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elijah woods stands an imposing two meters tall—he was potentially an athlete for the NBA league, he says—but he's far from intimidating. Maybe it's the virtual barrier of Zoom, or perhaps it's just his nature, but by the end of our interview in late February, one thing was clear—elijah might just be the warmest artist I've ever met.
Elijah's music is a direct extension of his warmth, effortlessly embodying the gentle, heartfelt energy he carries. Known for heartfelt songs like "24/7, 365" and his rising hit "Could You Love Me?," Elijah creates more than just a singer-listener connection—his songs feel personal, like a conversation.
Elijah's songwriting is all about finding fresh perspectives in the ordinary. "It's about finding a unique perspective to something that's really ordinary," he told Cosmopolitan Philippines. His process isn't rigid—he usually starts with a melody before weaving in lyrics, pushing himself to see beauty in the mundane. "Songwriting is about observation... If you can look at things differently and think, 'Oh, that's actually really beautiful,' that's how my songwriting works."
ALSO READ: elijah woods Describes Love For A Narcissist In New Song
With back-to-back hits, elijah has built a massive global following, especially in Asia. He considers the love from his Asian fans one of the biggest turning points in his career.
ICYMI, elijah's ilu 24/7, 365 tour brought him to Manila last year for a packed show—an experience he still recalls with giddy excitement.
"In Manila, I hopped into the crowd, and it was a bloodbath. It was insane. It was like a mosh pit. [...] People's hands were in my shirt. My shirt got ripped. It was bananas. I was like, 'Oh, I'm never getting out of this crowd,'" he laughed.
elijah continued, "But after it, and after I was able to take a deep breath and figure it all out, it was so cool, as if—as if that's my life! As if I could be mauled in Manila like that! And everyone was so lovely and fine and cool. But it was just so overwhelming and very fun. So I'll remember being in the Philippines forever. It was so much fun."
Beyond the wildest crowds he’s ever seen, Elijah's real goal is connection. A moment with a fan solidified that purpose.
"I'm doing more than just writing silly little songs," he reflected, recalling a fan who thanked him for "matthew"—a song dedicated to his late brother. Years later, a woman told him "matthew" became a space for her to remember her late sister. (Yes, we're trying not to cry either.)
"That's so powerful and so special—and bigger than me. I just voiced my feelings, and the fact that it could give someone comfort, a place to go, is really special,” he told Cosmo.
Below, we're sharing our exclusive and very sweet chat with elijah woods. (Little secret: He even gave us a sneak peek of "Could You Love Me?" before its release—and let's just say, we absolutely swooned.)
elijah: I had a very musical family growing up. I grew up with like a lot of The Beatles music, and I was always in the back of somebody's van, going to a live show, getting exposed to all kinds of music from a very young age. Then my dad taught me how to play guitar when I was 8 years old.
I never thought I'd pursue music. I always wanted to be a basketball star because I'm very tall. I'm almost 2 meters tall, so I always thought I was going to the NBA—and that didn't pan out. And I kind of fell into DJ-ing because I really liked just electronic music. I was really into that for a while. Then, that led me to production and songwriting. I fell in love with that. I kind of realized a few years into it—I was like, 'Oh, I could do this professionally. I could do this full time.' I just figured I was out as I went, and that turned into discovering my voice through songwriting and discovering.
elijah: It depends. It changes from song to song. I think I'm always melody first. I always write a melody or a concept. I'm constantly voice-memoing things on my phone, like little ideas, whether it's a melody or just something that sticks out to me. But I think the biggest thing is just assessing my songwriting process and looking at it as a holistic thing. I'm a lot more attentive now.
I try to take stock in what's going on around me. Songwriting is about observation. We see these things that are so human, and that seems so mundane, but if you can look at them with a new perspective and be like: 'Oh, that's actually like really beautiful.' The way that you wake up in the morning, and your eyes are full of sleep, and the first thing you see is like, I don't know—your dog licking your face. That's a really special moment if you let it be.
This is an example of how my songwriting process works is like looking at that from the other perspective. It's like looking [at] how excited this animal is to see you first thing in the morning and how beautiful it is that you have a creature that like relies on you for so much, and you rely on them for so much. It's about finding a unique perspective to something that's like really ordinary.
elijah: There's probably a pile of moments. I think like major, major life moments—I got engaged a few years ago to my now-wife. It shaped a lot of the songs that came out of me for a long time, and [it] still continues to do that. It shifts and changes, and that feeling kind of grows and becomes other things. That shaped a lot of my earlier music—falling in love and finding that person.
As of late, it's been just like it's been really just trying to pay attention to what's going on in my life. I turned 30 just this last year. It's my birthday this week, which is insane, and I'm turning 31, which is nuts. I feel like an old man—just making observations about my life and being attentive, present, and trying new things.
