Performing an original track during your American Idol audition is a risky move, but things could not have gone better for Alejandro Aranda AKA Scarypoolparty. He performed not one but two originals – Out Loud and Cholo Love – which stunned judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan and went on to garner more than 16m views on YouTube. Stevie Nicks posted a heartfelt Facebook post about the 25-year-old, saying: “Alejandro, let me welcome you to the grand stage that will be your home for the rest of your extraordinary life.”

So far, Aranda’s life has taken him from busking and playing back-garden parties in his home town of Pomona, California, to touring the US (Katy Perry joked that she’d like to be a roadie on the tour). Last month he released his debut album Exit Form, which has received plaudits for its expansive sound. On songs like Diamonds and Black Cross, he blends the moody, bold electro-rock of Nine Inch Nails with powerful and sincere vocals that bring to mind fellow Idol runner-up Adam Lambert.

Earlier this year, Aranda told the Chicago Music Guide: “I started to play out in the street because I have terrible stage fright… I have always tried to make my own music. It’s the only way I can express myself at times.”

• Scarypoolparty plays Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London, Dec 9 and 10, and tours the UK and Ireland in March