Omar Apollo

Omar Apolonio Velasco (born: ), better known online as Omar Apollo is an singer and songwriter. After signing a record deal with Warner Records, his debut album, Ivory, was released in 2022 to positive reviews, and earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.
==History==
===Early Life===
Born to Mexican parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Guadalajara, https://dishahot.com/ first-generation Omar Apollo grew up in Hobart, Indiana with his three older siblings. https://web.archive.org/web/20221014014621/https://www.thefader.com/2019/06/11/omar-apollo-friends-interview Apollo's parents both worked multiple jobs to support the family. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-10-16/omar-apollo-mexican-american-prince He danced ballet folklorico when he was a child. He was also a part of his Catholic church choir. At his request, Apollo's parents bought him a guitar when he was 12; however, it was an electric guitar without an amp. Apollo traded the guitar at a pawn shop for an acoustic guitar and started learning how to play by watching and mimicking YouTube cover videos. Apollo was also taught by his uncle and practiced playing at church. https://remezcla.com/features/music/omar-apollo-profile/ He would go on to form a short-lived band with a friend at church. Apollo also has Mexican citizenship. http://archive.org/details/curp-de-omar-apollo 
===Career Beginnings (2017-2020)===
Apollo started his career by creating and uploading his songs to the DIY streaming platform SoundCloud. At this time, he worked at Jimmy John's and Guitar Center and lived in an attic. In 2017, using $30 borrowed from a friend, he uploaded his song "Ugotme" to Spotify, where it was soon added to the platform's Fresh Finds and racked up 20,000 streams in a day. A year later, the song would cross more than 15 million streams. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/omar-apollo-interview-866248/ 
Apollo is managed by Shanks' son, Dylan, who he met over Twitter in July 2017 when the latter booked Apollo for a university show at NYU. https://web.archive.org/web/20221010214524/https://lyricallemonade.com/p/a-conversation-with-omar-apollo-the-soul-funk-rock-and-hip-hop-showman-whos-one-of-the-most-refreshingly-real-rising-stars-around Apollo signed with Artists Without A Label earlier that year and performed at SXSW as part of a showcase with the group. https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/awal-signs-global-recordings-deal-with-omar-apollo/ He went on his first European tour in 2019 as well, and played at Lollapalooza and Tropicália. https://remezcla.com/lists/music/these-were-our-favorite-moments-from-2019s-tropicalia-music-festival/ 
===2021-Present===
Apollo was featured on "Te olvidaste" by Spanish artist C. Tangana on his 2021 album El Madrileño. The song received two Latin Grammy Awards nominations for Record of the Year and Best Alternative Song. https://www.warnerrecords.com/news/omar-apollo-nominated-two-latin-grammys At the 65th Grammy Awards, Apollo was nominated for Best New Artist, making it his first Grammy nomination. https://www.grammy.com/news/2023-grammy-nominations-complete-winners-nominees-list 
Apollo released his debut studio album Ivory on April 8, 2022, and also embarked on the Desvelado tour to support the album. The album received mostly positive reviews with praises going towards Apollo's musical growth and vocal performance. https://www.metacritic.com/music/ivory/omar-apollo It entered the Billboard 200 chart, marking his first-ever entry on the chart. https://www.billboard.com/artist/omar-apollo/chart-history/tlp/
In September 2022, the track "Evergreen" went viral on TikTok which helped boost the song to enter the Spotify and Apple Music charts and eventually debut on Billboard Hot 100 at number 62 for the week ending of October 1, 2022, earning Apollo his first-ever entry on the chart. https://twitter.com/billboardcharts/status/1574502114008743964https://www.billboard.com/artist/omar-apollo/chart-history/hsi/ In response to the rising success, the song was chosen as the album's next single and was later sent to contemporary hit radio on October 4, 2022, making it his first-ever radio single. https://web.archive.org/web/20221003021739/https://www.allaccess.com/top40-mainstream/future-releases 
Later in 2023, Omar was announced as the ambassador for the skincare brand Youth to the People. https://www.glossy.co/pop/youth-to-the-people-announces-omar-apollo-as-first-ambassador/ Omar also starred in the fall/winter 2023 men's campaign for the fashion house Loewe. https://www.augustman.com/sg/fashion/omar-apollo-and-jamie-dornan-loewe-fw23-campaign/ In September, Omar was honored with the Inspira Award at the 2023 Hispanic Heritage Awards. https://variety.com/2023/music/news/omar-apollo-cafe-tacuba-cesar-conde-hispanic-heritage-awards-1235698952/
==Personal Life==
Apollo is openly gay and has denied queerbaiting allegations, stating, "It's not a choice, it's just what I am. [...] I'm totally aware of the privilege we have now to be ourselves and still have a career [...] people thought I was queerbaiting before. I wasn't super open about my sexuality, but people were hearing things. [...] It had a lot to do with me growing up in Indiana which is very conservative. I stopped putting pronouns in my music for a couple of years then I just realized, I can't let other people's opinions influence and dictate my life." https://www.huffpost.com/entry/omar-apollo-queerbaiting-claims_n_63866e2ee4b0e4c77597ccc4 In an interview in 2022, Apollo discussed the labeling of his sexuality, saying "I feel like in the beginning, [...] I was trying to keep the mystique. But I don't even care anymore [...] now I'm just like, I'm very gay."https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/12/rb-singer-omar-apollo-growing-up-i-was-called-slurs-but-on-the-internet-people-are-very-open 
==Discography==
===Albums===
*Ivory (2022)
===Mixtapes===
*Apolonio (2020)
===EPs===
*Stereo (2018)
*Friends (2019)
*Live at NPR's Tiny Desk (2022)
*Live for Me (2023)
===Reissues===
*Ivory (Marfil) (2022)
===Singles===
*Pram (2017)
*Brakelights (2017)
*Algo (ft. Drayco McCoy) (2017)
*Unbothered (2018)
*Heart (2018)
*Frío (2019)
*Hit Me Up (ft. Dominic Fike & Kenny Beats) (2019)
*Imagine U (2020)
*3 Boys (2023)
==Tours==
==References==
Category:Music YouTubers
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2012
Category:LGBT YouTubers