Tom Odell

Over haunting melodies, Tom Odell exposes a vulnerability that can seemingly make the world stop. “I think the best art is that which reveals the tension in our lives,” he told Apple Music. “As artists, we just try as much as possible to reflect what is real.” Born in West Sussex, England, in 1990, the singer-songwriter has lived by this ideal his entire career. A student of Elton John records and classical piano, he balances sincerity—perhaps his most arresting quality—with razor-sharp showmanship and a restless experimental spirit. On his 2013 debut album, Long Way Down—featuring breakout single “Another Love”—he takes heartbreak to near-impossible crescendos, his voice bold and tender at once. Odell creates such soaring pop-rock builds with striking intimacy, then twists and turns them into stirring maximalist anthems (2016’s Wrong Crowd), poignant minimalist meditations (2021’s monsters), and raw elegies that betray the beauty in the imperfections (2024’s Black Friday).