How Alex Hosking Went From Scribbling In Her "Princess Journal" to Writing for Vera Blue

"If you love it, just do it."

Alex Hosking is completely aware that her go-to motivational saying sounds exactly like a Nike advertisement. But it is the exact attitude that got her to where she is in her career today: writing for some of Australia's biggest acts, like Vera Blue.

"If you love something, it doesn’t matter if it’s competitive. If you love it, you just do it."

And as the young artist from Adelaide tells Student Edge, she absolutely loves writing. She is obsessed with it.

"It’s funny, I have always written. I was always writing poems in my princess journal," she says.

But writing is only one of her loves. Growing up around her parent’s singing at her local church, Alex implored them to enrol her into singing lessons from a very young age.

"They never pushed me into it, but it became such a passion of mine. I remember begging them for singing lessons in Year 2, and I just didn’t stop from that age. Without doing a Mr G from Summer Heights High impersonation, I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember."

Although Alex has always had passion in abundance, the young writer did not realise that it could be her full-time job until she attended David Hodges Nashville SongHubs while she was still in school.

"We had all of these co-writers come in, and I realised that this was actually something I could do; it was a massive wow moment for me," she says.

"I also got invited on an APRA 50 songs in 5 days camp. I got to write with Celia Pavey, who is now known as Vera Blue. She had just come off The Voice Australia and we wrote her debut single."

Of course, Vera Blue isn’t the only impressive name on Alex’s songwriting bio. Now signed to Sony ATV, Alex has written for artists and producers including The Preatures, Steven Soloman, Jess and Matt, Damien Leith, Belle Lucia, and the list goes on.

Although Alex loves writing for other artists, she is gearing up to release her own debut single, "Monsters". The exceptionally catchy pop tune was born out of a poem that she wrote in an Uber.

"I just remember sitting in the uber to Santa Monica panicking, and I just started writing this little poem, and that’s how the song came about," she says.

"I was on my way to this session, and I was super nervous. It was so scary. The producer was playing around with some hip-hop drums and pretty chords, and I just started singing the chorus. It was written so quickly."

However, Alex was not initially tipped to sing the track. As she tells us, her team were trying to draw the attention of other big-name artists.

"When I showed my team, they loved it," she says.

"It got sent around to so many people, and a lot of artists were trying to cut and release it, but my team kept on saying no; they kept saying we could get a bigger person.

"I was getting a little frustrated, so I asked whether I could put it out."

Fortunately, Alex’s team gave her the go ahead.

"It was such a nerve-wracking moment, and I wasn’t entirely sure how they’d feel, but it went well."

While the songwriter is definitely living her best life, it certainly does not come without its challenges.

"Finding myself within such a crazy industry is challenging. I’ve also lived in a suitcase for two years now, and that’s been physically and emotionally hard. It’s about trying to find stability in something that’s such a whirlwind."

But as Alex reminds us, the challenges are worth it when you love what you are doing.

"You just have to focus on your art, or whatever it is that you’re trying to develop. The same as if you are studying, you just keep doing it," she says.

"It’s about finding your drive and not comparing yourself to others. It’s your own path and your own journey."

"Monsters" is now available.

Header Image: Supplied