Ivory
Studio album by
Omar Apollo
ReleasedApril 8, 2022 (2022-04-08)
Genre
Length40:54
Language
  • English
  • Spanish
LabelWarner
Producer
Omar Apollo chronology
Apolonio
(2020)		 Ivory
(2022)		 Live for Me
(2023)
Singles from Ivory
  1. "Go Away"
    Released: July 8, 2021
  2. "Bad Life"
    Released: November 3, 2021
  3. "Invincible"
    Released: February 9, 2022
  4. "Killing Me"
    Released: March 11, 2022
  5. "Tamagotchi"
    Released: March 23, 2022
  6. "Evergreen"
    Released: October 4, 2022
Deluxe edition cover
Singles from Ivory (Marfil)
  1. "Archetype"
    Released: July 15, 2022
  2. "Highlight"
    Released: August 5, 2022

Ivory is the debut studio album by American singer Omar Apollo, released on April 8, 2022, by Warner Records. The album was promoted by five singles: "Go Away", "Bad Life", "Invincible", "Killing Me" and "Tamagotchi". The album's deluxe edition, titled Ivory (Marfil), featuring five additional tracks including the singles "Archetype" and "Highlight", was released on August 12, 2022. On October 4, 2022, "Evergreen" was released as the overall album's eighth single and Apollo's first radio single.

Ivory received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising Apollo's musical growth and vocal performances. Commercially, the album became Apollo's first-ever entry on the US Billboard 200 peaking at number 74 selling 13,000 album-equivalent units.[1]

Background

Apollo's debut album had to go through a rewriting process as he was dissatisfied with the initial version of the album. Apollo explained, "I had this feeling that I didn't want to promote or tour this music. I wasn't excited about it. It was good music — it wasn't bad music, but it didn't feel like me".[2] Despite the disappointment from his record label Warner, Apollo was allowed to proceed with the rewrite, starting in November 2021, after releasing two lead singles.[3]

On February 9, 2022, Apollo announced the release date as well as the title of the debut album.[4]

Singles

The album's lead single "Go Away" was released on July 8, 2021.[5] The single was accompanied by a music video and a live performance on The Tonight Show.[6]

"Bad Life" was released as the second single on November 3, 2021. The song features guest vocals from Kali Uchis, making it the second time they collaborate, since the track "Hey Boy" from Apolonio.[7] The single also has a music video.

On February 9, 2022, along with the announcement of the debut album's release date and title, Apollo released the third single "Invincible", which features Daniel Caesar.[8] The single was also supported by a music video.

On March 11, 2022, the fourth single "Killing Me" was released, which included another live performance on The Tonight Show.[9][10]

The fifth single "Tamagotchi" was released on March 23, 2022.[11] Following the release of the album, the music video for the single was released.[12]

On July 15, 2022, Apollo announced the release of a deluxe version of Ivory along with the release of "Archetype", the album's sixth single and one of the additional tracks from the album's deluxe edition.[13][14] Another song "Highlight" was released on August 5, 2022.[15]

In September 2022, the track "Evergreen" went viral on the platform TikTok, boosting the song's streams on Spotify and Apple Music and garnering Apollo his first Billboard Hot 100 chart entry.[16][17] The song was sent to contemporary hit radio on October 4, 2022, as the album's eighth single and Apollo's first radio single.[18]

Composition

Musically, Ivory is described to be an eclectic, genre-hopping pop and R&B album,[19][20][21][22][23] that incorporates elements of alternative R&B, hip hop, indie-pop,[13][24] along with sounds of Latin trap, funk, electropop, psychedelic music and traditional Mexican music.[22][23][25][26]

