For the past decade of his life, Sasha Allen’s been writing songs to help process the world around him.
They’re songs about love and loss. About pain and euphoria. About watching the guy he had a thing with cozy up to someone else. About finding the courage to embrace his authentic self.
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And now he’s channeled many of them into his deeply personal and life-affirming debut album, The Gallery. It’s a fitting title considering each track is like a portrait of a different point in the singer-songwriter’s life, collectively telling the story of who he is today.
Of course, Allen’s never been one to hold back. Ever since his time on The Voice bought his talents & charms to the homes of millions across the country (on Team Ariana Grande, no less!), he’s continued to share his experiences, not just through song but on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram where he’s cultivated nearly two million followers.
Though even his most loyal fans might be surprised by how ran and vulnerable he gets on The Gallery, whether he’s singing about falling deeply in love with his girlfriend Adore Delano, or mourning the loss of his dear sweet dog Nellie.
Since we’ve had The Gallery on repeat this month, with thought it was the perfect time to invite Sasha Allen to be the latest guest in our long-running Q&A series, Dishin’ It. In our conversation, the artist reflects on building his “time capsule” of an album, shares what he learned from Ariana Grande that’s stuck with him his whole career, and reveals his perfect date night with Adore (hint: it involves Housewives).
Is there a piece of media—whether a movie, TV series, book, album, theater, video game, etc…—that has played an important role in your understanding of queerness and the queer community, or your own identity? Why does it stand out to you?
This is a major throwback but Orange Is The New Black came out at such a pivotal time for me where seeing any queer representation was incredibly impactful. Seeing Laverne Cox on that show as an openly trans woman that was also playing an openly trans woman was something I needed to see at the time as a young queer person. Queer people and characters in media are so important, and allowed me to connect my own experience to something before I was even out.
(@speaknowsasha)Congratulations on The Gallery, your fantastic debut album. Of course, you’ve been a prolific singer-songwriter, releasing plenty of music these past few years, so what were some guiding ideas that helped this album take shape? How did you know which songs were right for the story you wanted to tell?
Releasing an album has been my ultimate goal for so many years, and when that opportunity finally came I subsequently had years worth of material to sift through. Rather than going with a certain theme or storyline for the album I decided to just go through all of it (even songs I hadn’t touched in years) and choose the 10 that I felt most proud of. Narrowing hundreds of songs down to just ten felt like finding the highlights of my songwriting throughout my whole life, and encapsulated so many different feelings and experiences I’ve had as an artist and human being.
You’ve described the album as a “time capsule” and that feels quite literal with a track like “Just Like You” which you first wrote some of over a decade ago. What’s changed about the song since then? Does it take on a deeper resonance for you now?
That song was one that I came back to many, many times throughout the years to rethink and rewrite, and it kind of grew up with me. Hindsight is 20/20 and doing revisions of that song at older ages made it weirdly easier to describe that experience and time in my life. “Just Like You” has changed shapes many times over the years, but still has something at its core that feels so true to who I was when I was younger. Releasing a song at 25 with lyrics written by 15 year old me feels really special, and has made it one of my favorites on the album.
And the song “What It Feels Like” is such a gorgeous tribute to your partner Adore Delano, your muse. What’s your ideal date night together?
Ideal date night would be not leaving the house, ordering burritos and watching The Real Housewives. Ideal daytime date would be going to a petting zoo or animal sanctuary which we are literally doing together this weekend for my birthday!
You’re also a really talented visual artist—how would you say your work in these two mediums influences one another, particularly as it relates to The Gallery?
Visual art and music have always felt wrapped into one for me. I designed all the visuals for my album and honestly wouldn’t want it any other way. Visual art is just as much of an extension of myself as music is, and I’ve always felt like they inherently go together. Creating visuals for my music, whether thats animation, illustration, or graphic design, makes me feel so much more connected to it, like it’s truly and completely mine.
Of course, most of the world got to know you through your time on The Voice, on Team Ariana Grande. What’s something you’d say you learned from Ariana Grande at the time that’s stuck with you in your career?
Ariana taught me many things but the most practical was probably the fact that I should take care of my voice and to treat it as an instrument. Ariana was so into vocal health on the show, and I was a 20 year old that was actively vaping and had never even thought much about the health of my voice (yes, ironic considering the show was literally called The Voice). I’m still not the best at it but there are still little practices I learned from her that I still use to this day to sound my best when I record and perform, and when we were on the show she even gave the entire team these fancy little portable steamers that I still have to this day! I’ve never thought about my voice as an instrument, so being coached by someone who does was really impactful.
A lot of fans have also gotten to know you through TikTok, and we’ve also loved seeing some of the funny content you’ve been creating with your bestie on the @sashaandmaddie account. What has it meant to you to have that as an additional creative outlet, and why is it important to you?
TikTok is so important to me because it’s mainly allowed me to connect with LGBTQ+ people, trans youth specifically. I feel it’s my responsibility to be open and vulnerable online as a trans person, so I can be the representation that someone out there needs. I’ve had so many young trans people reach out to me over the years to let me know how my content has helped them in some way, big or small, and that’s the core reason why I’ve remained so open and honest about my identity/experiences on social media.
@sashaandmaddie
And, in closing: Who is an LGBTQ+ artist/performer/creator that you think is doing really cool work right now? Why are they someone we should all be paying attention to?
I saw Cain Culto perform this year at pride and it was so out of this world. He’s such an insane performer with insane original music AND he shreds on the fiddle. No one’s doing what he’s doing right now and it’s so cool to see.
Sasha Allen’s The Gallery is now streaming on all major platforms.
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