Long before setting foot on a stage as her enigmatic persona Sorry X, Glendale-native Alexa Graves was once a shy teen who spent her bus rides to Hillcrest Middle School quietly murmuring the lyrics of Adele.
Her voice got noticed by some of her peers and when they lauded her performance, she began to develop the confidence to become Sorry X — a heavy rock project she launched in 2019 and shows off a heightened version of her energetic personality.
“Off stage, I’m a bit more giggly and quiet. But when I’m on stage, I’m in more in your face,” Graves said. “I still get nervous before shows, but not as nervous as I used to get.
“When I get ready to step on stage, the nerves now just disappear immediately. As soon as I hear the music start, it’s go time.”
And with a catalog of songs that have amassed millions of streams across all platforms, Graves is finding it easier to become immersed in her successful persona.
Glendale Native Sorry X will bring her energetic stage personality to two Phoenix stages this month.
Sorry X/Submitted
Early Tunes
Before she ever recorded a note of material, Graves cut her teeth playing tenor saxophone in her middle school band and bass guitar in a middle school band called Broken Silence.
However, it wasn’t until late 2017 that the Mountain Ridge High School alumni and Arizona State University scholar decided to seriously pursue recording material.
Feeling the sting of the sudden passing of emo rapper Lil Peep — who was found deceased on his tour bus hours before a scheduled performance in Tucson — Graves felt called to begin recording lyrics she had written.
She began recording these tunes via the GarageBand app and purchasing beats from producers across The Valley. She quickly realized that the songs she had written carried a similar lyrical theme.
“I was writing a lot of emotional breakup songs like I was a sorry ex,” Graves said. “Sorry X then became almost a play on words.”
A Star Is Born
For the next five years, Graves continued to produce tunes in the heavy emo rap genre where she would sample songs from metalcore artists like Parkway Drive or incorporate heavy guitar riffs and bass lines into her works.
“At that time, emo rap was really popular, and I was into artists like Juice WRLD and Lil Peep,” Graves recalled. “(Since) I had started out doing rock music, the melodies of emo rap came really easily to me and purchasing a beat from a producer was more accessible than paying to go in the studio and write a full rock song.”
But she still couldn’t shake her rock star dreams.
After two years of producing music in her bedroom and restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic beginning to ease, Graves felt ready to take her sound to the stage. This was where she began to alter her approach to writing new material.
“My music is definitely shifted towards writing songs that I knew I would love to perform live,” Graves said. “That’s when I began thinking ‘what’s going to get a reaction out of people’, ‘what’s going to get the crowd going and ‘what makes my heart beat fast.’”
The answer to those questions was heavy rock made popular by artists like Evanescence and Halestorm and reinvigorated by new stars like Spritbox and Poppy.
She began to accomplish that by putting the guitar closer to the forefront of each song that she produced. She also cemented her live band, which currently features guitarist Shea Moore and drummer Kash Jaeger.
“I always wanted guitar to be a main instrument in my music — even when I was purchasing beats. There was always some rock guitar in those beats and there was always a little bit of a blend there,” Graves said. “Once I began working with musicians like (Moore) who is such a great guitarist, that definitely pushed me more in the world of heavy rock as well.”
This sound would lead Graves to Sorry X’s breakthrough hit — a heavy rock cover of the Ashnikko tune “Daisy.”
“About a week after I started posting clips of me performing that song to Tik-Tok it was getting thousands of views,” Graves said.
But Graves humbly admits she still felt a sense of shock when the song garnered her millions of streams upon its release.
Having feted her first year signed to a record label and touring with acts like Twiztid and Alien Ant Farm, Sorry X is looking to close out 2025 on a high note with two Phoenix appearances.
Sorry X/Submitted
Commercial success
This also paved the way for Graves to begin performing heavier tracks like her latest singles “R U Down” and “Bullet”. It also got her on the radar of Phoenix label SBG Records, which she signed to in April 2024.
“‘R U Down’ sets the tone for the sound I am going for moving forward and then ‘Bullet’ shows the versatility in my voice where we go from whispering to falsetto and screaming,” she said.
A year into her deal with SBG, Graves has big plans for 2026.
“We’re going to do a big start for the new year,” she said. “We’ll be releasing another song soon and I am working on my debut album. Those will be out next year.”
Although she is eager to flip the calendar over to 2026, Graves will be ending 2025 on a high note as she has two Phoenix appearances lined up this month.
She will be working as a guest DJ at The Rebel Lounge as part of its SLUDGE: Nu-Metal Party Sat. Dec. 5. She plans to play a setlist of hits from artists like Evanescence, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and Papa Roach.
A week later, Sorry X will perform its last show of the year at the Crescent Ballroom as the opening act for Tempe metal act Eyes Set to Kill.
“At The Rebel Lounge, the drinks will be flowing, the heavy rock music will be bumping. It’s (going to be) a great time,” she said.
When she takes the stage for the final time in 2025 on Dec. 12, Graves will look to end the year on a high note.
“The band takes pride in the fact that we are constantly are growing our live show every single time we perform… whether it’s with incorporating props, wearing different outfits or homing in on the lighting and tailoring it to each song,” she said. “I’m really inspired by artists like Alice Cooper and Papa Roach and like those shows that are just so good live. I really aspire to be like that one day.”
Whether fans catch her behind the laptop at The Rebel Lounge or stomping across the stage with a microphone in hand at the Crescent Ballroom, Graves hopes to accomplish the same goal at each performance.
“I really hope that I can help create a sense of belonging within our community,” she said. “I know a lot of people are hurting, especially right now, and I love that I can inspire a lot of different people — especially young girls — to be strong and to not take no for an answer.
“I love that I can help people come together and just forget any worries they have, go crazy and have a good time.”
Sorry X’s Upcoming Shows
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5
WHERE: The Rebel Lounge, 2303 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix
COST: Tickets start at $13
INFO: sorryxmusic.com
Eyes Set to Kill, Lauren Babic and Stitched Up Heart with Sorry X
WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12
WHERE: Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Avenue, Phoenix
COST: Tickets start at $30
INFO: sorryxmusic.com