Songs

The album begins with the title track, "Ivory", serving as a short intro with Apollo singing a cappella.[27] The second track, "Talk" is an uptempo pop punk song with scuzzy, strummed guitars that reminisce of The Strokes.[19][20][28] The third track, "No Good Reason", is a song that "bursts into life" features a funky, bubbly synth production noted to be experimental for Apollo.[29] The fourth track, "Invincible", is a collaboration with Daniel Caesar. It is described as a "emotionally climatic" that grapples with mortality and the impact people leave on each other.[30] Clash Music noted that the collaboration was "beautifully arranged" with the symphonic harmonies throughout the song giving it a "hypnotic" sound. The fifth track, "Endlessly Interlude" is an upbeat '90s R&B song.[24][31] A full version was later released as a track on the deluxe edition of Ivory. "Killing Me" is a bilingual R&B track about longing someone that you can't get out of your head.[32] It is one of the two songs on the album where Apollo is singing in Spanish. "Go Away" is a synth-pop song with confessional lyrics about wanting someone and running out of time with them. Apollo's falsetto and the slick groove of the production were commended.[33][34][35]

"En El Olvido", the eleventh track, is a stripped-down corrido sung completely in Spanish. Apollo said he was inspired by performances by Juan Gabriel in creating the song.[23] The twelfth track, "Tamagotchi", is a Latin trap and R&B song featuring production by The Neptunes.[29][36] The song is described as bass-heavy and flirty with Apollo rap-singing in Spanish and English over a plucked Samba cadence and a bouncy melody.[13][37][38][39] "Evergreen" is an R&B song with an old school Motown feel.[20][31] Pitchfork praised the song as it showcased Apollo's range, going from "wizened soul belter to '90s boy band innocence".[26] According to Apollo, "Evergreen" was the last song finished and turned in for the album.[40]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[41]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[42]
Clash8/10[24]
DIY[25]
Dork[26]
The Guardian[19]
NME[43]
Pitchfork7.6/10[20]
Riff Magazine8/10[44]
Rolling Stone[22]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 79, based on seven reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[41]

Reviewing for DIY, Alisdair Grice said "Omar Apollo inspires, and his competence as a vocalist is unmistakable on Ivory. Conflating his electro-pop tendencies with the occasional stride of a campfire guitar, he turns everything he touches to glistening radio gold."[25] Rolling Stone's writer Julyssa Lopez praised Apollo's ability to "[let] the music speak for [his identity and sexuality and that he] doesn’t hold back in his lyrics.[22] Cora Jordon from Clash praised the album and said, "Apollo creates a new sound within his alternative style. Bouncing from indie to alternative R&B to hip-hop, ‘Ivory’ is a culmination of his interests, all mushed together to create his own sense of authenticity."[24] Pitchfork's Cameron Cook praised Apollo's vocals, saying that "while the musicianship on Ivory remains lush and intricate throughout, Apollo's voice has always been his ace in the hole. He can shift from wizened soul belter to '90s boy band innocence in a heartbeat", and then commended the variety of genres by summing up the review with "Apollo’s sheer talent has strained against the limits of the micro-genre he came up in. With its amalgam of genres, tones, and tastes, Ivory goes beyond thinking outside the box: It's as if the box were never even there to begin with."[20] Neive McCarthy of Dork called the album "unpredictable and deeply transformative".[26] Domenic Strazzabosco of Riff Magazine wrote: "Ivory gives Omar Apollo the fullest platform to display his songwriting, vocal dexterity and the converging musical styles that influence him".[44] Meanwhile, in a mixed review, Ammar Kalia of The Guardian labelled the album as "overstuffed", while praising Apollo's vocals and "aptitude for unexpected genres".[19]

Accolades

Critics' rankings for Ivory
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Billboard The 20 Best Pride Albums of 2022: Staff Picks Unranked
The 50 Best Albums of 2022: Staff Picks
9
Complex 50 Best Albums of 2022
25
Esquire The 25 Best Albums of 2022 Unranked
Houston Chronicle The Best Albums of 2022
4
I-D 12 seriously incredible albums from spring 2022 Unranked
NME The 25 best debut albums of 2022 Unranked
NPR The 15 Best Latin Albums Of 2022 Unranked
PopBuzz The Best Albums of 2022
6
Riff Magazine The 67 best albums of 2022
64
Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums of 2022
15
Uproxx The Best Pop Albums of 2022 So Far Unranked
Variety The 10 Best Latin Albums of 2022
3

