Lex Borja's musical roots run four generations deep. His great-grandfather was a trumpet player. His grandmother was a singer who directed a 12-piece mariachi, and once stopped them mid-song to correct the key (an 8-year-old Lex was watching front row). His mother is also a singer with a strong voice.

Lex started playing guitar at 8, started singing at 14, and has been playing venues since he was 18. He's 41 now and leads a band called Lextacy.

In this episode, Lex and Brian get into:

- Growing up in Tijuana with three-day family parties where everyone sang or played an instrument

- Being immersed in 90s pop and R&B (Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Luis Miguel) alongside mariachi

- Auditioning for La Academia in Mexico (2010), American Idol (2011, made it to Hollywood Week and the top 50), and The Voice Mexico (4 episodes on national TV, coached by Wisin y Yandel)

- The chair-turn moment on The Voice Mexico, when his hands cramped from the electricity and he had to stop playing guitar mid-song

- Auditioning for nine years before getting on The Voice

- Why he chose to sing in Spanish on The Voice (English is his second language, and he felt he could be more sincere transmitting emotion in Spanish)

- The story of being booked to perform on opening night of New York Fashion Week (Runway 7), and how it started with a song he wrote called "Never Thought" four months earlier

- Auditioning for The Voice in LA in 2022 and getting blocked due to being on probation

- How Lextacy can grow up to a 9-piece band when the venue can afford the full lineup

- The songwriting practice of mumbling first, logic second (a technique he learned from the Beatles)

- His three tests for new mixes: phone test, shitty wireless speaker, and car test

- How writing songs became his way to say what he couldn't say out loud, traced back to his single mom leaving letters on his pillow

- Why you can't blindly trust the setlist, and how to read the room

- His new single "Dañado" (releasing May 29) and what damaged means to him

Memorable moments from the episode:

When Lex talks about transforming pre-show panic into something useful, he says: "If you don't control your nerves, your nerves will eat you up and just leave you stranded to dry."

Reflecting on what kept him going through 9 years of auditions and a probation block that cost him a spot on The Voice in LA, Lex shares the philosophy that drives him: "I don't want the what-if on my life."

Toward the end of the conversation, Lex makes a direct appeal to anyone holding back a song they're scared to release: "Don't be stingy. Share that shit. Because I guarantee you that whatever you're going through, there's someone else out there going through a similar situation that that song could potentially shine some light, perspective, or lift someone up."

And on his core identity as an artist, when asked about playing alongside skilled guitarists: "I'm a singer. I'll go toe to toe with any singer. Put me. Let's go, baby. And I don't care if I get crushed, but I'll hold my ground."

Where to find Lex:

- New single "Dañado" releasing Friday, May 29 on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and other major platforms

- Live release performance: Saturday, May 30 at Miramonte Winery, performing the song live for the first time with the band

- Lex has approximately 17 songs on Spotify, with multiple songs around the 50K stream mark (many listeners are coming from outside the US, including Spain, France, Brazil, and Mexico)

Lextacy band members shouted out in this episode: Josh Lomeli (guitar), Cody Burson (bass), Miguel Diaz (drums), Nicolai Flores (trombone), Music Man Mark (trumpet), Cameron Evans, Kole Weber (saxophone), and Dave DeNuccio (percussion).