Omar Apollo

About

Omar Apolonio Velasco (born May 20, 1997), known professionally as Omar Apollo, is an American singer-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. Apollo sings in both English and Spanish.

Omar Apolonio Velasco was born on May 20, 1997, in Hobart, Indiana to Mexican parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He grew up in Indiana with his three older siblings. Apollo’s parents both worked multiple jobs to support the family. His family had a taco shop before he was born called El Super Taco which popularized his family’s hot sauce that he would later sell as Disha Hot Sauce. As a child, Apollo was a ballet folklorico dancer and he was also a part of his Catholic church choir.
At the age of 12, Apollo’s parents bought him a guitar at his request; however, it was an electric guitar without a guitar amplifier. Apollo traded the electric guitar for an acoustic guitar at a pawn shop. At age 17, he worked at McDonald’s to save up enough money to buy a laptop and then a microphone…