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Oliver Tree

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Oliver Tree
Tree in 2023
Born
Oliver Tree Nickell

(1993-06-29) June 29, 1993 (age 31)
Santa Cruz, California, U.S.
Other names
  • Tree
  • Kryph
  • Turbo
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • rapper
  • record producer
  • filmmaker
Years active2010–present
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Labels
Websiteolivertreemusic.com
Signature

Oliver Tree Nickell (born June 29, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and filmmaker. Born in Santa Cruz, California, Tree signed to Atlantic Records in 2017 after his song "When I'm Down" went viral[5] and released his debut studio album Ugly Is Beautiful in 2020. He achieved international recognition with his songs "Life Goes On" in 2021, and "Miss You" in 2022. He released his second studio album Cowboy Tears on February 18, 2022, and his third studio album Alone in a Crowd was released on September 29, 2023.

Early life

[edit]

Oliver Tree Nickell was born on June 29, 1993,[3] in Santa Cruz, California.[6][7] Nickell studied business at San Francisco State University for two years.[8]

Career

[edit]

2010–2016: Early career and hiatus

[edit]

Tree launched his solo recording career as "Tree" in 2010. By then, he had made presentations for performances such as Skrillex and Zeds Dead. He initially self-released his music, releasing an album called "Splitting Branches" in early 2013. He sang and played guitar in a ska band called Irony, which was his first experience performing.[9] He would produce dubstep for a brief period of time, as well as performing at music festivals such as Wobbleland 2011 in San Francisco. He mainly released music under the pseudonym "Tree".[6]

At age 20, Tree signed up with the London-based R&S Records and released his debut EP, Demons in August 2013. The EP gained some recognition after Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke approved of his cover of their song "Karma Police".[10] Tree eventually found himself on hiatus as he went back to school, studying music technology at the California Institute of the Arts.[11][8]

2016–2018: Return to music and Alien Boy

[edit]

In March 2016, Tree returned to music, being featured on the song "Forget It" by Getter, a part of his EP, Radical Dude!

In November of that year, he made his first television debut, performing with Getter on Last Call with Carson Daly.[12]

Shortly after the release of "When I'm Down" by Whethan featuring Tree in October 2016, Tree signed to Atlantic Records and a month later, graduated from the California Institute of the Arts.

Tree often writes, acts, and directs sketches in comedy videos, and has worked with companies such as Fuck Jerry.[13]

He released his debut single as Oliver Tree "Welcome to LA" on May 26, 2017, accompanied by another single, "All I Got".

In February 2018, Tree released his major-label debut EP, Alien Boy, along with the double music video for "All That x Alien Boy". Tree wrote and directed the debut, which took over nine months to create.[11][14] He spent five months practicing freestyle monster truck jumping at the Perris Auto Speedway and performed all his stunts in the music video.

Tree has played at major festivals such as Lollapalooza and Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, and performed as a special guest at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival where he was subsequently named on LA Weekly's "The Best (and Weirdest) Fashion at Coachella" list in 2017.[15][16]

He was the supporting act on Louis the Child's Last to Leave Tour (2017) and[17] Skizzy Mars' Are You OK? Tour (2018),[18] and was scheduled to join Lil Dicky and DJ Mustard on the Life Lessons Tour Fall 2018 before it was canceled.[15] Tree toured North America and Europe with Hobo Johnson in 2018.

2018–2020: Ugly Is Beautiful and singles

[edit]
Tree on the Woody Show in February 2019

Throughout 2018 and 2019, Tree released singles that would make an appearance on his debut album, Ugly Is Beautiful. On December 7, 2018, Tree released his second music video, "Hurt", a single from the album. He travelled to Ukraine to film the video, which he wrote and co-directed with Brendan Vaughan, an up-and-coming music video director.[19] On April 11, 2019, Tree released a standalone single, "Fuck", with the music video being released on the same day.[20]

His fourth music video and single, "Miracle Man", was released on June 7, 2019, with the video reaching 1.3 million views on the first day of release.[21] Tree released his second EP, Do You Feel Me? on August 2, 2019, in which the song "Introspective" would make an appearance on the album. The EP gained generally positive reviews.[22]

On December 6, 2019, Tree released "Cash Machine", a single accompanied by a music video. Together with the single, Tree announced his debut album, Ugly Is Beautiful, and announced that the album would be released on March 27, 2020.[23] On March 25, 2020, Tree posted a message to his Twitter page, stating that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ugly Is Beautiful would not be released on time.[24] However, on May 19, the album's official release date was revealed to be June 12.[25]

On April 7, 2020, he released a sixth song from the album, "Let Me Down" along with a music video.

