AidAn Bissett
Two years ago, emerging musician and songwriter Aidan Bissett was making beats from his parent's home with dreams of trading in his adolescent room for large-scale production and stages, flashing lights, and loyal crowds. Now, the 20-year-old singer-songwriter has upgraded from a bare-bones self-produced and self-released creation process to the big leagues. Although that same person remains at heart, Aidan now occupies the fast lane, touring all over the country with incredible acts and attending red-carpet events in style.
Listen to Aidan's new single, Out Of My League, and don't miss the chance to see him perform live on tour.
Aidan Bissett is photographed by Anthony Giovanni, Fashion by Edwin J Ortega, Grooming by Faye Celeste , Words by Kayla Curtis-Evans , Cinematography by Aramis Duran
Aidan wears Alexander McQueen
Aidan wears Ferragamo
Aidan wears Moschino
Aidan wears Saint Laurent
Two years ago, emerging musician and songwriter Aidan Bissett was making beats from his parent's home with dreams of trading in his adolescent room for large-scale production and stages, flashing lights, and loyal crowds. Now, the 20-year-old singer-songwriter has upgraded from a bare-bones self-produced and self-released creation process to the big leagues. Although that same person remains at heart, Aidan now occupies the fast lane, touring all over the country with incredible acts and attending red-carpet events in style. Almost every aspect of his life has transformed in the past couple of years — the bedroom crooner has leveled up and through that metamorphosis, a new version of Aidan Bissett has emerged. “I remember just sitting in my parent's house and I would hope and pray that a year from then, I'd be somewhere creative, doing something cool, and playing shows. And lo and behold, somehow that happened,” he continues, “I think if me from two years ago looked at where I am now, I'd probably be shitting myself. I'd be so excited.”
All of the pinch-me-moments Aidan has traversed over the past years are worth reveling in, as the musician describes his past self as a less assured individual, especially when it came to his own credence in his ambitions. He reflects upon his high school years, sharing that he was a sort of social chameleon who floated between cliques and dispositions. He was able to seamlessly shift between groups, but sometimes that adaptable quality came at a disadvantage. “I moved to Florida in high school and I didn't have a huge social network,” Aidan shares. “So I was kind of just on my own while everyone was doing their own thing. It was just me and my family. I got to a point where I was like, 'Well, I have nothing to lose.' I had already faced so much judgment. So by putting out music and doing TikTok or other social media, there was no more judgment that I could face that would be any worse than where I was at the time.” Leading with optimism, Aidan combatted that transitional period by diving head-first into his passion. He began putting out music and making accompanying video clips, and before long his sound was embraced by the masses.
Aidan wears Bode, and Karo Koru necklaces
After enrolling in an online production and music-making class, the burgeoning star really gained his wings. “That really gave me the confidence I needed to pursue this. It wasn't until I received a little bit of validation from other creators and other music students that I thought, 'Oh, this could be something,’” he beams. And those preliminary experimental tracks were only the beginning. Just a year later, the singer went on to release a few intoxicatingly melodic singles — “Different,” “Worst Girls of All Time,” “More Than Friends,” and “Communication” (among others) — before capturing the attention of the internet and the best, well it’s still yet to come. After hitting his stride, finding clarity in the sound and persona he wanted to put forth, and accumulating a dedicated family of fans, Aidan released his debut EP, I’m Alright If You’re Ok. Following overcoming inner trials and tribulations, facing the intense tides of scrutiny that one’s high school years typically spur, and countless days spent perfecting his craft, Aidan finally found his tribe in the realm of music.
With finding his tribe, then came finding himself — both sonically and introspectively. The young adult was quickly thrust into the spotlight, with a growing audience of 549k (and counting!) on TikTok and tour dates consistently unfurling across the U.S. Even though the past few years have been a whirlwind, Aidan has seen each new challenge as a valuable lesson, constantly using every new experience to lay the foundation for the next and consistently elevating. When it comes to his sound, he has cited early musical inspiration from classic rock groups like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC, but his own music takes on more dreamy pop vocals combined with bouncy, alternative backtracks. When asked if a sense of genre-bending fluidity is a core tenet of his music, he answers, “It wasn't until the last EP that I put out that I started to solidify where I want to be sonically. And even in that project, there's still a lot of fluidity. But I think now, as time goes on, I'm starting to figure out my own sound that's a little more set in stone. I feel like everything that I've been creating lately — all the visuals that we're doing and the styling — it feels grown.”
As Aidan settles into his sound, he is also simultaneously maturing in his personal life and relationships. I’m Alright If You’re Ok is a meditation on love — love lost, new relationships, or the bubbling excitement of a new romantic pursuit. On the project, he shares, “Everything on that was kind of an inner monologue. The phrase, 'I'm alright if you're okay' was something I would always say to people I was in relationships with throughout life. I would always focus on them. Like, I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'll be good if you're good, you know?” He continues to elaborate upon the inner blossoming that the EP spurred within him — “That whole project was about discovering how to deal with that and how to move forward into future relationships. I had to ask myself, 'Are you focusing a little bit more on yourself as well as the other person?'” The EP boasts catchy vocals interwoven with titillating beats, but many of the songs share a selfless quality — they convey an artist who is or has been pierced by Cupid’s bow, and as a result, he had been spending more time focusing on interpersonal relationships than his relationship with the self.
