Xavier Joseph is an up-and-coming country music artist from the great state of Texas who, originally began his career as an opera singer. Using the skills he learned from his time at the Austin Lyric Opera he created a unique sound blending his strong tenor voice with a combination of traditional and modern country.
From a young age he grew up being very well rounded in the arts studying dance, singing, acting, and martial arts to name a few. As a teenager, Xavier traveled all over the country competing in various entertainment competitions, coming in as national champion 4x for his dance routines.
At 15, he joined a country western swing dance group known as the "Elite Wranglers". Being on this team he was introduced to the world of country music. His obsession with the genre quickly grew! Shortly thereafter, he took up guitar to grow his arsenal of skills.
From 2019 to present Xavier's radio singles have all made their way onto the Texas Regional Radio charts with, his most recent single ”Tomorrow’s Another Night" reaching #69, as well as being added onto the Texas Music Pickers Top Texas Country and Red Dirt Singles Spotify playlist. After spending the early part of 2020 touring and the later part recording all new music in Nashville, Xavier is ready to show country music what he’s really made of.
On February 11,2021 Xavier released his brand new single “Worst Best Way”. Taking from all his country music influences this new single intends to not only introduce his new, refreshed sound to the world but also demonstrate the uniqueness an opera singer turned country singer can bring to the genre. This single is also a lead up to his debut album titled, “Built With Love”, due to release in early fall.
Alan Mercer: Let’s start with the fact that you have your debut album coming out later this year! You must be excited.
Xavier Joseph: I am very, very excited. We spent a lot of time working on it. 2020 was slow but it was a blessing in disguise because my debut album originally had a whole different set of 12 songs. I took the time to really think about it and I met a new producer in Nashville, and he helped me re-structure everything and now I have a sound I’m super proud of. I’m having a baby in May, so I was able to incorporate that into a song for the album. This is the sound I want for myself in the future.
AM: So, you are basically finding yourself as an artist.
XJ: Yes, I used to go by my real last name which is Alcala. My full name is Xavier Joseph Alcala Herrera. My father is from Mexico. I had a single titled ‘Never Been To Texas’ did really well and became very popular on the radio. So, we realized that the deepness in my voice is what should be built upon. This became the launching point for me to decide what I wanted to do next. The album was originally supposed to be released in 2020 but like everything else it got pushed back.
AM: Wow, that gave you a chance to discover a better sound.
XJ: We’ve been building on that. We have enough songs to last me until the end of 2022, even though the album will be out in August of 2021.
AM: How did you decide on August as the release month?
XJ: We have a lot of stuff coming out. So, we came up with August to fit in all the songs we are releasing. I’ve been making videos and recording songs. We have an acoustic version of ‘Worst Best Way’ with a bunch of new, fun stuff. The video will be out this summer. I’ll have another single on the streaming platforms in May, so it made sense to release the album in August before the next single in September and then the last thing we have scheduled is a single in November.
AM: Do you have a manager?
XJ: Yes, I signed with Clay Dustin with SM1 Management, and they are in association with Sony corporation. This is the first release distributed under their new company, Orchard Distribution. I signed with Dillon Steen promotions also. A lot is changing for me in 2021.
AM: Are you writing any songs?
XJ: Some of them. When I reached out to my producer, Chad Sellers, he had a couple songs that he had been waiting for the right Texas artist to record and bring out the right sound. He wrote the first three songs on the album. I’m not a natural songwriter. It’s not my first talent. I did write a big chunk of the song about my baby. I wrote about a quarter of the material. I assisted in the writing.
AM: You are an all-around entertainer. I saw you dancing in a video and you were phenomenal!
XJ: In a different lifetime, I was living in New York City and I was a professional dancer. I traveled the competition circuit and won many awards. I did a lot of off Broadway shows.
AM: Wow, you were so young and doing all this.
XJ: Yes, it’s very surprising that I ended up in Country music, my unspoken passion. My voice was not trained originally to be a Country music singer. It was trained for musical theater. I’m an easy tenor, but I realized I wanted to be a Country music singer. I felt a calling deep in my bones. That’s actually why I came back from New York City.
AM: The dancing will be helpful for the rest of your career, even if you never dance again.
XJ: I still teach a lot of private tap-dancing lessons. I drop into different classes around Houston and teach classes now and then.
AM: You have a reputation.
XJ: I get calls all the time in Houston to see if I can come do some choreography. My reputation is now more of a teacher rather than as a performer. I’m using all my performance skills to my Country music career. That’s my thing. I’m a performer. What I lack in natural songwriting I make up for in my performance skills. I enjoy being on stage so much. I love connecting with the audience. Acoustic shows are the hardest for me because I sit in one spot and I like to move around a lot.
AM: Now I’d like to talk about your strong passion for fitness. I know you want your YouTube channel to be about music, motivation, and fitness.
XJ: I had an idea of what I wanted to do and we changed it up a little bit. I’m coming back strong in the next couple of months with fitness education because I am a competitive body builder. I do know a thing or two about what I’m talking about. Lots of people who are into music are getting into fitness. It’s making it’s way in to Country music. Fitness is a big part of people’s lives now. I’m probably one of the only Country music artists who doesn’t drink. I just never got into it. I didn’t grow up that way. I don’t have the taste for it at all. One reason is for fitness but the other part is I don’t like it.
AM: So, no drinking songs from you?
XJ: I will have a song out in 2022 that will be my one party drinking song. It’s the song that is the most not like me. I do enjoy singing it though. My voice can pull it off.
AM: Your voice is really strong. They are going to love you in Nashville.
XJ: I go to Nashville a lot. I love Nashville. The last time I was there we packed the entire place. I’ll be posting some professional videos from that show. It was a fantastic night. We had tons of followers and new listeners.
AM: You have a heart throb quality.
XJ: I want to come off as the Tom Hanks of Country music. I don’t get political. I want to be a combination of Country Music, Tom Hanks and Dwayne Johnson. I want to capitalize on the fitness look I’ve worked hard to get and be the gentleman I am.
AM: One last question Xavier. Are you ready to be a father?
XJ: I am ready! There are so many good things going on for me, but I am the most excited to be a dad. I cannot wait. I am nervous and I know I have a lot to learn about having a baby girl. I can’t even put into words, how excited I am. My wife and I are over the moon when it comes to anything about our baby daughter.