On May 16, 2020, Tree set the Guinness World Record for the world's largest kick scooter, which he later uploaded a video of himself riding on in July 2020.[26][27] 10 days later, he released his last single before the album, titled "Bury Me Alive" having a music video as well.

On June 8, 2020, Tree announced his decision to delay Ugly Is Beautiful yet again, this time to July 17. He stated that, because of the issues of racism and police violence against black people going on during that time after the murder of George Floyd, he "did not believe it was an appropriate time" to release the album when "much bigger things" deserved attention.[28] On July 17, 2020, Ugly Is Beautiful was released.

2021–2022: Deluxe versions of Ugly Is Beautiful & Cowboy Tears, collaborations, and critical recognition

[edit]

Despite claiming that he was retired, he released the single "Out of Ordinary" on February 4, 2021, announcing the deluxe edition of Ugly Is Beautiful.[29][30]

On May 28, 2021, Tree released a deluxe version of his debut album named Ugly Is Beautiful: Shorter, Thicker & Uglier, from which the song "Life Goes On" gained notable popularity.

He would later collaborate with Russian rave band Little Big and release the single "Turn It Up", featuring Estonian rapper Tommy Cash, from their collaborative EP Welcome to the Internet, which was later released on September 30, 2021.

On January 12, 2022, Tree released the single "Cowboys Don't Cry" and the single "Freaks & Geeks" on February 4, both from his second album, Cowboy Tears.[31] Cowboy Tears was released on February 18, 2022. On May 20, 2022, Tree released a single, "I Hate You" followed up by another single "Placeholder" on July 15. He would also announce a tour to accompany the album Cowboy Tears.[32] On August 5, 2022, he followed up the release of Cowboy Tears with a non-album single titled "Miss You" - a collaboration with German music producer Robin Schulz and a remix of the song "Jerk" from Ugly is Beautiful. A month later, Tree collaborated with Polish-Irish DJ and producer "TWISTED" for "WORTH NOTHING", a Phonx-infused remix of the song Jerk. This song would go on to become the "Sigma" theme song in the meme industry. On October 28, 2022, the music video of Miss You was uploaded, and the song started to gain as much popularity as Life Goes On did in 2021. He then released a deluxe version of Cowboy Tears titled "Cowboy Tears: Drown the World in a Swimming Pool of Sorrow" on December 23, 2022.

2023–present: Alone in a Crowd and World Tour

[edit]

On March 3, 2023, Tree released his first single of 2023, "Here We Go Again" with DJ and music producer David Guetta. He followed up this release with a single titled "Bounce" released on June 20. The same day, he played a show at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and announced that this song was the first single released that would be featured on his third studio album, Alone in a Crowd.[33] On July 17, Tree announced that his Alone in a Crowd World Tour would occur from October 2023 to February 2024. He would be scheduled to perform in Australia with American rapper Sueco, Europe and the United Kingdom with Tommy Cash, and the United States with rock band Fidlar. On July 21, he released his second single from the album, "One & Only". He collaborated with upcoming underground dance music group Super Computer for his third single, "Essence" released on September 1, 2023. On September 15, a fourth single was released, "Fairweather Friends". Alone in a Crowd was then released two weeks later on September 29, 2023.[33]

Discography

[edit]
See also: List of songs recorded by Oliver Tree

Studio albums

[edit]
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
US
[34] 		US
Alt.
[35] 		US
Rock
[36] 		AUS
[37] 		AUT
[38] 		CAN
[39] 		IRE
[40] 		NZ
[41] 		UK
[42]
Ugly Is Beautiful 14 1 1 23 51 47 38 28 32
Cowboy Tears[45]
  • Released: February 18, 2022
  • Label: Atlantic
  • Format: Digital download, CD, LP, cassette
 60 7 7 67 — 91 — — —
Alone in a Crowd
  • Released: September 29, 2023
  • Label: Atlantic
  • Format: Digital download, CD, LP
 143 18 — — — — — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Independent albums