Promotion and tours

Ivory was supported by the Desvelado tour.[58] The tour was originally scheduled to be held in 2021, starting from July.[59] However, Apollo later rescheduled the tour to 2022 to give him time to complete production of the album.[20] The tour officially began on April 5, 2022, in Portland, Oregon at the Crystal Ballroom and concluded on June 16, 2022, in London at KOKO. The tour also included two performances at the 2022 Coachella festival on April 15 and 22.[60]

To support the album's deluxe edition, Apollo announced the Prototype tour, in collaboration with Ravyn Lenae. The tour began on October 21, 2022, in San Diego, California at the Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre and concluded on November 29, 2022, in Toronto at the History venue.[61]

In September 2022, Apollo made an appearance on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts, performing "En El Olvido", "Endlessly", "Petrified", and "Evergreen".[62] The latter performance helping boost the track's streams.[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Omar Apollo, except where noted

Ivory standard track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Ivory" 
0:45
2."Talk"
2:37
3."No Good Reason" 
1:48
4."Invincible" (featuring Daniel Caesar)
  • Apollo
  • Caesar
3:36
5."Endlessly Interlude" Apollo0:34
6."Killing Me" 
  • Mike Hector
  • Lang
  • Apollo
  • Santander
2:45
7."Go Away" 
3:27
8."Waiting on You"
  • Goldstein
  • Velasco
  • Goldstein
  • Santander
  • Apollo
  • Lang
2:31
9."Petrified"
  • Goldstein
  • Velasco
  • Goldstein
  • Lang
  • Apollo
3:17
10."Personally"
  • Goldstein
  • Velasco
  • Santander
  • Apollo
  • Lang
  • Goldstein
3:31
11."En El Olvido" 
  • Manuel Barajas
  • Apollo
2:26
12."Tamagotchi"
The Neptunes2:48
13."Can't Get Over You" Apollo1:02
14."Evergreen"
  • Halm
  • Barajas
  • Apollo
3:36
15."Bad Life" (featuring Kali Uchis)
  • Goldstein
  • Halm
  • Velasco
  • Halm
  • Apollo
3:17
16."Mr. Neighbor"
  • Goldstein
  • Velasco
  • Goldstein
  • Lang
  • Apollo
2:46
Total length:40:54
Ivory (Marfil) deluxe track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."Endlessly" 
  • Apollo
  • Santander
2:34
18."Highlight"
  • Manuel Lara
  • Velasco
  • Manuel Lara
  • Apollo
2:33
19."Archetype" 
  • Lang
  • Apollo
  • Santander
2:49
20."Saving All My Love"
  • Halm
  • Velasco
  • Apollo
  • Halm
1:15
21."Pretty Boy" 
  • Lang
  • Apollo
  • Santander
3:10

Charts

Chart performance for Ivory
Chart (2022) Peak
position
US Billboard 200 (Billboard)[63] 74
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[64] 1
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[65] 14
US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard)[66] 27

Release history

Release dates and formats for Ivory
Region Date Format Edition Label Ref.
Various April 8, 2022 CD Standard Warner [67]
[68]
August 12, 2022 Deluxe (Marfil) [69]
March 24, 2023 LP Standard [70]

