Alex Warren Gets Interviewed About Money by Second Graders

Grammy-nominated singer Alex Warren stepped in to lead a group of second graders at PS 111 in Queens on a new episode of Celebrity Substitute that arrived Wednesday (Sept. 9).

The students immediately asked Warren about his bank account.

“Do you have a lot of money?” one little boy asked.

“I don’t. I don’t have a lot of money,” Warren responded.

The musician explained that he makes music because he loves it, not because of other factors. When asked about his biggest goal, Warren stated, “I want to be a dad.”

After learning that the singer has a wife, a student asked how long they have been together. Warren shared that he met his wife when he was 18 and that they slept in a car for a long time.

“Yeah, yeah, it was very romantic,” he joked.

Warren told the class that he and his wife share their home with four dogs, three horses, and two cats.

“Do you have a mansion for that?” a student asked.

“I don’t. I have a big yard,” Warren said, explaining that he has land where he and his friends can hang out.

When asked which artist he would want to be, Warren named Shawn Mendes.

“I really like Shawn Mendes,” he told the class, describing the Canadian pop star as the human embodiment of a beautiful being. Warren joked that people told him he looked like Mendes in high school, though he insists he does not see it.

As part of the digital series hosted by Julian-Shapiro Barnum, Warren taught the students about creativity by helping them create and film a music video for his song “Emerald Eyes,” which he wrote as a love song for his wife.

“I wanted a love song that was kind of tailored to my wife,” Warren said. “A lot of the ones I make are very general and you know, you can kind of apply it to whatever.”

The students suggested ideas including summer-themed scenes, dancing, and giant green eyes. Warren put the children in charge of filming portions of the video themselves.

“There’s a lot of ways to be creative, you guys,” he told them. “My way of being creative is making music.”

Warren reflected on why creativity became vital to him, noting he wished creativity classes existed when he was growing up because he did not feel comfortable expressing himself earlier in life.

“When I was homeless and all these different things, it was like, oh cool, I have to be creative and have to think outside the box,” he stated.

During his appearance, the school community pantry received a makeover with groceries, organizational supplies, and household items from Amazon.

After viewing the renovated pantry, Warren recalled his own childhood and the teachers who supported him.

“I used to go to lunch all the time, I had no one to sit with and I’d sit with my teachers,” he said. “So there was a huge amount — like, I go back all the time to say hi. They were a huge part of my life.” He added that the revamped pantry allows families to access necessities without feeling shame or guilt about what they need to survive.

Warren admitted that his initial nerves about returning to an elementary school classroom faded by the end of the episode.

“I was so scared, but honestly, I don’t want to leave now,” he said. “These kids are so amazing.”

Watch the full Celebrity Substitute episode below.