Aidan wears Tanner Fletcher
Aidan wears Saint Laurent
“I've learned so much about love and relationships in the past two years,” Aidan details, “It's all about shared experiences now being able to bond over those sorts of things. That's kind of all we have, as humans. So I think that, to me, has now become the number one, in anything with relationships and love.” When it comes to valuing and prioritizing his relationship with himself, he says, “It can be really tough in Los Angeles to focus on yourself and not on everything else and all the people around you. I still struggle with it, to be honest. Being able to voice my emotions allowed me to, at least, confront them and come to terms with whatever I was going through.”
Music has led the way for the young artist, providing a deeper purpose, a developing relationship with his own identity, and an outlet through which he can connect with others over the rigors of early twenty-something hood. Much of this self-realization also comes along with cementing his persona as an artist. Now, just a few years into his professional career, Aidan Bissett wants the world to know that he is not one for taking the easy route. Although he has turned the heads of many through his craft, he still desires to develop his image in an organic and genuine way. “I feel like style is such an important part of artistry that is commonly looked over nowadays. Especially with the giant fishbowl of new and developing artists there are today. It's an incredible thing that TikTok and social media, in general, have widened the pool of artists,” he continues, “But at the same time, it has kind of allowed a lot of people to skip steps, in the sense of developing a project with patience. And one of those steps is developing a brand and style.”
Aidan sees fashion as yet another creative outlet and cites a few artists who he reveres for their unrestrained senses of selfhood — “There are so many examples — look at Olivia Rodrigo, look at Harry Styles, look at The Strokes — they all have very distinct styles that are catered towards them and that's their identity. Developing that from day one, I think is so incredibly important.” When it comes to his own eclectic style, a swift scroll through the singer’s social media profiles conveys his affinity for worn-in vintage sweaters, playful graphic tees, or denim, but he states that he is also currently in the process of elevating his personal flair, especially when it comes to what he dons on stage. “I absolutely love Celine right now, they have done such an incredible job incorporating that kind of edgy, rock look,” he says. On what we can expect to see him rocking on stage while he debuts at music festivals and expansive tours, he shares, “I think from now on, I'm going to have more staple pieces. I'm excited to curate those looks and be able to solidify that in this project. Everything that we're doing is just slowly taking steps forward and upward, and elevating. I have always wanted to develop this outside of being seen as a kid.”
After moving from Florida to Los Angeles, meeting with producers and labels, and learning all of the ropes, the tour life — picking out consistent looks, fine-tuning set lists, and understanding how to bounce off of a live crowd — has become second nature for Aidan. Last year he embarked on his first-ever tour with Claire Rosinkranz, then continued to tour with The Greeting Committee and Lauv. Looking ahead, his next tour begins in late April, and Aidan is more than ready to return to the stage — this time with some more experience and maturity in his sound under his belt. “Being able to see how your music affects people in real-time is such an insane experience that I had always dreamed of,” he discloses. “I'm working on writing things that are adult concepts, feeling things, and being able to articulate things in a better way, with more advanced metaphors and similes and all that. I'm really excited to see how people perceive it. The past six months have been us trying to figure out what my stamp is and I think we really found it.”
Aidan wears Ferragamo
Kicking this new era of Aidan Bissett off strong, he released a brand new single on April 14, titled “Out of My League.” He dives into the inspiration behind the track, stating, “‘Out Of My League’ came together after realizing I had been in love with a close friend I had known since childhood. With this realization, I felt that I could never come out and tell her, so I decided to pour that energy into this song”. The rhythmic love letter plays upon commonly explored themes in Aidan’s past music — love, serendipity, longing — but the vulnerability in the lyricism evidently displays a newfound lucidity and sense of intention. Expanding upon this evolution from some of his first singles, the singer-songwriter says, “I want people to look at this and be like, 'He's grown.' It maybe sounds a little cliche, but that's what I've been trying to work on in my lyricism.”
He is rolling out new music this spring and summer, in cities across the country and at Lollapalooza, where Aidan will have performed for the first time. “I want to be able to move people in a way that makes them laugh, cry, scream, or whatever,” he expresses. With what seems like the whole world at his fingertips, the horizon is bright for Aidan, one of the members of the next generation of artists to watch. Revisiting one of his early singles, “Different,” Aidan posits euphoniously, “Where do you wanna be in ten years?” I thought it was only fair to ask him the same. He lights up and answers without hesitation: “Well, I just want to be able to perform in front of as many people as possible. So pipe dream: stadiums, baby. Live performance is so important to me and if I can do that, I think I've won. Expanding any kind of connection that people have to this music I think will be a win no matter what.”
Listen to Aidan's new single, Out Of My League, out now.