Alexa Cappelli: “Temporary” Was The Song That I Needed
Alexa Cappelli
In the beginning stages of her next era, 23-year-old LA-based artist Alexa Cappelli is okay with embracing discomfort. On her brand new single, “Temporary,” the singer-songwriter is as vulnerable as she’s ever been, exploring the idea of letting go of the present for something better in the future.
With a newly signed deal with Artista Records and a new album in the works, Cappelli is a rising pop artist with years of musical inspiration to inform her present-day creativity. From growing up surrounded by her dad playing guitar to listening to Taylor Swift and drawing positive songwriting perspectives from artists like Andy Grammar and Ben Rector, the Southern California native is finally finding her space in the pop music scene not only through songs that embody the pop persona of freedom but also through a tender-hearted honest that can be distinctly found on her new single, “Temporary.”
“Last summer, I started talking to this friend of a friend and they were great. So sweet and kind,” Cappelli tells Amplify Her Voice about the inspiration behind the emotional pop-rock ballad. “They would go out of their way to do things for me, but the more that I got to know them I realized that I don’t think we aligned and we wanted very different things and so, this song was a culmination of what would have happened if I didn’t end things as soon as I did. The chorus says, “If we were still together, but now, we’d be at each other’s throats, trying to recover from another argument.” The things that I was passionate about, he felt as passionate about, but the opposite, and I don’t want to be in a place where I’m having to compromise the things that I believe in. I didn’t feel that it was fair to ask him to do the same thing. It was really sad because I had a lot of feelings for this person, but it was just not going to work out in the long run.”
Opening up about how difficult it can be to say goodbye, Cappelli tells the story of vulnerability and the need to let go of what’s not serving you in the moment for something better. Through solemn guitars and a quick-fire melody, Cappelli’s new song echoes the raw honesty that can be found in music like Julia Michaels’ or Kelly Clarkson’s. Rather than adopting a damsel-in-distress, hopeless romantic ideal, she walks away from a relationship that could have potentially become something great because for Cappelli, being in love with the potential just isn’t enough.
“I think ‘Temporary’ is the peak of what I feel I’ve grown into,” the artist explains of the song’s representation of her growth as a singer-songwriter over the years. “It’s asking, ‘Am I okay with the discomfort of this temporary pain, of letting go of this person, even though I love them?’ We just weren’t gonna work and it was obvious. Being okay with that discomfort, grieving that love, that relationship, that potential of whatever that could have been… ‘Temporary’ was the song I needed.”
Despite the heartache, Cappelli isn’t one who’s unbelieving in love. “I believe that the kind of people I want to surround myself with and the person I want to spend the rest of my life with exists and is out there,” she says – and in the same vein, the artist continues to look towards the future with the making of her upcoming album.
Even though her new album centers around themes of letting go and losing people, Cappelli’s next project is still one rooted in love, looking forward, and community. Reflecting on her journey to rising pop stardom, the artist gives this advice for anyone looking to make music too. “As an artist, showing up consistently will make a difference. What are ways you can show up for the people that do already like your music and your voice? And for people you’re connected to who are also on the same creative journey as you, how can you lift each other up? There’s power in numbers if people are coming together and building each other up.”
Though Cappelli’s journey in music started long before her nearly 500k followers on TikTok, the artist has spent every since she was a teen writing her first song crafting and perfecting her musical identity. Despite the beauty standards and societal expectations that Cappelli trains herself not to give in to when it comes to posting on social media, she’s grateful that the internet has connected her to fans she may have never connected with at all. Over the years, the artist has built through her honest, pop-addictive song storytelling a following that cares about telling truths just as much as she does.
Now, Cappelli is ready to embrace what’s next, but not before taking a moment to reflect on the one thing in her career that she’s proudest of so far – “I think ‘Temporary’ is my favorite song I’ve ever written. It’s just so authentic to me and what I’ve felt and I have that personal connection to it, so it’s such a big win to me! It seems small because it’s just a song out of many songs that I’ve written, but I feel like it’s really gonna help a lot of people,” she says, excited about the song’s future.
Writing “Temporary” got Cappelli through the pain of saying goodbye to someone who just wasn’t going to work out. Today, she shares her new single with the world through a new mindset, more hopeful than ever. “I’m super stoked and I’m really glad to have an awesome team primarily of women who are encouraging me and supporting me. Honestly, I’m good!”