Omar Apollo‘s new album God Said No has already won over the hearts of millions. The GLAAD Media Award nominated artist’s second studio album is as melodic and moving as the first. To talk about God Said No, as well as how much his life has changed since his song “Evergreen” blew up on TikTok, Apollo joined NYLON Magazine for a wide ranging conversation.
Apollo talked with NYLON’s Mickey Rapkin about everything from crushes and astrology, to more serious topics like what it was like for him to grow up as a gay son of immigrants in rural Indiana. “There was no Mexicans around… I was called ugly all the time,” he explained. “I had a lot of anger and resentment towards my family and the people that I loved.”
He explains how when he turned 19, he was living in a friend’s attic while working at a Guitar Center. This is when he started uploading his music to Spotify. He describes his success at this point of his life as “super confusing.” He would be invited “into a beautiful house and having a wonderful conversation and then go back to living in the attic with black mold.” This helped him realize that, “I wasn’t rich yet. But they knew I had something. It was the simplest idea: I have something that you don’t have.”
In 2022, Apollo’s song “Evergreen” went viral on TikTok. He spoke about what this was like for him, “To be completely honest…I just started getting crazy amounts of money. I’d get booked for these private parties. The song was going crazy, I did campaigns. Merch was insane. I was like, ‘I could do whatever I want in this life right now. I could book a studio for a month that’s $2,500 a day and not even think about it.’”
He spoke about how important gratitude has been to him throughout this journey, “When I get a text from my mom or a phone call from my dad, or my sister reaches out, or I see my nephews’ expression when they’re playing sports. All of those things feel like yeses to me, they bring me joy. There’s an amazing piece of bread I just had, like, this is what life’s about. I’m very sensory. What I’ve come to realize is life is about quality.”
When singing such sad and personal songs, it’s often difficult for Apollo to have to think about his ex while performing on stage. “You’re surfacing all of these emotions that happened to you when you wrote them. And I remember how things smelled, how things feel, I remember all the senses that come up for me when I’m singing these songs. Even how the other person smelled…I love that there was love that existed and that I got to experience it that deeply, and that it was even real and possible for me to feel.”
Apollo is looking forward to launching his career as an actor as well. The artist is set to make his film debut in Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming projecr Queer alongside Daniel Craig.
In the accompanying video on NYLON’s YouTube channel, Apollo talks about the pros and cons of being 6’5, his style inspiration, his love for Taurus’s (as long as they’re gay), and his teenage crush on Meagan Good!
Read about this and so much more in NYLON’s interview with Omar Apollo.