Backstage at Webster Hall with Love Island’s Bryce Alakai

Late Friday night, we joined the fan-favorite in his green room at Webster Hall to find out what he bought Trinity with his winner's paycheck and how he survived 42 days on the island without his first love: music.

September 12, 2026

As midnight rolled around on Friday, September 11th, a buzzing line of twenty-somethings began to accumulate in front of Webster Hall. From the sprawl of the queue alone, passersby would have been forgiven for thinking the legendary venue was being headlined by any number of the greats who have played its hallowed halls: Mick Jagger, Jay-Z, Madonna, Green Day. Instead, the main attraction was someone with whom the world became acquainted just three months ago: DJ, producer, and Love Island USA season 8 winner Bryce Alakai.

During most recent season of the hit Peacock reality series, the 30-year-old Alakai became a fan favorite for his boy-next-door charm and modelesque looks, his willingness to express his emotions in the villa, and his full-blown yearning for his now-girlfriend, Trinity Tatum, with whom Alakai won the show.

On Friday, he played Webster Hall for the same reason he went on Love Island: the pursuit of love and human connection. It’s evident before the show, when we meet up near the venue and two young women begin to shriek uncontrollably upon spotting the happy couple. Alakai, in a head-to-toe Golden Goose black ensemble, a leather jacket thrown carelessly over one shoulder and a giant Prada bag dangling from his hand, is warm, open, and a bit bashful, tilting his head back with an I can’t believe this smile. Later on in his green room, he holds court with a gaggle of fans who’ve forked over a little something extra for a meet and greet, engaging in long, genuine conversation: Do you live in New York? Oh, you’re from California? Where in California?

“I get emotional every show, and everybody online makes fun of me for crying,” Alakai told me before taking the stage. “But it’s like, I can’t help it. It’s the amount of love you feel from everyone, the positivity. Everyone’s just here to have a good time, and it’s so surreal to me.”

If Islander to DJ seems like an unusual trajectory, Alakai showed himself to be plenty capable behind the booth, where he mixed in house music with well-known hits like Tame Impala’s “Dracula,” The Dare’s “Girls,” and Soulja Boy’s “Pretty Boy Swag.” A bunch of Alakai’s Love Island castmates, on hand to film the Peacock spin-off Beyond the Villa, spent the night dancing in the VIP area, and when Tatum joined him on stage, the set reached a fever pitch. The screams became even more deafening when NSYNC's JC Chasez made a surprise appearance, and when Tyler Kolek and Miles McBride of the New York Knicks joined Alakai on stage, a fitting crossover for two of the summer’s most talked-about phenomena.

Before Alakai’s lively set, GQ went backstage with the Love Island champ to talk about life on the mainland, the artists who inspire his sound, and what he bought Trinity with his winner’s paycheck.

GQ: How are you feeling about performing at Webster Hall tonight?

Bryce Alakai: This is so surreal. Walking in, there was a line going down the block, and then down another block. Like, this is insane. I love New York, I lived here for six years. I feel like this is where I kind of became an adult. I moved here when I was 17. This is insane, and Webster Hall is such a famous venue, it’s crazy.

When we were just outside, you almost got mobbed by a few fans. How has your experience been since leaving the Villa?

[Laughs] It’s been a little aggressive, but it’s been so positive that it doesn’t seem like it’s a bad thing. Anytime someone comes up, they’re always saying, like, Oh, we love this, we love that. I never mind it, ‘cause it’s always just so positive, everyone’s so loving. So it’s okay.

Tell me a little bit about your music career—when did you start DJing and producing?

I’ve been doing music since I was a kid. I played trombone, [that was] my instrument. I did a little bit of producing when I was 18, and then just a little bit throughout time until I turned 24, and then I just took it so seriously, doing it every day, as much as I could. I just love music. Then I started DJing when I lived in L.A., because I felt like it was a little easier than producing. I just got in the flow of it. I feel like music’s been so therapeutic for me, and to share it with other people, I feel like… What other experience could you give, you know?

How would you describe your sound, and are there any artists that have inspired it?

My sound, right now, I feel like is between melodic house and tech house. I’m in this gray area. I always describe it as “music to drive to after a breakup.” But now I’ve been making more club hits…[gestures to the thumping coming from sound check] like this. He’s cooking right now.

I’ve always been inspired by melodic people, like Flume. I just met Chris Lake, like, two hours ago, and he’s one of my biggest inspirations. One of the best house producers of all time, really.

Was it hard being in the Villa and not having any music with you?

I genuinely think one of the hardest things in the Villa was not having any music. I could be without my phone, I could be without a lot of things, but not having music to listen to, not having music in the morning, not having music to work out to, or at night… Music sets the tone for everything. If you watched a movie with no music, it’d feel really uncomfortable. Music is everything. It was 42 days, no music.

