Alexander Stewart: 'Why my lyrics don't mention gender'

You might have heard Alexander Stewart's heart-breaking ballads on TikTok.

The 23-year-old has been writing teary anthems since he was 16, and it's proved a success: he now has over 3.3 million followers on the app.

But there's one big difference in the Canadian popstar's lyrics: you won't find him using any pronouns.

Why? He tells BBC Newsbeat it's crucial for all his fans to feel included when they listen to his music.

"I've always preferred gender-neutral lyrics because I think it's important that everyone can relate."

"It's something that feels natural when song-writing," Alexander says.

'It shouldn't be noticeable'

Since working with producers, Alexander says he's been asked if leaving pronouns out is important to him.

The answer is yes - even though he believes new listeners may not notice.

"I don't think you would catch on to me not singing pronouns, in the same way you wouldn't catch on to an artist saying 'her' or 'him'," he says.

Aware that most of his listeners are in their teens and twenties, Alexander doesn't want his music to isolate anyone who's still working out who they are.

Alexander has been writing heartbreak songs since he was 16

Relatability is a big thing for Alexander - it's partly why he sings so much about heartbreak, because it's a topic most have experienced.

"I haven't been in a happy relationship in my whole life so I kind of write from what I know."

Alexander isn't alone - in the past few weeks we've heard break-up anthems from both Miley Cyrus and Shakira.

"Sad music is definitely in," he says.

"I saw this meme that I thought was so accurate, it said everyone hates when their favourite artist gets into a happy relationship because sad music is so relatable."

Fans think Miley was throwing shade at Liam Hemsworth in her recent single Flowers

Shakira's recent song Out of Your League is all about her footballer ex Gerard Piqué and fans are convinced Flowers, by Miley Cyrus, is about her ex Liam Hemsworth.

As for Alexander's heartbreak songs? They're based on three exes.

"I have three specific people that have influenced the majority of my music," he says.

"I've never reached out to them to explain my songs are about them, because I'm pretty sure it's obvious."

Alexander covers other artists songs on TikTok

Alexander's already had chart success in Canada, but he's now gaining fans around the world.

That's partly due to TikTok.

But even though he has a huge number of followers on the site, he doesn't want the app - where songs often "blow up" - to influence his music.

"There was one point where I thought 'maybe I should write a song based off what would do well on TikTok'," he says.

"Then I was like, making art is an incredible and beautiful thing. I can't make music for social media because the magic in the music will disappear."

Follow Newsbeat on Twitter and YouTube.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.