"It was always my dream to have a song on FIFA"

Teenage sensation Alex Spencer has topped off a stellar couple of years in his music career with one of his biggest achievements yet.

The 17-year-old's new single, ‘Nightmares’ features on this year’s edition of the football video game FC 25 (formerly FIFA), which was released in late September.

Over 2 million copies of the game are sold each year, and Alex is in esteemed company on this year's edition, with artists such as Kasabian, Coldplay and Billie Eilish featuring on the soundtrack. 

Alex’s career hasn’t been short of milestones, having supported the likes of Miles Kane and Jake Bugg, as well as headlining and selling out the Deaf Institute in Manchester, but this is arguably the biggest of the lot. 

“I’ve still not properly processed it,” the Droylsden resident told the Reporter. 

“It was always my dream to have a song on FIFA, but I never truly thought it’d be possible.” 

After producing the song back in May, Alex and his team instantly knew it would be a hit: 

“As soon as we produced it, we all thought it sounded like an old-school FIFA song,” Alex told the Reporter. 

“So we pitched it to the people at FIFA (FC 25) and they loved it.  

“A couple of months later I got a call confirming that it was going to be on the game, and I was just buzzing. 

“The only annoying thing was that I had to keep it a secret for about four months before the game came out.” 

Listeners will have probably noticed that the song contains a verse that is entirely in Spanish, in honour of Alex’s heritage- he was born in Spain to a Spanish mother and spent the early years of his life living in Barcelona. 

“It’s an international game with songs in so many different languages and I just thought it’d help reach a wider audience if I included a bit of Spanish. I think that’s one of the reasons FIFA decided to take it on,” the talented musician told the Reporter. 

Understandably, the media attention following the announcement has been non-stop for Alex, but this is something he has embraced: 

“It’s been surreal. I’ve had so many interviews over the past few weeks, but it’s been so fun telling my story and spreading the word. 

“I’ve also had so many amazing messages from people. Some have even said this is the FIFA song of the year- the love for it has been mad.” 

This month, Alex has featured on various national radio stations, as well as appearing on BBC’s North West Tonight, and ITV’s Granada Reports. 

The 17-year-old's rise has been nothing short of astounding, from busking in the streets aged 12 to having his song on one of the most popular video games in the world. 

The Droylsden musician first appeared on Tameside Radio’s Local Music Spotlight feature back in 2020, aged just 14, with a guitar, and a dream. 

This was one of the first interviews Alex did in his short career, where he spoke about his aspirations to make a name for himself in the music industry. 

The feature was set up by our very own Dave Sweetmore, who has a passion for giving local artists a voice and helping to put them on the map. 

Even after going on to achieve what he has, Alex continues to be grateful for the platform Dave gave him all those years ago: 

“Dave has been mad supportive over the years, and still is to this day- Tameside have been as a whole really. 

“It’s been so great to constantly have someone there who believes in me, I think that’s so important because you can lose motivation sometimes.” 

The teenage star has also had support over the years from his favourite football club, Manchester City. 

Back in 2022, Alex had the opportunity to play in front of the Blues’ playing squad following their league win. 

“They’ve been amazing with me,” Alex told the Reporter.  

“They’ve just been so supportive over the past three years- Jack Grealish even follows me on Instagram!” 

Alex also did an interview with the club on their most recent matchday, Saturday’s win over Southampton. 

And City are not the only club Alex has an interest in- he and his friends often pay a visit to the Butcher’s Arms, to watch their beloved Droylsden FC. 

“I love going down to Droylsden, it’s great,” Alex told the Reporter. 

“We always get an amazing crowd. I remember we were away to Curzon last season, and we got beat 7-2 but it was such a good laugh. 

“We brought so many fans, I think it was a few hundred and it was on a Tuesday night as well.” 

As well as getting his song on FC 25 (FIFA), 2024 has also seen Alex embark on his first ever UK headline tour, performing in cities such as Liverpool, Leeds, London, and his home city of Manchester. 

“It’s been an unbelievable year for me, and hopefully it will be the start of something big,” Alex told the Reporter. 

“We’re already planning our next tour and it’s going to be even bigger and better than the last- I can’t wait.”