Forbes recently put a spotlight on Alex Warren, the 25-year-old singer-songwriter who told interviewers bluntly, “Who cares if I’m a TikTok musician?” — a line that should make anyone tired of cultural gatekeeping sit up and take notice. The profile frames him as the kind of self-made artist Americans used to celebrate: someone who turned struggle into song and fans into a career.
Warren’s backstory reads like the kind of grit we don’t see celebrated enough in our mainstream culture: his father died when he was a child, he faced homelessness as a teen and he and his future wife slept in a car while he chased music opportunities. He didn’t wait for permission from elite tastemakers — he hustled, hooked up with other creators in the early Hype House days, and kept writing songs that came from real life.
And the numbers back the work ethic: his single “Ordinary” exploded across platforms, broke into the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 and racked up massive streams while winning praise from established artists like Lana Del Rey. This isn’t some manufactured celebrity prize given by a boardroom; it’s audience demand, people voting with their ears and their wallets.
Conservatives should applaud that kind of climb. Too often the cultural elite sneer at anyone who finds success outside their old networks, calling artists “TikTok musicians” as if the label cheapens real talent. Warren’s answer — that he cares only whether his music helps people — is the correct response: results, not status signaling, should determine who gets respect.
That said, this story also exposes uncomfortable truths about Big Tech and the new gatekeepers. Warren himself said he hasn’t been swept up in the AI hype and values the imperfect, human side of songwriting, even as algorithms on platforms like TikTok decide who gets amplified. We should be grateful creators can reach audiences without legacy gatekeepers, but remain wary of centralized platforms that can shape culture, reward the lowest common denominator, or erase authenticity in pursuit of engagement.
At the end of the day, Warren is selling out shows, earning award nominations and turning viral attention into a genuine career — the American dream in a modern form. If conservatives care about hard work, family and honest expression, we should cheer for artists like him and stop letting elites dictate what counts as legitimate success.
