[1] Alexander says that many artists have made impacts on him with a few of his biggest inspirations as Erykah Badu, David Bowie, Andre 3000, Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, Lorde, Sia "and the list goes on for miles.
"[1] He cites Fantasia, Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert, Joshua Ledet and Jena Irene as his all-time favorite AI performers.
"[9] He also said Lorde was definitely a writer he'd like to work with and that she, Santigold, and Erykah Badu are his favorite and most influential artists because "They're each very unique human beings with very distinct voices and styles.
"[9] Alexander first auditioned for the twelfth season of American Idol in 2012 in New Orleans' Mercedes-Benz Superdome where he advanced to sing his reworked version of "Love Potion No.
"[1] He auditioned for the fourteenth season of American Idol and won his ticket to Hollywood Week in June 2014 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.
[12] Callbacks were also in New Orleans, with this season's celebrity judges all returning from the prior year, Harry Connick, Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban, and were held at the Morial Convention Center in August.
[13] Alexander's group round for Hollywood Week was in a quartet where he was the oldest member, they successfully performed Bruno Mars' "Runaway Baby".
[2][16] For "I Put a Spell on You" he chose it about a week before the show and experimented with American Idol's arranger, he says the song was different every time he did it and is his favorite performance from his competing.
For the songs from the movies week he sang Lo-Fang's stripped-down arrangement of Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta's "You're the One That I Want" from the 1978 musical Grease which 'People' magazine said "stole the show".
[17] Alexander advanced to the top 7 with fellow New Orleans singer Joey Cook, who is originally from Virginia but has made the city her new home.
[23][24] An AI source also stated that for fairness purposes the judges and contestants have a strict wall of silence between them and only interact onstage so Connick Jr. and Alexander have not had contact since last week.
[26] Included in her critique was that the show had aired the promotional video featuring the confrontation which she characterized as "misleadingly edited" to boost ratings which have been historically low,[27] had a surprisingly few negative judges comments, and instead lavish praise for other contestants while Alexander's was pointedly negative, and what Parker saw as a "backhanded and unflattering" exchange from Connick Jr. insinuating Alexander needed Auto-Tune.
[5][28] Bustle states that from his style "to his quirky personality and unique voice, Alexander screams “artsy” and “soul” — exactly what Connick, Jr. [also a New Orleans' son] was looking for in his hometown.
[8] After his elimination USA Today stated, "Throughout his run on Idol, Alexander combined a flair for dramatic musical performances with outlandish costumes, gaining confidence and creating some of the season's most memorable moments along the way"[28] Alexander states that he would sketch out or toward the end when it was more hectic just give direction as to what he wanted his style to look like and would work with the show to find a balance between him as an artist verses him as an American Idol.