartfelt lyrics that highlight their musical journey.
“‘Heartbreak Tour’ came from a really interesting point in the beginning stages of our music career. We had just finished American Idol and we started posting covers and different things like that on the internet and we decided we wanted to sit down and decide whether or not if we wanted to pursue music or go back to our 9-5s. For me it was law enforcement. For Kat, it was going back to school,” Alex tells Celeb Secrets Country in an interview, with Kat adding, “I remember we were at his uncle’s church one day and we were just sitting down and we came up with a melody. We had the title ‘Heartbreak Tour’ for awhile and we just started writing to it. In that part of our relationship and in our careers we had nothing. We had just finished Idol and we were contemplating on whether to stick together.”
“Heartbreak Tour” is preceded by their debut single, “How Many Times,” which showcases the duo’s unique musical style – a blend of country and soul with Latin roots. The song was written by Grammy-winning songwriter Jordan Reynolds (Dan + Shay, Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett) and his frequent co-writing partner Robyn Collins (Josh Gracin, Kalie Shorr, Hayley Orrantia), and it was produced by Brad Hill. The duo also released a version of the song that features a Spanish chorus, in homage to their Latin heritage.
“We’ve done our song ‘How Many Times’ in Spanish and there are people who do not speak Spanish in the room and are absolutely digging it. They love the dynamic and how cool the sound is. On the flip side, the Latinos are saying, ‘Man, I could show this to my parents or my grandparents who don’t speak a lot of English and they understand it. Now I can share my love of country music with my family because they’re going to be able to understand what the music is saying,’” Alex shares.
Celeb Secrets Country had a chat with the unique duo to talk more in depth about their new highly personal single “Heartbreak Tour,” why blending Country and Latin is so special, and their adventurous lives before music. The duo also teases that new music is on the way and we couldn’t be more excited for it.
Learn more about Kat & Alex by reading our full Q&A below — don’t forget to let us know what you think of “Heartbreak Tour” by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @CS_Country.
You can also keep up with Kat & Alex by giving them a follow on Instagram at @katandalex.
Celeb Secrets Country: “Heartbreak Tour” has a really interesting story behind the song. Can you talk about the process?
Alex: “‘Heartbreak Tour’ came from a really interesting point in the beginning stages of our music career. We had just finished American Idol and we started posting covers and different things like that on the internet and we decided we wanted to sit down and decide whether or not if we wanted to pursue music or go back to our 9-5s. For me it was law enforcement. For Kat, it was going back to school.”
Kat: “I remember we were at his uncle’s church one day and we were just sitting down and we came up with a melody. We had the title ‘Heartbreak Tour’ for awhile and we just started writing to it. In that part of our relationship and in our careers we had nothing. We had just finished Idol and we were contemplating on whether to stick together.”
Alex: “So what we ended up doing was just writing a song called ‘Heartbreak Tour’. What it basically means is what our lives would’ve looked like had we not pursued music together. It was crazy when we wrote it because it there wasn’t that idea of, ‘Okay if we didn’t do life together…’ It was when we reflected on the song we realized in that moment that it really came from the heart. Even when we play it now we’re like, ‘Oh my gosh we were faced with this decision whether to move forward or go our separate ways. And we stuck to it.’ Really our hearts we’re writing a song about, ‘Man, good thing we stuck together because if we didn’t we’d be on a Heartbreak Tour.'”
CSC: What’s it like having a music career together as husband and wife?
Alex: “It’s amazing really. We get to do everything together. We go to writing sessions together, we go to the studio together.”
Kat: “Getting to perform together is just an amazing experience. I mean he’s just my best friend, I couldn’t imagine doing it without him.”
Alex: “I feel the same. We definitely cant’t wait to jump on a tour bus together and travel around and go crazy”.
CSC: On your Instagram, you posted about shooting a music video with your best friends. How was that experience and what song it was for?
Alex: “We want to start with Doltyn Snedden. He’s the one who directed this video and he’s one of the very first people we met when we moved to Nashville. He actually shot our video for our song ‘How Many Times.’ It was crazy how we shot it. It was shot over two weeks in two different locations. So we spent a bunch of time together with him and we became really close friends. We hang out on a regular basis, we go out and party it up, so they’re very much not only a big part of our business lives but great friends and like a second family to us.
So when we thought of the idea of shooting ‘Heartbreak Tour,’ we were like, ‘Yo we have to bring these guys back on to do this video.’ So we hung out and talked about this idea of what ‘Heartbreak Tour’ was going to look like. Shooting a video with your best friends is so much fun.”
Kat: “You get to see them on another level.”
Alex: “There’s that comfort level and trust. We knew he was going to put out an amazing product. We knew that his vision was absolutely incredible and he was going to be able to execute it. When we worked with him, there was just this cohesive, awesome dynamic. That’s how we got that video.”
CSC: You also recently released a fun summer jam “You and the Radio.” Can you tell us about that song and why you chose it?
Alex: “When we first moved to Nashville, Warner Chapel teamed up with our management company called Artist Management Group founded by Rob Beckham and they sent a list of songs they wanted us to listen to and see if we were interested in cutting any of them. ‘You and the Radio’ was one that really stood out to us because of how unique it is. It goes into this chorus but then it almost feels like the chorus is a pre-chorus and you’re kind of expecting it to go somewhere else but then it kind of relieves itself. It’s got this weird groove to us that stuck to us and we were like, ‘You know what, let’s cut this thing. It sounds like a summer jam. It’s lots of fun.’”
CSC: You were both on American Idol. Can you talk about your experience on the show and what you learned from it?
Kat: “‘American Idol’ was such a fun show. We got to meet so many people that are still great friends of ours. It just taught us a crash course of what we get to do now. Getting to perform in front of the judges, having to learn a song in four hours and then go on stage the next morning.”
Alex: “No sleep, lots of stress… it really just kind of helped prepare us for what the music industry is like a lot of times when we’ve got shows and stuff.”
CSC: You’re very unique with your sound and how you mix Country and Latin. Is it scary doing something completely new and have you experienced any challenges?
Alex: “Actually, it’s been really positive. We’ve done our song ‘How Many Times’ in Spanish and there are people who do not speak Spanish in the room and are absolutely digging it. They love the dynamic and how cool the sound is. On the flip side, the Latinos are saying, ‘Man, I could show this to my parents or my grandparents who don’t speak a lot of English and they understand it. Now I can share my love of country music with my family because they’re going to be able to understand what the music is saying.’”
CSC: Is the English/Latin mix going to be a huge part of your music going forward?
Kat: “It’s going to be a big part of our music. We’re working on a translation right now for ‘Heartbreak Tour.’ I just wanted everybody to be able to understand it. When my grandparents sing along to the songs in Spanish it just means so much.”
CSC: Do you have any other songs coming out this year? Or possibly an EP?
Alex: “Absolutely. We have some meetings with our team to start hand picking some songs that we’ve written and even some outside songs that the really talented musicians in Nashville have written so we’re really excited to get all these songs together. We don’t know if it’s an EP or an album yet, but they’ll be coming out before the year is over.”
CSC: Since we’re Celeb Secrets, can you tell us a secret about yourself that fans wouldn’t know just by hearing your music?
Alex: “I used to be a police officer and I had a head and neck injury. Because of that injury I left the force and ended up getting a free motorcycle from Harley Davidson and traveled the country in two months. I did 17,000 miles in two months on a motorcycle. Those are going to be some of the best memories that I’ll hold forever.”
Kat: “Growing up in Miami, I come from a family of fishermen, so I was born on the water spearfishing, free diving, and all that stuff from a very young age. So if I didn’t do music I think I’d still be doing that competitively.”
