San Antonio hosted the Mala Luna Festival on the weekend of Oct. 28. The festival featured hip hop and rap artists such as Lil Wayne, Future, Migos, Wiz Khalifa, Khalid and up-and-coming artist Xavier Omär.

By Kaylin Balderrama

Omär is a local pop and R&B artist from San Antonio who performed on Oct. 29 at The Beat Stage. ORANGE Magazine had the opportunity to sit down with the artist and learn more about the journey to Mala Luna.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up?

“I grew up a lot of places, I’m a military kid so we moved every three years. I guess that kind of gave me a really good perspective on how different areas not only just do life but connect to different things, they create their own culture and their own circles. I moved every three years so I have never seen where I was born because we moved a month later. I’ve been in San Antonio for the month of October because we had Austin City Limits the first two weekends, Mala Luna and then a couple of appearances here in the city.”

Having traveled all over the world when you were younger, do you think living in different places helped shape you as an artist?

“For sure, because I had the opportunity just to see how everyone connects to life and to music differently and to see what sounds or what feelings trigger people in ways that it maybe doesn’t in another area. It’s just so many different things and so many different ways that people connect to music across the country, you’re able to see those differences and I’ve lived out many of them and they’ve become a part of me. I believe it makes it easier for me to connect with more people.”

For people who have never heard your music, how would you describe it to them?

“I would call it pop soul. It’s really just a great blend of pop music and R&B and it can go between those two sounds at any moment or it can be both of those sounds in one record. I’ve been able to go between those worlds really easily and blend them because of the different production that I like and my voice is the one constant. My voice is always gonna have that R&B kind of gritty soul, so I would say pop and soul is the best way to describe it.”

Who would you say are some of your biggest influences in your music?

“Pharrell and Daft Punk. I love Cee Lo Green and Chris Martin from Coldplay. Orlando Weeks from the Maccabees too, but they’re not even a group anymore as they broke up, I was really sad about that. These artists who either have really unique voices or have done some really great experimentation over the years have been the key examples for me in believing that I could do it and do it on a major level.”

After failing to make it past the preliminary round in American Idol Season 11, what advice would you give young artists about rejection in the music industry?

“It really only takes that one yes. It just takes people believing in you. For some reason, being sent home the way that I was sent home from Idol and just sitting in defeat made me really upset to a degree and mad enough to start creating again so I used it to fuel me throughout all this time, which was about five years. Really the only advice I can give people is to not quit on yourself. Just go ahead and bet on yourself and see where it takes you.”

How does it feel to be performing at Mala Luna in your hometown of San Antonio?

“It’s really crazy. I wrote pretty much all the songs I’m performing 10 miles from where the festival is gonna be where my parents live here. So it’s really crazy even the interviews that were doing right now is in the room that I wrote a lot of those songs. It’s hard to wrap my mind around the accomplishment that it is to be at a festival that big with those names here in the city where everything started but it’s full circle.”

Is there anything you want to say to the people attending Mala Luna?

“Have a lot of fun, I’m not going to say what to expect from me or anything but just have a lot of fun. Of course I want them to pay attention to my set, to come out, I’m going to put out for the city. Just enjoy yourselves man and make it the time of your life.”