What started as a passion for creative writing has morphed into something beautiful for Waterloo High School graduate Lexi Krekorian.

Krekorian, known by her artist name “Alexandra Kay,” has found success in the music industry with a hit single after being signed to a record label.

“I’m not one of those kids who has been singing their whole lives,” she said. “I was a writer first.”

Krekorian won creative writing contests when she was younger, and her parents realized she had a gift for it.

Her journal entries turned into lyrics, and she wrote her first song at 13 years old.

“It was the only way for me to really get my feelings out,” she said. “I kept it to myself for a year.”

After some time, she showed the song to a few friends.

“You don’t know you can sing until someone tells you you can,” she said.

Krekorian never planned on singing as a career choice, but knew it was something she enjoyed.

At WHS, she started doing theater productions and got involved with Belleville community theater shows as well.

After high school, she received several softball scholarships but was told she couldn’t continue to pursue theater with a softball scholarship.

She was also accepted into the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles and the New York Film Academy, but didn’t receive enough financial aid to make attending feasible.

Krekorian taught herself to play guitar, found people to sing with her, and worked with several different managers and five vocal coaches to develop her craft.

Now, she has a record deal and a music video with more than 118,000 views on YouTube as of this writing.

She signed with Nettwork Entertainment six months ago, and the success has been growing steadily since then.

“It’s absolutely crazy,” she said. “(The video) is really cool because 85 percent of the views are (from) overseas.”

The music video for her single, “No More,” has only been on Nettwork Entertainment’s YouTube channel since the end of October and is currently on 60 radio stations nationwide.

“We’re working on a second single now,” she said. “I’ll also be traveling and doing press conferences.”

She was also featured on FOX2 TV news in early November during the “Band in the Box” segment with host Tim Ezell.

“It was my first time singing on TV and I was so nervous,” she said. “I had never realized how hard it is to get acoustics and levels right in a room like that.”

Next week, Krekorian is flying out to Los Angeles and will get to attend the biggest music event of the year, the Grammy Awards.

“I just found out (I was going to the Grammys) on Monday night, and I was so excited I couldn’t sleep,” she said. “It’s going to be amazing.”

The following week, she will fly to New York.

As for the rest of the year, Krekorian will be going on a mini radio tour and scheduling shows.

“I’m enjoying myself and learning so much,” she said. “At this point, I’m like a kid in a candy store.”