On Love Island, you talked about being an actor, being a model, fixing garbage trucks—you’re a jack of all trades. When did you decide that music was what you wanted to focus on?

I always loved acting. I love emotional stories, I love watching character development, there’s so many movies I love to watch. I’m such a crier, obviously. [laughs] I love a good emotional tearjerker.

But I always struggled, because I have so much anxiety, so much nervousness, that I could never kill it in an audition. I could never expose how I felt, so I realized that through music, I could share an emotional story better. It was six years ago, I just decided to max out. I decided this is what I wanted to do. And it means so much to me to share it with people.

I’ve always done so much handyman stuff my whole life: I worked on garbage trucks, I did all these things, and I did it to support the DJ thing, ‘cause I was pretty broke at the time. It was definitely hard work. But it’s amazing that I could use that as a stepping stone to help me. When I was doing my first DJing gigs, I was getting paid, like, 150 bucks. And I would give everything plus more to the video guys, so I would make nothing off my gigs [I just wanted to] make sure that I had content. So seeing it now is insane. It’s crazy.

Do you have any dream collaborators?

I mean, I met Chris Lake today, maybe down the line we can work on something. He’s definitely up there, for sure.

Almost immediately after leaving the Love Island villa, you dropped your remix of Ty Dolla $ign’s “Blasé,” which blew up. Was that already in the works before you went into the villa?

My buddy Tony, who plugged me as a DJ originally, goes on tour with Ty, goes on tour with Leon [Thomas]. He would always send me tracks and he’d say, “Oh, why don’t you remix this for Ty?” Because Ty loves house music. I was DJing hip-hop one day and I was like, Dude, I should do Blasé. So I remixed it, sent it to them, they ended up playing it at Coachella. And then I went into the villa and I completely forgot I made it.

When I came out, Ariana [Madix] came up to me and she goes, “Oh, your song is going crazy.” I was like, “What song?” And then I finally got my phone and looked at TikTok, and I was like, Oh, it’s Blasé. I completely forgot about it. It was crazy.

What’s been the most memorable show experience you’ve had?

They’ve all been incredible. Obviously, I have recency bias, so yesterday [at Elsewhere in Brooklyn]—that crowd was crazy. New York goes crazy, L.A. goes crazy. I can’t say a specific one yet… this is our fourth show now, but each one has been special in its own way.

You are, famously, the mayor of L.A.

[Laughs] It’s funny. I feel like I know a lot of people in L.A., and I didn’t realize how many people I knew until I got out [of the villa]. And like, 2016 was so long ago. I forgot about that Tumblr era, I forgot about all those reasons that my Instagram popped back then. But I like the title. I love L.A.. I’ll always rep L.A.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?

Dry heave. Get really nauseous. A lot of anxiety. And that gets me focused!

You’ve seen the crowd out there tonight, you’ve heard them screaming. How are you feeling?

It’s so much love. It’s so much positivity, seeing everybody…but it makes it even more intense, ‘cause I'm like, Damn, I really need to do well. Just got to make sure we do a good job, go out there and make sure everyone has a good time.

What’s the marker of a good show for you?

As a DJ, you know when people are vibing immediately. You’re going to have dips and you’re going to have valleys, but I feel like if you’re there with everybody the whole time, you’re going to have a good show. And by the end, if the vibe is high, it's like, Alright, I think we did our thing.

What was the big purchase you made with your Love Island money?

I bought Trinity a Louis Vuitton purse, her first real designer purse. I bought it like, as soon as the money hit.

Were you nervous to show Trinity your music?

I was super nervous to show Trinity my music. Music is such an important part of my life. I think if she didn’t like it, it was going to be a problem. I don’t know how I would have circumvented that. So the fact that she likes it is so awesome. She’s a big house head now, which is awesome. Everything’s great. She’s 100% my lucky charm. I feel like when she’s at the shows, they can’t go wrong. They can’t! She’s there!

Most of the cast is here with you tonight, too.

Yeah, a massive majority of the cast is here tonight. Everyone is here for Fashion Week and the New York show, and I just wanted everyone to feel like we’re a family. I don't know where our lives are going to go in the next six months, so I wanted us at least to have this to bring everyone together.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Trishna Rikhy is the associate social media manager at GQ, where she covers fashion and entertainment. Previously, she has written for Vogue, Paper, and V, and covered menswear and culture for Esquire. She has interviewed A$AP Rocky, Jeff Goldblum, Adrien Brody, Drew Starkey, Kid Cudi, Logan Lerman, and more. She ... Read More

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