Rex Orange County

Rex Orange County
O'Connor in January 2020
O'Connor in January 2020
Background information
Birth nameAlex James O'Connor[1]
Born (1998-05-04) 4 May 1998 (age 26)
OriginGrayshott, England
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
  • drums
  • bass guitar
Years active2015–present
LabelsRCA[5]
Websiterexorangecounty.com

Alexander James O'Connor (born 4 May 1998), known professionally as Rex Orange County, is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. NPR Music's Zoë Jones has described O'Connor's music as "a bright blend of hip-hop, jazz, and bedroom pop".[6]

Teaching himself how to produce his own music at the age of 16, he released his debut album, Bcos U Will Never Be Free (2015), free of charge on Bandcamp and Soundcloud. O'Connor then released numerous solo singles throughout 2016 and 2017, including the platinum-certified singles, "Sunflower" and "Best Friend", and then released his second studio album, Apricot Princess (2017). After catching the attention of Tyler, the Creator with Bcos U Will Never B Free, they collaborated on two songs from Tyler's fourth album, Flower Boy (2017), which caused O'Connor to rise to prominence, allowing him to sign with RCA Records.

O'Connor released his third studio album, Pony (2019), lyrically exploring more personal topics, such as human emotion, and experimenting with different genres. The album became his first to enter the Billboard 200, peaking at number three on the chart. His fourth studio album, Who Cares? (2022), topped the United Kingdom, and reached number five on the Billboard 200.

  1. ^ "BMI | Songview Search". repertoire.bmi.com.
  2. ^ "Rex Orange County - Things to do in New York". Time Out New York. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Pony - Rex Orange County AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  4. ^ Bote, Joshua (14 February 2019). "This Valentine's Day, Rex Orange County Wants To Move Into A 'New House' Together". NPR.org. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  5. ^ Jones, Zoë (6 November 2019). "Rex Orange County Doesn't Care What You Call Him (Anymore)". NPR.org.
  6. ^ "Rex Orange County On What 'Pony' Means And How Fame Really Feels". Npr.org. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.