References

  1. ↑ Zellner, Xander (2023-04-04). "Omar Apollo Tops Emerging Artists Chart Thanks to Vinyl Release of 'Ivory'". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  2. ↑ Rascoe, Ayesha; Sarmiento, Isabella Gomez (April 10, 2022). "After years of early success, Omar Apollo releases full debut album 'Ivory'". NPR. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  3. ↑ Havens, Lyndsey (April 5, 2022). "Why Omar Apollo Scrapped the First Draft of His Debut Album". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  4. ↑ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (February 9, 2022). "Omar Apollo Announces Debut Album Ivory, Shares Video for New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Omar Apollo, 'Go Away'". NPR. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "Watch Omar Apollo's Dramatic Performance of 'Go Away' on 'Fallon'". Rolling Stone. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "Omar Apollo (feat. Kali Uchis), 'Bad Life'". NPR. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  8. ↑ Mier, Tomás (2022-02-09). "Omar Apollo and Daniel Caesar Reminisce About a Love that Once Was in Beautifully Queer 'Invincible' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  9. ↑ Murray, Robin (March 14, 2022). "Omar Apollo Shares Bold Single 'Killing Me'". Clash. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  10. ↑ White, Caitlin (March 12, 2022). "Omar Apollo Is A Bilingual Crooner In His Retro 'Killing Me' Performance On 'The Tonight Show'". Uproxx. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Omar Apollo joins up with The Neptunes for "Tamagotchi"". The FADER. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  12. ↑ Cabot, Madeleine (April 11, 2022). "Omar Apollo has released a new video for 'Tamagotchi'". Dork. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  13. 1 2 3 Jones, Damian (July 15, 2022). "Omar Apollo shares new ballad 'Archetype' and announces deluxe version of debut 'Ivory'". NME. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  14. ↑ Lopez, Julyssa (2022-07-15). "Omar Apollo Gets Romantic on His New Single -- and He's Got More New Music on the Way". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  15. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (August 5, 2022). "Omar Apollo unveils new track "Highlight"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  16. ↑ "APOLLO LAUNCHES AN "EVERGREEN" ROCKET". Hits Daily Double. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  17. 1 2 Zellner, Xander (2022-09-27). "Hot 100 First-Timers: Omar Apollo Arrives With 'Evergreen'". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  18. ↑ "Top 40/M Future Releases | Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates". All Access. Archived from the original on 2022-10-03. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Kalia, Ammar (April 3, 2022). "Omar Apollo: Ivory review". The Guardian. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cook, Cameron (April 18, 2022). "Omar Apollo: Ivory Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  21. ↑ Watson, Elly (2022-04-19). "Omar Apollo: Rocket Man". DIY. Retrieved 2022-10-03. ... the result is this month's 'Ivory' - an emotionally rich collection of R&B-flecked songs that find Omar diving into themes he's never previously explored.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Lopez, Julyssa (April 8, 2022). "Omar Apollo: Ivory Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  23. 1 2 3 Mier, Tomás (2022-04-01). "'I Can Say How I Feel, No Matter What': The Liberation of Omar Apollo". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Jordon, Cora (April 7, 2022). "Omar Apollo - Ivory". Clash. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 Grice, Alisdair (April 8, 2022). "Omar Apollo - Ivory". DIY. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  26. 1 2 3 4 McCarthy, Neive (April 6, 2022). "Omar Apollo – IVORY". Dork. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  27. ↑ Zakharenko, Hanna (2022-04-11). "Review: Omar Apollo's standout debut album 'Ivory' is alluringly beautiful". The Diamondback. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  28. ↑ Kellman, Andy, Omar Apollo - Ivory Album Reviews, Songs & More, AllMusic, retrieved 2022-10-05