As a songwriter, I think the death of a lot of inspiration is routine and making things regular. I try to—even if I'm exploring a new city—I'll just go walk around without a new map or go into a store that I normally wouldn't, or try new clothes on, or go out and meet new people. And I think that keeps things fresh. The inspiration really comes from everywhere. It's all very personal.
elijah: I'm actually releasing a song, and I'm very excited about it. It's called, "Could You Love Me?" It's a really, really special one. It's kind of like a great jumping-off point sonically for the next chapter, and with that working towards an album by the end of the year, hopefully for tour. And hopefully, that tour is coming to Manila. Fingers crossed.
elijah: This song specifically was like a new one for me where I tried to write it from a different perspective, like, not from an immediate perspective, from like a character's perspective on a relationship that I have and it was so cool, because then, when I looked at the song after it was written, and after it was done, I realized that it was so personal, and it was so like: 'Oh, this is about this one person I know in this one relationship I had.' And the song is about basically loving a narcissist, and it's not about my romantic relationship.
elijah: Yeah, yeah just to be clear. [laughs] My wife is lovely. She's great. She's so nice. [She's] the opposite of a narcissist. It's about this one relationship that I have had in my life and how exhausting that was just to constantly be asking somebody for their attention, for their love. I wrote it with some new friends and one of my best friends, who are not songwriters—which was so much fun.
elijah: I think the easy answer is: you just don't know when they're done. Even now I'm like, 'Oh, I can redo this, and I could re-cut the vocals, and I could remix it and all the things.' I think there's a certain point where, for me at least, I look at the songs, and I think: will I love this in a year? Will I love this in 5 years? Is this still gonna feel like this moment for me?' Because there are certain songs that you write that are like, 'Oh, this is a great song. It's really catchy, transitory, but maybe it doesn't mean as much in the long term.
I need to fall in love with it [the song] if it's gonna come out because I got to get up and perform it every day. I want to make sure that I'm putting music up that I really, really love and I really care about. It's a tough balance. At the end of the day, I try to trust my gut. I think that's my motto of 2025—just making sure that I really love the music I'm putting out.
elijah: Ever? My favorite comment is kind of morbid, kind of dark, but it was really, really special for me. A couple of years ago, I think it was 2022. I put out a song called "matthew," which is about my brother, who passed away in a car crash, and I wrote that song very much for me. There was no intention. There's no marketing, there was no nothing. It was like I just had to say this thing. And I was like, what if anyone else has gone through this? I hope it makes [them] feel as as seen and as comforted as it did for me, because it was very, very cathartic to write. It was so painstaking, and so painful and awful and incredibly tough. But I got through it, and I wrote it, and I was like, "Oh, my God! Now I have a space to go visit my brother." I can listen to that song, and I can be with him.
At one of my shows a couple of years ago, I played it at a tour, and this girl came up to me, and she said that her sister had just passed away six months ago. My brother passed away in 2008, so it's been a long time. She discovered "matthew" through a mutual friend, and she had been listening to it, nonstop, and she was like: "Honestly, it gave me a place to go to visit him or to visit her."
It gives me motivation. I'm doing more than just writing silly little songs. It was a really small show. I took maybe an hour after every show and just chatted with people. She stuck around right until the end of the thing. She told me that story, and I just started crying and gave her a hug.
elijah: Honestly, there are two really, really great moments. And one of them was in Manila. I tell nearly everybody about this because it was nuts. It was like I had heard from mutual friends who had toured in the Philippines that Filipino people are so die-hard and so incredible and so enthusiastic about art and music, and especially love songs. I didn't know what to expect from them. So, last year, I had a song that I would hop into the crowd for every city. I think, maybe, with the exception of Tokyo, because it was so jammed, and I couldn't. But in Manila, I hopped into the crowd, and it was a bloodbath. It was insane.
elijah: Great question. I think I lost a little last year. I lost sight of what I needed to do. I went through a bunch of life changes, both really great and some not so great. I think the piece that keeps me sane is having good people around me and making sure that I have a good gauge of what's going on because it's really easy to lose yourself around terrible people, especially in this industry, especially with success and money and the whole thing. So, having good people around you it's just a good rule of thumb for any industry.
elijah: Having a relationship with my Asian fans. To be honest, it's such a wild thing for me. The fact that it's the music [that] has transcended language and borders—the whole thing is just beyond me. It's just so cool. Y'all have changed my life entirely. It's made it possible for me to come tour there. It's unbelievably expensive to tour. So many artists lose money getting out on the road and playing dates and the whole thing. You have to fly to every single show. So, to be able to do that and even just break even is mind-blowing to me.
I just want to play my music for you and be with the people who have changed my life. That was the biggest turning point. My career is finding love and compassion in an audience as lovely and compassionate as my Asian fans.
elijah: My ultimate goal this year is to release an album that I'm very, very proud of that speaks to who I am. Another sidebar goal is to celebrate this Asian tour. So I'm very, very much looking forward to that, because it's bigger rooms than it was last year. I'm hopeful that people still want to hear me sing.
elijah: I love Zack Tabudlo. He's great, and apparently, he's in Los Angeles, so I think we get some days in, which would be great. We had tried to work together a couple of years ago, but the timing didn't work around the 24/7 remixes—I would love to work with him.
To my Filipino fans, I can't wait to be back in the crowd with you. I'm jumping right back in there. We're gonna mosh it up. Stay tuned for announcements. I haven't not thought of the Philippines. I love the Philippines very much.
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Special thanks to Secret Signals.
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