When Omar Apollo finished recording “Evergreen” (“You Didn’t Deserve Me at All”), the 25-year-old didn’t expect it to become his number one single.
“I never thought it would be the song,” he says. diverse. “It meant so much to me, but I never imagined it would resonate the way it did.”
For example, this was the last puzzle piece on the singer’s first full-length album, “Ivory,” and it was also the song that took the most time to complete. Apollo’s musical prowess is on full display on “Evergreen” as he sways from whisper to bellow, singing of unrequited love over sophisticated R&B performances. Lyrically, it’s about as weak an acknowledgment as one can make, but it shouldn’t be mistaken as a cry for help; Instead, it is an attempt to make peace.
The Indiana-born musician took time honing her tear-jerking bridge: “You know you really made me hate myself / I had to stop before I broke myself / Should’ve cut it even now / You didn’t deserve me at all.”
That sense of connection, paired with Apollo’s deft, understated flow, is what prompted the song to find a second life on TikTok some four months — and two tours — after its release in April as part of the album. Like most trends flaring up in app, the song’s form and function took various forms throughout its spread; It started with a fan getting mad at the song’s bridge, and he’s since recorded more than 380,000 videos.
“The TikTok boost amplified what I already knew but was confused about, and that was the kind of song I wanted to create,” says Apollo. “I’m not saying I’m going to make music for a platform, but when I’m on tour and I’m singing and I see people in the front row screaming, it becomes clear to me that those are the kinds of feelings I was trying to reach when I wrote that song.”
Today, Apollo has built a cult that follows the same philosophy. songs like the hallway-inspired songs”Dos Uno Nueve (219)Of his nine tracks “Apolonio” f ranchera “In El OlvidoIt’s like the homecoming calls for the Latino people who come to his concerts in packs.
“Evergreen” received its visual on November 21 (a direct result of the song’s success on the app) and stars the singer. In it, Apollo builds himself up and locks himself in a fake room that gradually begins to fall in on itself.
“It was 100% exactly where I was with my feelings,” he says. “I was obsessed with Stanley Kubrick, and I’m so glad it came out the way it did — not just aesthetically, but also what we were able to translate.”
Apollo celebrates several accomplishments on its award list, namely its first Grammy Award nomination in the Best New Artist category at the 2023 Awards and two Latin Grammy Award nominations.
Before the nominations for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards were released, the singer said he implored his friends and manager to “Don’t make it a thing! — I don’t want to sit there and not be nominated with everyone watching,” he explains, before recalling what really happened: “I immediately had to use the bathroom.” So I kicked everyone out and then I called my dad and he was like, ‘Oh MigoI’m so proud of you,” and then my mom called me and said “What are we wearing?” ”
Until then, Apollo feels as if he really hasn’t changed much. At least in me, he says. He laughs: “Maybe sometimes I’m like, ‘Would a Grammy-nominated artist post this on their story?'” “But otherwise, the goal remains the same: to make the saddest music I could ever make in my entire life.”
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