New Rising Artist: Omar Apollo — The Lexington Line

Are you looking for a new artist to add to your playlist? Omar Apollo is a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter who has taken over listeners’ playlists with his hit song “Evergreen.” His notability increased when he was nominated for this year's Grammy's in the Best New Artist Category.

Although he didn't take home the Grammy, his newest record released in April of 2022 titled Ivory is an R&B, soulful album that is in need of your listen.

Rise to Fame

Omar Apollo grew up in Indiana with his parents and with a lot of musical influence. He grew up listening to diverse genres of music including soul, funk, pop, R&B, and latin music. His love for music grew when he discovered Prince and Lenny Kravitz.

Apollo began to take music seriously in his senior year of high school. He tells BeatRoute, “It was really weird for everyone that I was making music,” he says. “But I was just like, fuck it.”

Music seemed to be the only thing that clicked for Apollo. He worked customer service and for industry jobs but his true passion was music.

In 2022, Apollo signed a deal with Concord Music Publishing, the partnership came to be after his label Warner Records released his debut album Ivory.

Apollo’s rise to fame skyrocketed when his song Evergreen landed the 51st spot on the Billboard Top 100 list. The song increased more popularity when it began to gain traction on TikTok.

“Evergreen” Taking over our ‘for you’ page

“Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me at All)” took over many ‘For You’ pages, specifically the bridge of the song. Apollo was surprised to see this is the track off the album that gained the most popularity.

“I never thought it was going to be the song.” He goes on to say, “It meant so much, I never imagined it would resonate the way it has,” he tells Variety.

The song highlights Apollo’s musical skills with the use of fluctuating between from whisper to louder octave. The song encapsulates the vulnerability one feels after a previous lover is now in love with someone new.

The song is about Apollo trying to win back his ex boyfriend, who left him for a girl. Apollo goes on to explain his disheartened emotions that his ex does not feel the same way anymore.

The bridge of the song gained popularity and went viral due to the vulnerable chorus:

“You know you really made me hate myself
Had to stop before I break myself
Shoulda broke it off to date myself
You didn't deserve me at all, at all, at all.’

Tours

Omar Apollo is currently on tour with SZA in the U.S and will be touring with Billie Eilish later this month in South America.

Fans hope to see Omar Apollo on his own tour soon.

New Single: “3 boys”

Apollo recently dropped a new song titled “3 Boys” which explains to the feeling of being in a non-monogamous relationship and talking to multiple love interest at once.

“I wrote the song on a rainy day in London. I spent most of December there, mostly just because I wanted to get out of America.” Apollo tells Pitchfork.

He goes on to explain, “I ended up going to the studio more than I thought I would. I wrote the song with a friend of mine, Dylan Wiggins. It seemed like we were both in the same mind state for a song like this. The song wrote itself really quickly. I also had my friend Mustafa help me with a few lines after I played it for him.”

This is Apollo’s first song of 2023 and fans are excited to see what music he has in store for us.

Omar Spotify Playlist

We have included a Spotify playlist for you all to listen to Omar Apollo and add him to your must-listen list.

It is apparent that Apollo has taken over the music industry and is a rising star. We are excited to see what he has in store for us fans this year.

Will you be adding any Omar Apollo songs to your playlist? Leave a comment down below!