  29. 1 2 Gardemal, Trevor (2022-05-17). "Album Review: Ivory - Omar Apollo". tastemakers. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  30. ↑ "Omar Apollo and Daniel Caesar Address Mortality on "Invincible"". FLOOD. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  31. 1 2 O'Reilly, Fi (2022-09-15). "Omar Apollo: Tiny Desk Concert". WCAI. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  32. ↑ Mier, Tomás; Lopez, Julyssa (2022-03-11). "Omar Apollo's 'Killing Me' Brings a Sexy, Late-Night Fantasy to 'Fallon'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  33. ↑ Cusat, Anthony (2022-04-15). "'Ivory': An Omar Apollo album review". Collegiate Times. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  34. ↑ Hale, Chasity (2021-07-13). "Omar Apollo, 'Go Away'". NPR. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  35. ↑ Blistein, Jon (8 July 2021). "Omar Apollo Contends With a Fleeting Love on New Song 'Go Away'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  36. ↑ Murray, Robin (2022-03-24). "Omar Apollo Pairs Up With Pharrell, Chad Hugo On 'Tamagotchi'". Clash. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  37. ↑ "Listen to Omar Apollo's New Song "Tamagotchi" Produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo". Complex. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  38. ↑ Mier, Tomás (2022-04-01). "'I Can Say How I Feel, No Matter What': The Liberation of Omar Apollo". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  39. ↑ Grice, Alisdair (2022-04-08). "Omar Apollo - Ivory review". DIY. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  40. ↑ Hooker, Reece (2022-04-08). "INTERVIEW: Omar Apollo On Advice From Pharrell, Authenticity & Restarting 'Ivory' From Scratch". Cool Accidents. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  41. 1 2 "Omar Apollo - Ivory". Metacritic.com. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  42. ↑ Kellman, Andy. "Ivory - Omar Apollo". AllMusic. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  43. ↑ Williams, Sophie (April 8, 2022). "Omar Apollo – 'Ivory' review". NME. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  44. 1 2 Strazzabosco, Domenic (April 4, 2022). "REVIEW: Omar Apollo is heartbroken but refined on debut album, 'Ivory'". Riff Magazine. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  45. ↑ "The 20 Best Pride Albums of 2022: Staff Picks". Billboard. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  46. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2022: Staff List". Billboard. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  47. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2022". Complex. December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  48. ↑ "The 25 Best Albums of 2022". Esquire. Hearst Magazine Media. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  49. ↑ Hernandez, Nina (December 19, 2022). "Houston favorites highlight the best albums of 2022". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  50. ↑ Rinder, Grant (May 20, 2022). "12 seriously incredible albums from spring 2022". I-D. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  51. ↑ "The 25 best debut albums of 2022". NME. NME Networks. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  52. ↑ "The 15 Best Latin Albums Of 2022". NPR Music. NPR. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  53. ↑ Prance, Sam (December 14, 2022). "The best albums of 2022". PopBuzz. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  54. ↑ "The 67 best albums of 2022". RIFF Magazine. December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  55. ↑ Rolling Stone staff (December 1, 2022). "The 100 Best Albums of 2022". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  56. ↑ "The Best Pop Albums Of 2022 So Far". Uproxx. June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  57. ↑ "The 10 Best Latin Albums of 2022". Variety. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  58. ↑ Garcia, Thania (April 30, 2022). "Omar Apollo Brings Mariachi and Corridos to the Shrine: Concert Review". Variety. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  59. ↑ Apollo, Omar [@OmarApollo] (June 14, 2021). "Tickets for the Desvelado Tour on sale Friday!! ❤ Link's in bio to sign up for presale!! Presale starts Wednesday, Spotify presale starts thursday, and tickets are on sale Friday at 10AM local time!! linktr.ee/omarapollo" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
  60. ↑ Droke, Carolyn (January 18, 2022). "Omar Apollo Unveils The Dates For His Rescheduled 'Desvelado' 2022 Tour". Uproxx. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  61. ↑ Renshaw, David (August 5, 2022). "Omar Apollo announces Prototype tour with Ravyn Lenae". The Fader. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  62. ↑ O'Reilly, Fi (2022-09-15). "Omar Apollo: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  63. ↑ "Omar Apollo Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  64. ↑ "Omar Apollo: Chart History - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  65. ↑ "Omar Apollo: Chart History - Top Alternative Albums". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  66. ↑ "Omar Apollo Chart History (US Top Rock & Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  67. ↑ "Omar Apollo - Ivory - Music". Amazon.
  68. ↑ Apollo, Omar. "Ivory". Apple Music. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  69. ↑ Apollo, Omar [@omarapollo] (July 15, 2022). "MARFIL. deluxe album out Aug 12th! presave here. http://omarapollo.lnk.to/ivorymarfil" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022 – via Twitter.
  70. ↑ "Omar Apollo - Ivory - Music". Amazon.
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