Gay American Singer Omar Apollo Teases Upcoming Album
Image: Omar Apollo Instagram
In a new interview, out gay American Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Omar Apollo teased his “angry” upcoming album and shared that he is “making better songs every day.”
‘The Best Version Of What I Can Make’
In an interview with V Magazine, Apollo, 26, explained that he is currently “in a weird stage of making better songs every day.”
He continued, “I’m trying to make the best version of what I can make at this point in my life. It’s been maybe six, or seven months now that I’ve been tapped into ‘album, album, album’, and nothing else.
“I’ve reached a really focused feeling now when I go to the studio. Like, it feels like it all makes sense. The music seems better. The words are coming out easier. Everything’s going really well.”
When it came to the theme of the new album, Apollo said, “I’m kind of angry. I’m more angry on this album. I guess that’s what I could say [about it]. A lot of the songs are leaning toward anger.
“I’m just pissed off (laughs). It’s not that deep,” he added.
‘I Love Attention’
Known for his confidence, Apollo shared with V Magazine how he handles the attention from fans.
“I love attention,” he said.
“It doesn’t bother me. I mean, maybe one time, I was in the street walking around New York and I was really sad. And I was getting noticed every two seconds and I was like, man, I should have put a hood on or something. But I was just sad. Other than that, it’s never a problem.”
Apollo said, “Even last night, some kids saw me in a restaurant, ran home, got their vinyls, and brought them back for me to sign.”
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‘The Dick Portrait’
In October, Apollo unveiled head-turning artwork for his EP, Live For Me.
The EP’s front cover features a painting of Apollo touching his chest. The album’s back cover features a painting of Apollo’s erect penis.
The artwork was painted by Queer artist Doron Langberg.
In a post to Instagram, Langberg wrote, “Painted the shimmering talent that is @omar.apollo for the cover of his new EP ‘Live for Me’ out Oct 6.”
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At an October “immersive listening experience” for Live For Me, Apollo shared what went on behind the scenes.
“We go into his studio, which I’ve already been in, we hung out, we talked, we had a great time, we connected. Then, we do the first painting. And then I go, ‘Let’s go get a sandwich, let’s go do a lunch break, and then you decide afterwards if you still want to do the dick portrait.’”
He added, “I was nervous about it. I’m a confident guy, don’t get me wrong, but I was nervous about it.”
The Moment He Realised He Was Gay
In a May 2022 interview with fashion designer Willy Chavarria for the New York Times, Apollo revealed the moment he realised he was gay.
He was asked if he was openly gay in high school.
“No, I didn’t even know I was gay,” Apollo responded.
“OK, I did — but not really. I was 17 when it really hit me, and I remember I was in the shower like, ‘Damn, that’s crazy.’”
When the realisation hit him, Apollo said that he did not immediately come out. “I just made music about … things,” he said.
Often Sings About His Queerness
Apollo has sung about his Queerness in multiple songs, including, “Kamikaze” and “Bi Fren”, which are on his Apolonio mixtape, released in 2020.
Live For Me was released on October 6 and features four songs including “Pilot”, “Angel”, “Live For Me”, and “Ice Slippin”.
Live For Me is Apollo’s fourth EP. In 2018, he released Stereo, followed by Friends in 2019.
In 2022 he released Live at NPR’s Tiny Desk.
In April 2022, Apollo released his debut album, Ivory. It got him a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist.
