Alexandra Ashley Hughes, known publicly by her Stage Name, Allie X, is a Canadian Singer-Songwriter. She performs high-octane electropop driven by catchy hooks, unusual melodies, and tightly woven narrative lyrics, though her early career explored genres from jazz to indie rock.
After paying her dues as an Indie Pop artist in Toronto, releasing several albums in limited-release CD format, Hughes moved to Los Angeles in 2013 and quickly achieved success with her first single, "Catch", under the name Allie X. "Catch," along with her subsequent singles "Bitch" and "Prime," would later be featured on her first EP, CollXtion I. Since then she has achieved popular and critical success with one album, numerous singles, and a musical project.
She also contributed heavily to Troye Sivan's Blue Neighbourhood, with songwriting credits on seven tracks including "Talk Me Down" and "Youth."
In addition to music, Allie has minor acting credits in various Canadian movies and TV shows including Being Erica and Instant Star.
Select Discography:
- CollXtion I — EP (2015)
- CollXtion II: Unsolvednote (2016)
- Super Sunset (2018)
- Cape God (2020)
Tropes Appearing in Allie X's work:
- 15 Minutes of Fame: The lyrics of "Not So Bad in LA" make an allusion to this expression:And the ghosts of the nineties walk the streets
And the Venice girls smile with the whites of their teeth
All licking their lips for a quick fifteen - Album Closure: The final song on ColXtion I is the Love Is Like Religion song "Sanctuary," about finding refuge from life's difficulties with her beloved.If they come with torches
'Cause they don't like the truth
They can't hurt me when I'm with you
You're my sanctuary, baby - The Casanova: Zig-zagged in the single, "Casanova," where she alternates between calling the man she has become obsessed with (and who seems to have betrayed her) a Casanova and telling him, "You're no Casanova."
- Double Consciousness: Allie has described the song "Bitch" as being about an abusive relationship between two parts of herself.
- Double-Meaning Title: "All the Rage" is a phrase meaning "trendy" or "popular," but in the context of the song it also means something like "furious."
- Feminine Women Can Cook: The first verse of "Bitch," which invokes 1950s-style gender roles:Gonna bake and make your dinner
I'll be your cook - Imaginary Friend: "Simon Says" is about one,
according to Allie.I got a friend you'll never see
I got a friend, and he loves me - Location Song: The first single from Super Sunset, "Not So Bad in LA," is about Los Angeles.In a city that lives while its bright stars die
And you start to get old when you turn 25
Where else can you go when you got that drive?
And everybody says when they arrive
It's not so bad in LA - Love Is Like Religion: In "Sanctuary," she characters her beloved as a place of sacred protection, invoking religious terminology such as saints, heretic-burning, and the Rapture.
- Meaningful Name: According to Allie, the "X" represents the unknown, like a variable in geometry.
- Revenge Ballad: "All the Rage" is about the singer's intention to "take over the spotlight" after being ambiguously "rejected."
- Silly Love Songs: As a pop artist, she has many of these. Straight examples include "Hello" and "Sanctuary," though she also has plenty subversting or deconstructing the happy veneer.
- Stage Name: Her real name is Alexandra Ashley Hughes.
- Theme Naming: Every song on CollXtion Inote has a One-Word Title.
