Wildchild (album)
2026 studio album by Alex Warren
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Wildchild (stylized in all caps) is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Alex Warren. The album was released on August 28, 2026, through Atlantic Records. The album was supported by four singles, "Fever Dream", "Fine Place to Die", "Passenger" and "Rescuer".
- Gnome Recording Studios (Nashville)
Gold Pacific Studios (Nashville)
Woodshed Recording (Malibu)
| Wildchild | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 28, 2026 | |||
| Recorded | 2025–2026[1] | |||
| Studios |
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| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 38:55 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Adam Yaron | |||
| Alex Warren chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
.png) Live on the Road cover | ||||
| Singles from Wildchild | ||||
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Background and release
Warren, who rose to fame with his number-one breakout single "Ordinary", released his debut studio album, You'll Be Alright, Kid, in July 2025. He released the singles "Fever Dream", "Fine Place to Die", "Passenger" and "Rescuer" in 2026, which are to be included on the record. On June 3, 2026, Warren released a satirical sketch video on his Instagram featuring actor Kevin James, depicting him and a production team filming an announcement video, announcing that the album would be released on August 28, 2026.[4][5][6] Atlantic Records designated "Emerald Eyes" as the album's focus track, with an accompanying music video released alongside the album on August 28, 2026.[7]
On August 31, 2026, Warren released Wildchild (Live on the Road), an expanded edition of the album through Atlantic Records. The edition retains the album's original 13 tracks and adds live recordings of "Passenger", "Same Stars", "Fine Place to Die", and "Fever Dream", recorded during the Finding Family on the Road Tour. The Apple Music edition additionally includes an exclusive live performance video of "Fever Dream".[8][9]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Paste | D[10] |
| RGM | B−[11] |
| Rolling Stone |   [12] |
Critics offered varying assessments of Wildchild. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars. He praised Warren's sincerity and the album's "warmth", while suggesting that Warren was still developing his artistic identity.[12] Eva De Poorter of Het Nieuwsblad described Wildchild as a personal and mature album, praising its balance of ballads and uptempo songs while finding it musically unsurprising.[13]
Danielle Holian of When the Horn Blows gave a positive assessment, praising the album's emotional honesty and Warren's treatment of grief. She described the record as deeply personal while highlighting the universality of its themes, and wrote that Warren had expanded the emotional range of his music while retaining his established artistic identity.[14] Allyson Franzo of Melodic Magazine similarly praised the range of emotions explored across the album and its ability to remain cohesive despite shifts in subject matter and tone.[15]
Emma Platt of RGM gave the album a B−, praising Warren's willingness to experiment and the combination of pop with gospel, soul, folk, and rock influences. She also praised his vocal performance, but felt that he had yet to establish a distinctive musical identity.[11] Casey Epstein-Gross of Paste was more critical, giving Wildchild a D and arguing that the album prioritized broad appeal over artistic risk.[10]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Alex Warren, Mags Duval, Cal Shapiro, and Adam Yaron.[16]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Emerald Eyes" | 2:36 |
| 2. | "Same Stars" | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Passenger" | 2:39 |
| 4. | "Rescuer" | 3:19 |
| 5. | "Cry Wolf" | 2:44 |
| 6. | "Fine Place to Die" | 3:07 |
| 7. | "Are You Having Fun, Alex?" | 1:31 |
| 8. | "I Miss You More" | 3:05 |
| 9. | "Only Thing Left" | 3:38 |
| 10. | "Fever Dream" | 2:33 |
| 11. | "Won’t Go Back Again" | 2:56 |
| 12. | "Last Time" | 3:17 |
| 13. | "Wildchild" | 4:07 |
| Total length: | 38:55 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Passenger (live)" | 2:44 |
| 15. | "Same Stars (live)" | 3:29 |
| 16. | "Fine Place to Die (live)" | 4:24 |
| 17. | "Fever Dream (live)" | 4:33 |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from Tidal.[16]
Musicians
- Alex Warren – vocals (all tracks), background vocals (track 3)
- Adam Yaron – piano (all tracks), background vocals (1–6, 8–13), bass (1–4, 6, 8–12), guitars (1, 2, 4, 6–8, 10, 13), synthesizer programming (1, 8), electric guitar (3, 5, 9, 11, 12), programming (3, 5, 10–12), organ (4, 8), strings programming (7, 9), arrangement (7); drum programming, percussion (10); acoustic guitar, drums (11, 12)
- Cal Shapiro – background vocals (1–6, 8–13), percussion (8), claps (10), drums (11)
- Mags Duval – background vocals (1–6, 8–13), claps (10)
- Shawn Law Yone Gilad – strings (1, 6, 10, 13), violin (2, 4, 5, 7, 10), strings arrangement (2, 4, 5), viola (7)
- Jon Truman – drums (1, 13)
- Nile Rodgers – electric guitar (1)
- Benz Marston Duglio – cello (2, 4)
- Daniel Lim – cello (2, 4)
- Drew Alexander Forde – viola (2, 4)
- Solomon Leonard – viola (2, 4)
- Yasmeen Al-Mazeedi – violin (2, 4)
- Aaron Sterling – drums (3, 5, 8, 10)
- YungCoconutMilk – background vocals (3)
- Isaiah Gage – cello (5, 9)
- Sean Hurley – bass (5, 13)
- James Ward Hughes – vocals (7, 13)
- Dan Bailey – drums (9), percussion (10)
- John Mayer – electric guitar (13)
Technical
- Adam Yaron – production (all tracks), engineering (1, 3–10, 12), mixing (6), executive production
- Nile Rodgers – additional production (1)
- John Mayer – additional production (13)
- Cal Shapiro – engineering (1, 3–6, 8, 10, 12)
- Mags Duval – engineering (1, 3–6, 8, 10, 12)
- Chase Weber – engineering (1, 4, 8, 10–13)
- Russell Graham – engineering (1)
- Dan Ballard – engineering (2, 10, 12)
- Aaron Sterling – engineering (3), drum engineering (5, 8, 12)
- Grayson Pollard – engineering (4, 13)
- Curt Schneider – engineering (13)
- Jacob Dennis – string engineering (2, 4)
- Maguire Fraatz – engineering assistance (1, 4, 8, 10–13)
- Dannon Johnson – engineering assistance (8, 12)
- Ciaran De Chaud – engineering assistance (13)
- Manny Marroquin – mixing (1)
- Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (2, 4, 5, 7–9, 11–13)
- Alex Ghenea – mixing (3)
- Pedro Calloni – mixing (10)
- Jack Normile – mixing assistance (3)
- Nathan Dantzler – mastering
Charts
| Chart (2026) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] | 1 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] | 3 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21] | 3 |
| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[22] | 32 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[23] | 7 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[24] | 1 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[25] | 27 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] | 1 |
| German Pop Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] | 1 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[28] | 37 |
| Irish Albums (Official Charts)[29] | 10 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums (IFPI Norge)[31] | 5 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV)[32] | 80 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)[33] | 54 |
| Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[34] | 1 |
| Spanish Albums (Promusicae)[35] | 36 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[36] | 14 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] | 2 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts)[38] | 1 |
| US Billboard 200[39] | 2 |