Friends (Omar Apollo EP)

Friends is the second EP by American singer-songwriter Omar Apollo. It was released independently on April 10, 2019,[2] preceded by the singles "Trouble" and "Ashamed" .[3]

Friends
EP by
Omar Apollo
ReleasedApril 10, 2019 (2019-04-10)
Length22:37
Label
Producer
Omar Apollo chronology
Stereo (EP)
(2018)		 Friends
(2019)		 Apolonio
(2020)
Singles from Friends
  1. "Trouble"
    Released: January 30, 2019
  2. "Ashamed"
    Released: February 27, 2019
  3. "So Good"
    Released: May 16, 2019

Background

On March 4, 2019 AWAL Recordings announced in a press release that Omar Apollo had joined their roster. This deal would serve to give him radio promotion, help him breach international markets and distribution of his music.[4]

In an interview with DJBooth.net, Omar Apollo revealed that his upcoming EP would be more funk-oriented, with "space-y" sounds, including ballads, and having a more themed sound compared to his debut Stereo.[5]

Singles and music videos

On January 30, 2019 Omar released Trouble[6] across all music platforms. He announced that it would be the lead single for his 2nd EP, the next body of work since his debut EP Stereo.[7] The same day, Apollo also released a music video for the song which features his nephew alongside him, the video details Omar's decisions viewed through his nephew's eyes.[8]

Ashamed was released as the second single on February 27, 2019.[9] It is described as a mainly funk and R&B track which he produced with Blake Slatkin. The accompanying music and lyric video starred him recording a day out with his friends.[10]

In the week anticipating the EP release, Omar Apollo released the title track Friends as a promotional single.[3]

A music video for the disco inspired track So Good was released May 16, 2019. Apollo is seen performing in a retro-inspired set.[11]

The final music video for the era was for the song Kickback which premiered on October 1, 2019. This video features Omar partying with friends on a yacht living a dream. At the end of the video he is seen being struck by lightning.[12]

Tour

On March 9, 2019 Omar Apollo embarked on the Voyager Tour in support of the EP which spanned 34 dates across the United States and Canada. The tour included festival dates at SXSW.[13]

Tour dates
List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue
Date City Country Opening Acts
North America
March 9, 2019 Dallas, Texas United States Dreamer Boy
March 10, 2019 Houston, Texas
March 12, 2019 San Antonio, Texas
March 13–17, 2019 (SXSW Festival) Austin, Texas N/A
April 18, 2019 Miami, Florida Role Model
April 19, 2019 Tampa, Florida
April 20, 2019 Orlando, Florida
April 22, 2019 Atlanta, Georgia
April 23, 2019 Nashville, Tennessee
April 24, 2019 St. Louis, Missouri
April 26, 2019 Kansas City, Missouri
April 27, 2019 Norman, Oklahoma N/A
April 30, 2019 Phoenix, Arizona Role Model
May 3, 2019 Los Angeles, California Ambar Lucid
May 4, 2019 San Diego, California
May 5, 2019 Pomona, California
May 7, 2019 San Luis Obispo, California
May 8, 2019 San Francisco, California
May 10, 2019 Portland, Oregon
May 11, 2019 Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
May 12, 2019 Seattle, Washington United States
May 14, 2019 Salt Lake City, Utah Mk.Gee
May 15, 2019 Denver, Colorado
May 17, 2019 Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 18, 2019 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
May 19, 2019 Detroit, Michigan
May 21, 2019 Toronto, Ontario Canada
May 22, 2019 Montreal, Quebec
May 24, 2019 Boston, Massachusetts United States
May 25, 2019 New York, New York
May 29, 2019 Ridgefield, Connecticut N/A

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Ashamed"
  • Apollo
  • Shanks
  • Blake
3:24
2."Kickback"
  • Velasco
  • Apollo
  • Oscar Santander
2:51
3."Friends"
  • Shanks
  • Apollo
  • Apollo
  • Shanks
3:07
4."There For Me (Interlude)"
  • Slatkin
  • Velasco
  • Apollo
  • Blake
1:23
5."Hearing Your Voice"
  • Shanks
  • Apollo
  • Apollo
  • Shanks
4:02
6."So Good"
  • Shanks
  • Velasco
  • Apollo
  • Shanks
  • Blake
4:27
7."Trouble"
  • Slatkin
  • Velasco
3:23
Total length:22:37

All credits adapted from Spotify.[1]

Charts
Weekly chart performance for Friends
Chart (2019) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[14] 19

References
  1. Friends, retrieved 2020-01-31
  2. Friends by Omar Apollo, retrieved 2020-01-31
  3. "Omar Apollo Announces New Friends EP, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  4. "Soulful R&B Singer-Songwriter Omar Apollo Joins AWAL". www.awal.com. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  5. Draughorne, Kenan. "How Omar Apollo Is Turning His Passion into Inspiration: Interview". DJBooth. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  6. "Trouble by Omar Apollo". iTunes. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  7. Maicki, Salvatore (January 30, 2019). "Hear Omar Apollo's new song "Trouble"". The FADER. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  8. "Omar Apollo's "Trouble" Video: Watch It Here". Highsnobiety. 2019-01-30. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  9. "Ashamed by Omar Apollo". iTunes. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  10. Castel, Gregory (2019-02-28). "Omar Apollo delivers the blues on his newest single "Ashamed" [Video]". EARMILK. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  11. "Watch Omar Apollo's discofied "So Good" video". The FADER. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  12. Exposito, Suzy (2019-10-01). "See Omar Apollo Captain a Yacht in New 'Kickback' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  13. "Omar Apollo Announces 'The Voyager Tour' 2019". These Days. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  14. "Omar Apollo Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
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