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 “Best Friend” (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.
Belly
Rex Orange County Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They used to be new jeans
But now they're all fucked
Heartbreak
Summer's gone and so is she
The only one left I know is me
But I still feel fucked
Pizza box
Wedding ring left amongst the crust
Remember when your wedding ring began to rust
And the Mona Lisa wasn't real
2PM
Why's Madonna on the radio
And where on earth did my baby go
Was she ever even mine
Was she ever even mine
So I'm sorry that you're tired
And you don't wanna leave
But girl, I can't stop your crying
It's a shame that you can't see
It's all here for you
It's all here for you
I heard she hates her dad
Even though he bought her that Mercedes Benz
She likes to stay alone
And do drugs with her friends
Pass out in the afternoon
And wake up next to them
She needs to know herself
Before she falls in love again
Swimming pools
Rich youth and being cool
We didn't learn a single thing in school
But daddy already payed
Whip the Benz
Pedal to the floor in your new heels
Wish you could know just how happiness feels
Well at least you're all alone
Well at least you're all alone
For fuck's sake
, Rex Orange County's song Belly is a melancholic track that deals with themes of heartbreak, loneliness, and the struggles of growing up in the modern world. The opening lines "Grass stains all on my blue jeans, they used to be new jeans, but now they're all fucked" are a metaphor for the emotional toll that heartbreak can have on someone, how it can take something that was once new and pristine and turn it into something worn and damaged. The singer is struggling to come to terms with the loss of a loved one, someone that was once the center of his world, but is now gone.
The next few lines continue this sense of loss, with the only person left in his life being himself. He feels stranded and alone in a world that has moved on without him. The line "but I still feel fucked" shows how deep this sense of despair goes, how it's an emotional wound that he can't seem to heal. The chorus of the song is a desperate plea for the listener to see the beauty that's still out there, despite all the pain they're feeling. The singer apologizes for not being able to stop their tears, but reassures them that everything they need is right in front of them, if they can just be strong enough to see it.
The second verse takes a more cynical turn, with the singer bemoaning the state of modern youth culture. The image of a wedding ring left in a pizza box is a symbol for how disposable relationships have become, how love is something that can be rushed into and out of without any real thought. The line "the Mona Lisa wasn't real" is a reference to how everything that once seemed beautiful and perfect can be exposed as fragile and flawed. The line "why's Madonna on the radio" is a tongue-in-cheek jab at the state of modern pop music, and how it's become a product more than an art form. The bridge of the song takes a more empathetic tone, with the singer acknowledging the struggles of the person they lost, but also recognizing that they need to find themselves before they can truly love again.
Overall, Belly is a complex and emotional song that deals with a wide range of themes and emotions. It's a stark reminder of how painful heartbreak can be, but also a reminder that there's always hope for something better in the future.
Line by Line Meaning
Grass stains all on my blue jeans
My jeans are stained from being out in nature
They used to be new jeans
They were once pristine and unblemished
But now they're all fucked
But now they're ruined
Heartbreak
I'm feeling the pain of a broken heart
Summer's gone and so is she
The summer and my sweetheart have both come to an end
The only one left I know is me
I'm the only one left in my life
But I still feel fucked
But I'm still in a lot of emotional pain
Pizza box
There's a box from a pizza I just ate
Wedding ring left amongst the crust
There's a wedding ring abandoned in the pizza crust
Remember when your wedding ring began to rust
I remember your wedding ring getting old and worn
And the Mona Lisa wasn't real
And even the famous painting isn't completely authentic
2PM
It's 2 pm in the afternoon
Why's Madonna on the radio
I'm surprised to hear Madonna's music playing
And where on earth did my baby go
I don't know where my significant other went
Was she ever even mine
I'm not sure if we were really in a romantic relationship
Was she ever even mine
I'm not sure if we were really in a romantic relationship
So I'm sorry that you're tired
I apologize for making you feel exhausted
And you don't wanna leave
And for not wanting to stay any longer
But girl, I can't stop your crying
I can't make you stop crying
It's a shame that you can't see
It's unfortunate that you're unable to see clearly
It's all here for you
Everything you need is available to you
It's all here for you
Everything you need is available to you
I heard she hates her dad
