Rising Musician Omar Apollo Isn’t Willing to Settle
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Before recording his debut full-length album “Ivory,” Omar Apollo had a different album ready to go. But then he scrapped it.
“I just didn’t like it,” Apollo says. “I wasn’t excited to release it or play the songs. I thought about it and I was, like, ‘I’m just compromising right now.’ And I was, like, ‘I’m gonna make a whole new album.’” Less than four months later, he had “Ivory” ready to go. “The album that I scrapped was the road to ‘Ivory,’” he adds.
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It’s been a quick ascent for the 24-year-old Mexican American singer, who released his first studio EP, “Apolonio,” in fall of 2020. Last year, his single “Te Olvidaste” with rapper C. Tangana picked up two Latin Grammy nominations, for record of the year and best alternative song.
Apollo was in “the middle of the forest” in Idyllwild, Calif., working on “Ivory” when he got news of his nomination.
“The night before I saw three shooting stars,” he says. “I woke up in the morning and my manager calls me: ‘You got nominated for two Latin Grammys.’ It was really cool to get that nod, for sure. I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t even know that it was eligible.”
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Apollo is gearing up for tour, which kicked off April 5 in Portland, Ore., and will take him up and down the West Coast this month, including a stop at Coachella. It will be his first time at the music festival as a performer.
“Since I was a little kid, I’ve been hearing about Coachella, and you hear about all these legendary performances — like Prince doing ‘Creep,’” he says.
The titular and first track on Prince’s debut album “For You” influenced Apollo’s decision to lead his own album with “Ivory,” a pared-down and brief opening track. “I always loved that Prince came in really a capella. So I was just, like, I want to do that, too,” says Apollo, who sings in both English and Spanish. “[‘Ivory’] is about the bond and the trust that you build with someone over time. And I wanted to center the album around that. There’s a lot of themes happening [on the album]: There’s the sad side, this longing side and there’s a really cocky, party side. Emotions are complex and people are complex. So, I wanted to throw in every side of music that reflects me.”
Last month, Apollo released “Tamagotchi,” a single which was produced by The Neptunes, aka Pharrell and Chad Hugo. The song came out of a weekend trip to Miami; the trio recorded two songs. “And then after the first session, [Pharrell] was, like, ‘Yo, you can extend your trip. We got to make five more.’” Apollo describes Tamagotchi as a summertime party song — perfect to hype up a crowd on tour. “Ivory” also features collaborations with Kali Uchis and Daniel Caesar, the latter of whom Apollo became close with during the pandemic.
Apollo currently calls Los Angeles home, although he goes back home to Indiana often. He grew up in Hobart, located just outside of Chicago, where he honed his guitar skills as a teenager and performed at church. He started a few bands before bringing his solo act to open mics locally and in Chicago. “And then four people knew my songs, and that just got me so excited,” he says. “So I was, like, ‘I gotta keep going.’”
Apollo, whose fashion representation is managed by the Lions, was still sorting out his sartorial plan for his tour shortly before his first show. He describes his personal style as comfortable and casual but also camera-ready. “And it’s the same thing on stage. You can have a little more fun on stage with the outfit, a little bit more dressed up, but I kind of like getting on a stage in the fit I’ve been wearing all day. It’s kinda tight,” he says.
After finishing up his U.S. tour, Apollo plans to release a few new tracks for a deluxe edition of “Ivory,” and then he’s headed to Mexico. “I have this Europe tour I’m going to hit, so I’ll take a break in Mexico, and then come back to it.”
Courtesy of Javier Silva
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