Rex Orange County
Alexander James O'Connor (born 4 May 1998), known professionally as Rex Ora… Read Full Bio ↴Alexander James O'Connor (born 4 May 1998), known professionally as Rex Orange County, is an English singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. O'Connor rose to prominence in 2017 following multiple features on Tyler, the Creator's Grammy-nominated album Flower Boy, including the single "Boredom". NPR Music journalist Zoรซ Jones has described O'Connor's music as "a bright blend of hip-hop, jazz, and bedroom popโ.
Under the Rex Orange County moniker, O'Connor has released one mixtape, bcos u will never b free, and three studio albums: Apricot Princess, Pony, and Who Cares?. Both Pony and Who Cares? made the top 5 in the UK and US, and the latter topped the UK Albums Chart. O'Connor also released a live album, entitled Live at Radio City Music Hall, in 2020.
Alexander James O'Connor was born on 4 May 1998, to Nina and Phil O'Connor, a professional sports photographer. He grew up in the village of Grayshott, Hampshire near Haslemere. O'Connor's interest in music began at a young age. At age 5, O'Connor joined the choir at the school where his mother worked. He became a drummer and later taught himself piano. The name Rex Orange County is based on a teacher-given nickname, "The OC", after his surname O'Connor.
At age 16, O'Connor began playing the guitar and started to produce his own music using Apple's Logic software. At this age, he also began attending the BRIT School where he studied drumming and was one of four percussionists in his year; the relative rareness of his primary instrument provided him with wide exposure to various projects of others in his school which he credits with exposing him to new music.
On 4 September 2015, O'Connor self-released his debut album bcos u will never b free on SoundCloud and Bandcamp. Upon listening to the album, fellow English musician and producer Two Inch Punch got in touch with him, providing him with a management team. The two have continued to collaborate throughout O'Connor's career in the form of the tracks "UNO", "Best Friend", and "Untitled". The album also caught the attention of American rapper Tyler, the Creator, who sent him an email describing his enjoyment of the project. This led to him flying O'Connor out the following year to Los Angeles to collaborate on his album Flower Boy, with him co-writing and contributing vocals to the songs "Boredom" and "Foreword". On 17 November 2016, O'Connor released the single "UNO", a song Clash magazine described by writing, "The buoyant keyboard riff underpins a hypnotic half-spoken vocal, one that veers from topic to topic in a hazy burst of creative mania." On 25 January 2017, he released the single โBest Friendโ (premiering on Apple Music's Beats 1 station), followed later in the year by the release of his second album Apricot Princess. His work was compared by Aimee Cliff of The Fader in 2017 to "other artsy, post-genre teen artists, such as Kevin Abstract or Steve Lacy".
O'Connor's first release following the success of Apricot Princess and Flower Boy was on 11 October 2017 with the single "Loving Is Easy", created in collaboration with the Dutch artist Benny Sings. On 16 April 2018, he performed the song in his television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. On 31 May 2018, he released a cover of "You've Got a Friend in Me" in collaboration with Randy Newman, the creator of the song. He was also featured in Spotify's Rise Program.
On 9 October 2018, O'Connor was scheduled to appear on the French television program Quotidien, but refused to perform because it featured a sketch by comedian Alison Wheeler parodying the Ku Klux Klan, which he called "tasteless".
On 14 February 2019, O'Connor released the single "New House". Later that year on 12 September, he released "10/10"; the lead single from his third album Pony. Released on 25 October 2019, Pony was his first major-label album released through RCA Records.
On 30 September 2020, O'Connor released an EP with recordings from his performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York City during his Pony tour titled Live at Radio City Music Hall alongside a documentary released on YouTube. This documentary showed the events leading up to this performance as well as the early conclusion of the Pony tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October 2020, O'Connor confirmed that he was in the process of recording a fourth studio album titled Who Cares? In January 2021, he liked a Tweet seemingly confirming that it would be released at some point later that year. However, this did not materialize. On 13 January 2022, he began officially teasing the album, sending out postcards containing a phone number that when called, a snippet of the song would play. The album was released on 11 March 2022, and was his first to top the UK Albums Chart, entering ahead of Impera by Ghost.
Growing up, O'Connor listened to Queen, ABBA, Stevie Wonder, and American alternative artists like Weezer and Green Day. He cites these artists and others as core inspirations for his own music.
Under the Rex Orange County moniker, O'Connor has released one mixtape, bcos u will never b free, and three studio albums: Apricot Princess, Pony, and Who Cares?. Both Pony and Who Cares? made the top 5 in the UK and US, and the latter topped the UK Albums Chart. O'Connor also released a live album, entitled Live at Radio City Music Hall, in 2020.
Alexander James O'Connor was born on 4 May 1998, to Nina and Phil O'Connor, a professional sports photographer. He grew up in the village of Grayshott, Hampshire near Haslemere. O'Connor's interest in music began at a young age. At age 5, O'Connor joined the choir at the school where his mother worked. He became a drummer and later taught himself piano. The name Rex Orange County is based on a teacher-given nickname, "The OC", after his surname O'Connor.
At age 16, O'Connor began playing the guitar and started to produce his own music using Apple's Logic software. At this age, he also began attending the BRIT School where he studied drumming and was one of four percussionists in his year; the relative rareness of his primary instrument provided him with wide exposure to various projects of others in his school which he credits with exposing him to new music.
