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.
Rex
Rex Orange County Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Have you told your mother about me?
I heard you've been away to discover yourself or something
But was it worth it when you stole his heart?
Never returned it, but he earned shit for you from the start
Are you working or just wasting your time?
Did I mention that you're still on my mind?
Still that lonely guy
Don't know why I still get at your phone
Like, me, I should fucking focus on my own life
Yeah, but the bigger picture slips in you
Become more significant in the mixture
Can't seem to see myself
Always tried to be myself
But who am I, who am I?
The lyrics of "Rex" by Rex Orange County capture the conflicted feelings of a person who is still hung up on their past relationship. The opening lines show a curious yet hesitant person inquiring about their old flame's whereabouts and whether they have moved on. The following lyrics tackle the complexities of the past relationship where the singer accuses their ex of stealing someone else's heart after leaving them and never returning it. This causes the singer to feel low but also high as they still think about their ex but are unsure why.
Line by Line Meaning
How you've been?
Asking how the person has been doing since the last time they were spoken to.
Have you told your mother about me?
Asking if the person has told anyone about their relationship with the singer.
I heard you've been away to discover yourself or something
Heard that the person has been trying to find themselves by going away.
But was it worth it when you stole his heart?
Questioning if it was worth it for the person to break someone else's heart to be with them.
Never returned it, but he earned shit for you from the start
The person never returned the love from the person whose heart they broke, but they still received everything from them from the start.
Are you working or just wasting your time?
Asking if the person is currently employed or if they're just wasting their time.
Did I mention that you're still on my mind?
Informing the person that they are still on the singer's mind.
Still that lonely guy
The artist is still feeling lonely.
Low yet high
Feeling down but still hopeful.
Don't know why I still get at your phone
Unsure why the artist keeps texting/calling the person.
Like, me, I should fucking focus on my own life
The singer realizes they should focus on their own life instead of worrying about the other person.
Yeah, but the bigger picture slips in you
Despite trying to focus on their own life, the other person still remains a significant factor to the artist.
Become more significant in the mixture
The other person has become more significant in the singer's life.
Can't seem to see myself
The singer is struggling with their own identity.
Always tried to be myself
Despite struggles, the singer has always tried to be true to themselves.
But who am I, who am I?
The artist is questioning their own identity and place in the world.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alexander James O'Connor
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@joaomago7768
How you’ve been?
Have you told your mother about me?
I heard you’ve been away to discover yourself or something
But was it worth it when you stole his heart?
Never returned it, but he earned shit for you from the start
Are you working or just wasting your time?
Did I mention that you’re still on my mind?
Still that lonely guy
Low yet high
Don't know why I still get at your phone
Like, me, I should fucking focus on my own life
Yeah, but the bigger picture slips in you
Become more significant in the mixture
Can’t seem to see myself
Always tried to be myself
But who am I, who am I?
@yunusandreassinurat2156
How you been?
-
Have you told your mother about me?
-
I heard you’ve been away to discover yourself or somethin'
But was it worth it when you stole his heart?
Never returned it, but he earned shit for you from the start
Are you workin' or just wastin' your time?
Did I mention that you’re still on my mind?
Still that lonely guy
Low yet high
Don't know why I still get at your phone
Like, me, I should fuckin' focus on my own life
Yeah
-
but the bigger picture
Slips and you become more significant in the mixture
Can’t seem to see myself
Always strive to be myself
But who am I, who am I?
@gray-thesilverquill
Underrated album
@givememoneypls5477
Agreed
@lagukuda4258
Indeed
@zekhethelomseleku9113
Still don’t understand how he made this masterpiece at 16
@gabschmerhold
talent asf makes me feel unaccomplished :,)
@wet7946
@@gabschmerhold fr (rats fly)
@joaomago7768
How you’ve been?
Have you told your mother about me?
I heard you’ve been away to discover yourself or something
But was it worth it when you stole his heart?
Never returned it, but he earned shit for you from the start
Are you working or just wasting your time?
Did I mention that you’re still on my mind?
Still that lonely guy
Low yet high
Don't know why I still get at your phone
Like, me, I should fucking focus on my own life
Yeah, but the bigger picture slips in you
Become more significant in the mixture
Can’t seem to see myself
Always tried to be myself
But who am I, who am I?
@CorezMon
This song, of all of his, just hits different. Especially in the evening.
@MsDrizzytee
I wish I could go back in time and listen to this song for the first time again
@yunusandreassinurat2156
How you been?
-
Have you told your mother about me?
-
I heard you’ve been away to discover yourself or somethin'
But was it worth it when you stole his heart?
Never returned it, but he earned shit for you from the start
Are you workin' or just wastin' your time?
Did I mention that you’re still on my mind?
Still that lonely guy
Low yet high
Don't know why I still get at your phone
Like, me, I should fuckin' focus on my own life
Yeah
-
but the bigger picture
Slips and you become more significant in the mixture
Can’t seem to see myself
Always strive to be myself
But who am I, who am I?