Omar Apollo releases his second studio album, God Said No via Warner Records. God Said No was executive produced by Teo Halm and features musician Mustafa and actor Pedro Pascal. The album title is Omar’s interpretation of “lo que sera, sera” which translates to “whatever will be, will be” or “it is what it is.” The phrase embodies the album with Omar’s tongue-in-cheek humorous outlook on the suffering that comes from surrendering and accepting whatever is thrown at you by life, a relationship or lover. Arriving a little over two years after the release of his critically acclaimed debut album Ivory which earned Apollo a Best New Artist nomination at the 2023 Grammys, God Said No was born out of the whirlwind that followed his debut and nonstop touring, on his headline tour, in support of SZA’s SOS arena tour along with Billie Eilish’s Latin American stadium tour. Apollo booked a three- month stay in London that fall, where he ruminated on walks down rain-soaked cobblestone streets and mined the poems of Mary Oliver, Victoria Chang, and Ocean Vuong for inspiration. Speaking on musical inspirations with Rolling Stone in the May issue, Omar cited artists like Kate Bush, Labi Siffre, Giorgio Moroder, Beyoncé, and Lana del Rey as being in heavy rotation during that time in London. Camped out in London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios with his trusted collaborators, producers Halm, Carter Lang, and Blake Slatkin, Apollo built the bones of his melodrama. The 14-track album is a survey of the emotional wreckage that followed the end of a torrid love affair. Apollo borrowed the title from something his friend said while processing the relationship.