Alec Benjamin Performs ‘Jesus in LA’ on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’
Alec Benjamin is a singer-songwriter known for his song “Let Me Down Slowly.” In January 2019, he made his U.S. TV debut with the song on The Late Late Show With James Corden. On Sept. 3 2019, Benjamin performed his newest single “Jesus in LA” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
‘Jesus in LA’ is Alec Benjamin’s newest single
Benjamin released his mixtape, Narrated for You, in November 2018. “Let Me Down Slowly” is one of the singles from the mixtape. Benjamin re-released the song as a duet with Alessia Cara in 2019. “Let Me Down Slowly” became Benjamin’s first song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 list.
On June 13, 2019, Benjamin released the single “Must Have Been the Wind.” Benjamin released a music video for the single in August 2019. Rolling Stone described the music video as “kind-hearted” and “emotional.”
Benjamin released “Jesus in LA” and its accompanying music video in July 2019. Benjamin performed the single on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Before Benjamin’s performance, Fallon said, “It’s one of my jams of the week. Man, I love this song.”
What is ‘Jesus in LA’ about?
When Benjamin released “Jesus in LA,” he shared a message with his fans on Twitter about the song’s meaning.
“When I first got to LA I thought that I was going to finally find the happiness that I had always been looking for. Not long after I arrived, I signed my first record deal. Got dropped. Lost friends. Spent all my money… and had to move back in with my parents. It was then that I realized the thing that I was looking for most was in front of me the whole time. My true friends and family. Even at my lowest point, being back home with my family is what made me truly happy. The song isn’t a literal take on religion or about Jesus at all. It’s about searching for hope and happiness and realizing those things aren’t always where you think you’ll find them,” he wrote in the message.
Benjamin was signed to a record label early in his career, but was dropped from the label. Not wanting to give up on his music career, he played sets in parking lots and outside of larger venues. He then signed a record deal with Atlantic Records in 2018.
“Everyone has to start somewhere, and it doesn’t really matter where you start. I think it’s important to build from the ground up and never be ashamed of playing outside of a venue,” he said in an interview. “Just because you’re starting outside of a venue doesn’t mean that’s where you’re going to be forever.”
Alec Benjamin is working on a new album
Currently, Benjamin is promoting his single “Jesus in LA” before his world tour resumes later this year. He will perform in California and New York in October before leaving for Europe in November. While on a break from the tour, Benjamin plans to write new music.
“tours have been amazing so far but after this weekend i get to come home and write music for like 2 months and i am so excited,” he wrote on Twitter.
In an interview with Billboard, Benjamin revealed he hopes to release a new album in 2020.
“It’s not ready yet. I still have more to say,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll be ready to put it out in January or February.”