On 4 September 2015, O'Connor self-released his debut album bcos u will never b free on SoundCloud and Bandcamp. Upon listening to the album, fellow English musician and producer Two Inch Punch got in touch with him, providing him with a management team. The two have continued to collaborate throughout O'Connor's career in the form of the tracks "UNO", "Best Friend", and "Untitled". The album also caught the attention of American rapper Tyler, the Creator, who sent him an email describing his enjoyment of the project. This led to him flying O'Connor out the following year to Los Angeles to collaborate on his album Flower Boy, with him co-writing and contributing vocals to the songs "Boredom" and "Foreword". On 17 November 2016, O'Connor released the single "UNO", a song Clash magazine described by writing, "The buoyant keyboard riff underpins a hypnotic half-spoken vocal, one that veers from topic to topic in a hazy burst of creative mania." On 25 January 2017, he released the single โBest Friendโ (premiering on Apple Music's Beats 1 station), followed later in the year by the release of his second album Apricot Princess. His work was compared by Aimee Cliff of The Fader in 2017 to "other artsy, post-genre teen artists, such as Kevin Abstract or Steve Lacy".
O'Connor's first release following the success of Apricot Princess and Flower Boy was on 11 October 2017 with the single "Loving Is Easy", created in collaboration with the Dutch artist Benny Sings. On 16 April 2018, he performed the song in his television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. On 31 May 2018, he released a cover of "You've Got a Friend in Me" in collaboration with Randy Newman, the creator of the song. He was also featured in Spotify's Rise Program.
On 9 October 2018, O'Connor was scheduled to appear on the French television program Quotidien, but refused to perform because it featured a sketch by comedian Alison Wheeler parodying the Ku Klux Klan, which he called "tasteless".
On 14 February 2019, O'Connor released the single "New House". Later that year on 12 September, he released "10/10"; the lead single from his third album Pony. Released on 25 October 2019, Pony was his first major-label album released through RCA Records.
On 30 September 2020, O'Connor released an EP with recordings from his performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York City during his Pony tour titled Live at Radio City Music Hall alongside a documentary released on YouTube. This documentary showed the events leading up to this performance as well as the early conclusion of the Pony tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October 2020, O'Connor confirmed that he was in the process of recording a fourth studio album titled Who Cares? In January 2021, he liked a Tweet seemingly confirming that it would be released at some point later that year. However, this did not materialize. On 13 January 2022, he began officially teasing the album, sending out postcards containing a phone number that when called, a snippet of the song would play. The album was released on 11 March 2022, and was his first to top the UK Albums Chart, entering ahead of Impera by Ghost.
Growing up, O'Connor listened to Queen, ABBA, Stevie Wonder, and American alternative artists like Weezer and Green Day. He cites these artists and others as core inspirations for his own music.
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Rex Orange County Lyrics
10/10 I had a think about my oldest friends Now, I no…
4 Seasons Who am I to judge The people who don't care for…
A Song About Being Sad Always felt like I needed to please her, or impress…
Always Ooh-ooh Yeah (ooh-ooh-ooh) It's hard to make yourself belie…
Amazing There's no way to time it And where you may find…
Apricot Princess You can never do wrong It's me that makes the evening…
Belly Grass stains all on my blue jeans They used to be…
Best Friend I should've stayed at home 'Cause right now I see all…
Cape Fear I just met Fraser Leaving at 11 And the bus gets later Sussi…
Corduroy Dreams How could I ignore you? Trust me, I adore you We're swimmin'…
Curfew... Talk as if I'm ready to die But I'm really not…
Edition Baby you braved it I understand you had a bad day…
Every Way I care about you, in every way I can You know…
Face To Face I grew up, you grew down, we found out Everything matters…
Green Eyes And I can still see the eyes His brown eyes He was…
Happiness I'll be the one that stays 'til the end And I'll…
IF YOU WANT IT Baby, wait up for me, I got somethin' I need…
It Gets Better Looking back, I guess that ignorance was a breeze I thought…
It's Not The Same Anymore I'll keep the pictures saved in a safe place Wow, I…
Japan (You send me round my own head) (Thoughts surrounding as I) …
Keep it Up Every time I open my mouth I have regrets in my…
Know Love Not sure what you're looking for You won't find it here I…
Laser Lights I might eat breakfast here before I move on Laser lights…
Loving Is Easy Lovin' is easy, you had me fucked up It used to…
Never enough Now there's no one left to blame And your face stays…
Never Had The Balls I was lost felt nothing at all but I'm coming…
New House It doesn't come that easy anyway Every time I try it…
NOTHING When we first spent the night Nothing else would ever feel…
ONE IN A MILLION My heart keeps drivin' me crazy There's nothing much I can…
Open a Window Can I open a window? Can somebody open the door? There's so…
Paradise Uh, do I feel happy in life... Um... Um, let's see... Don't…
Pluto Projector The great protector Is that what I'm supposed to be? What if…
Portrait of Ned Where is home Streets are home I walk them time and time…
Rex How you've been? Have you told your mother about me? I heard…
Rex (Intro) Lo stiamo perdendo dottore! Dio mio che facciamo?! Tedua tes…
Stressed Out Yeah They wanna take what's yours They wanna go for dinner …
Sunflower Whoa I want to know where I can go When you're not…
Sycamore Girl I guess you got me where you want me, girl And…
Television / So Far So Good Hey I'm not afraid, I can be myself and I Hope you…
THE SHADE Two, three, four I was closin' all the blinds just so…
THREAT I hope he's not a threat to me But I'm still…
Uno Yeah, I don't know where to start How do you admit…
Untitled I make enough mistakes And it feels like she's the only…
Waiting Room Our family reunion I'd rather be anywhere but here It's like…
Who Cares Mm-mm-mm Mm-mm, mm (ooh) Mm-mm-mm Mm, mm (ooh) First time I…