Alexander James O'Connor (born 4 May 1998), known professionally as Rex Orange County, is an English singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. O'Connor rose to prominence in 2017 following multiple features on Tyler, the Creator's Grammy-nominated album Flower Boy, including the single "Boredom". NPR Music journalist Zoë Jones has described O'Connor's music as "a bright blend of hip-hop, jazz, and bedroom pop”.
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.
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