American singer Alex Warren left Melbourne concertgoers both stunned and amused on Monday night when he agreed to a fan’s unusual request: signing a zip-lock bag containing their late mother’s ashes.
In a viral TikTok video posted by concertgoer Sashy, the 24-year-old performer is seen grinning as he holds the sandwich-sized bag up to the stage lights, cracking jokes as he prepares to autograph it.
‘Our parents look identical, it’s incredible, that’s crazy,’ Warren quipped.
He then added in disbelief: ‘She’s in the zip-lock bag? That took me by surprise. Am I signing this like it’s a school lunch?’
Leaning into the surreal moment, Warren asked his band to play ‘some dead mum signing ashes music’ while he scrawled his signature across the bag.
After handing the ashes back to the ecstatic fan, he laughed with the crowd: ‘What kind of special f***ed up group are we?’
But the exchange quickly shifted into something deeper. Warren, who often speaks candidly about grief and loss, opened up about his own experiences losing both parents at a young age.
‘My name is Alex. My dad passed away when I was nine from cancer, and my mum drank herself to death,’ he told the audience.
‘When I was nine years old, I felt so alone, yet surrounded by so many people. People can say ‘I’m sorry’; they can offer their condolences and say they understand what it feels like. But unless you lose someone, you don’t really understand that part of you that’s missing.’
He then introduced his song Ordinary as ‘a song about my dead parents,’ drawing both gasps and cheers from fans who were moved by his honesty.
Warren’s willingness to open up about his own dark experiences, even through humor, has become part of his appeal.
It follows Warren’s UK television appearance in March, where he revealed further details about his difficult childhood and the losses that continue to shape his music.
Appearing on ITV talk show Lorraine, the star said: ‘I just knew something was going to work out. My dad passed away when I was young, and my mum was an alcoholic and abusive.
Continuing his story, Alex explained that during his shows he asks his fans if they relate to his songs about losing a parent, which many do, and calls it a ‘moving moment.’
Alex originally rose to fame through social media, launching his career on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
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