I heard that she doesn't have a good relationship with her father
Even though he bought her that Mercedes Benz
Despite the fact that he gave her an expensive car
She likes to stay alone
She enjoys being by herself
And do drugs with her friends
And using drugs with her friends
Pass out in the afternoon
Falling asleep in the middle of the day
And wake up next to them
And waking up next to her friends
She needs to know herself
She needs to figure out who she is
Before she falls in love again
Before getting romantically involved with someone else
Swimming pools
Wealthy people enjoying their swimming pools
Rich youth and being cool
Young, privileged people feeling popular and trendy
We didn't learn a single thing in school
We didn't gain any valuable knowledge from our education
But daddy already payed
But our fathers already paid for our lifestyles
Whip the Benz
Driving a Benz car
Pedal to the floor in your new heels
Accelerating your car to the maximum speed in your new high heels
Wish you could know just how happiness feels
Wishing for the experience of true joy
Well at least you're all alone
Well, at least you have your solitude
Well at least you're all alone
Well, at least you have your solitude
For fuck's sake
An exclamation of frustration or disbelief
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alexander James O'Connor
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@brayancamargo7821
Grass stains all on my blue jeans
They used to be new jeans
But now they're all fucked
Heartbreak
Summer's gone and so is she
The only one left I know is me
But I still feel fucked
Pizza box
Wedding ring left amongst the crust
Remember when your wedding ring began to rust
And the Mona Lisa wasn't real
2PM
Why's Madonna on the radio
And where on earth did my baby go
Was she ever even mine
Was she ever even mine
So I'm sorry that you're tired
And you don't wanna leave
But girl, I can't stop your crying
It's a shame that you can't see
It's all here for you
It's all here for you
I heard she hates her dad
Even though he bought her that Mercedes Benz
She likes to stay alone
And do drugs with her friends
Pass out in the afternoon
And wake up next to them
She needs to know herself
Before she falls in love again
Swimming pools
Rich youth and being cool
We didn't learn a single thing in school
But daddy already payed
Whip the Benz
Pedal to the floor in your new heels
Wish you could know just how happiness feels
Well at least you're all alone
Well at least you're all alone
For fuck's sake
@alillife2liv
Just a heads up I have written a lot of words and shared from a place of gratitude and appreciation so if you don't want to be bothered with that, you might want to skip me lol
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
I love everybody who loves Rex Orange County. Truly. I am familiar with the softness and honest nature that is inside of your sweet soul and wholesome heart.
It takes a sort of gentleness along with a willingness to be softened and a love and longing for nostalgia because for you nostalgia comforts you a bit more than it makes you sad. If anyone else tried to sound like Rex Orange County it would bore us. He's truly his own thing.
I remember when I heard loving is easy on MTV (probably after ridiculousness was over lol) and they'd play music videos while the credits rolled after shows, it had been a long time since a song I hadn't heard yet excited me that way! And I also remember seeing his name on Tyler, The Creators album flower boy - so I looked it up saved it to my library and decided to keep listening to him.
I adored and admired him from the very first deep dive into his sweet sound. The album covers were so honest yet gave me insight into his moods and I appreciated how they kept very simple. I wanted to start from the very beginning- first album - start to finish, which at the time, was very unlike anything I did with music. I was pretty grumpy and bored with music and was definitely in a musical rut. I listened to his whole discography like the all of it that same night. And I had the best time. It made me feel alive and happy to live in this world again.
now I listen to him during ketamine infusions, repeatedly. his first two albums are perfect for it, for me.
Certain artists feel so precious, he's absolutely one that I wish I could let know how he's been there for me.
Musics ability to walk beside us as our companion through some of our darkest and deepest as well as positive emotional moments will never not amaze me when I consider it. and I am so forever thankful for that.
@kyleoconnor4707
The piano/organ solo parts in this song bring tears of some kind of emotion I can't describe
@yuri-jd4co
likewise! for me it’s a weird melancholy feeling
@kyleseay5600
Same here
@Chumb33
A feeling of comfort in dread I guess, like crying in the shower floor
@Arcadz_1
Same here qwq
@wyatt_goodwin
It’s actually a Rhodes piano. There pretty cool
@Mira-pk9zz
"She needs to know herself before she falls in love again" it hits me hard
@hotlinewav
so beautiful
@pauwii3403
When Rex said "The only one left I know is me" I felt everything
@AJ-qz5qb
Yes