[edit]
List of independent albums, with track listings
Title Album details
Splitting Branches
(as Tree)
  • Released: February 17, 2013
  • Label: Self-released
  • Formats: Digital download
Track listing
  • 1. "People" (featuring Lena Kuhn and Shelf Nunny)
  • 2. "Tully" (featuring Kirsten Rosenberg and Shelf Nunny)
  • 3. "Artemecia" (featuring Kirsten Rosenberg and Shelf Nunny)
  • 4. "Revival" (featuring Kirsten Rosenberg)
  • 5. "From Reds to Blues" (featuring Aeropsia)
  • 6. "Warrior" (featuring Kirsten Rosenberg)
  • 7. "This Is Separation" (featuring Shelf Nunny)
  • 8. "Universal" (featuring Ariel Thiermann)
  • 9. "Sacred Elements" (featuring Finn Rivera)

Extended plays

[edit]
Title Details Peak chart positions
US
Alt.
[46] 		US
Heat.
[47]
Demons
(as Tree)
  • Released: August 12, 2013
  • Label: Apollo
  • Format: Digital download, 12" EP
 — —
Alien Boy EP
  • Released: February 16, 2018
  • Label: Atlantic
  • Format: Digital download, streaming, 12" EP
 — —
Do You Feel Me?
  • Released: August 2, 2019
  • Label: Atlantic
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
 21 16
Welcome to the Internet[48]
(with Little Big)
  • Released: September 30, 2021
  • Label: Atlantic
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
 — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.

Singles

[edit]

As lead artist

[edit]
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[49] 		US
Alt.
[50] 		US
Rock
[15] 		AUS
[51] 		CAN
[52] 		IRE
[40] 		NOR
[53] 		SWE
[54] 		UK
[55] 		WW
[56]
"When I'm Down"
(with Whethan) 		2016 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album singles
"All You Ever Talk About"
(with Whethan) 		2017 — — — — — — — — — —
"All I Got" / "Welcome to LA" — — — — — — — — — — Alien Boy
"Cheapskate" — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Enemy"
(with Whethan) 		— — — — — — — — — — Alien Boy
"Upside Down" 2018 — — — — — — — — — —
"Alien Boy" — — — — — — — — — — Alien Boy, Do You Feel Me?, & Ugly Is Beautiful
"Movement" — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Hurt" — 4 11 — — — — — — — Do You Feel Me? & Ugly Is Beautiful
"Fuck" 2019 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Miracle Man" — — 22 — — — — — — — Do You Feel Me? & Ugly Is Beautiful
"Cash Machine" — — 13 — — — — — — — Ugly Is Beautiful
"Let Me Down" 2020 — 26 9 — — — — — — —
"Bury Me Alive" — — 34 — — — — — — —
"Let Me Down"
(featuring Blink-182) 		— — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Out of Ordinary" 2021 — — — — — — — — — — Ugly Is Beautiful: Shorter, Thicker & Uglier
"Life Goes On" 71 27 7 34 46 33 14 63 33 26
"Turn It Up"[59]
(with Little Big featuring Tommy Cash) 		— — — — — — — — — — Welcome to the Internet
"Cowboys Don't Cry" 2022 — 28 18 — — — — — — — Cowboy Tears
"Freaks & Geeks" — — — — — — — — — —
"I Hate You" — — — — — — — — — — Cowboy Tears Drown the World in a Swimming Pool of Sorrow
"Placeholder" — — — — — — — — — —
"Miss You"
(with Robin Schulz)[60] 		84 — — 4 28 2 3 21 3 11 Alone in a Crowd
"Here We Go Again"
(with David Guetta) 		2023 — — — — — — — —[A] — — Non-album single
"Bounce" — — — — — — — — — — Alone in a Crowd
"One & Only"[63] — — — — — — — — — —
"Essence"
featuring Super Computer) 		— — — — — — — — — —
"Fairweather Friends" — — — — — — — — — —
"Ultraman"
(with Diplo) 		2024 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.
[edit]
Title Year Peak positions Album
US
Rock
[15] 		FRA
[64]
"My Mind Is"
(NVDES featuring Oliver Tree) 		2016 — — Life with Lobsters
"Forget It"
(Getter featuring Oliver Tree) 		— — Radical Dude!
"Running"
(NVDES featuring Oliver Tree) 		2018 — — Vibe City Utah
"Pumpidup"
(Lorenzo featuring Oliver Tree) 		2019 — 62 Sex in the City
"Freefall"[65]
(Whethan featuring Oliver Tree) 		2020 — — Fantasy
"Asshole"
(Lil Yachty featuring Oliver Tree) 		— — Lil Boat 3.5
"Mr Regular"
(What So Not featuring Oliver Tree and Killer Mike) 		2022 — — Anomaly
"Nothing's Perfect"
(Nghtmre featuring Oliver Tree) 		— — DRMVRSE
"Sick of U"
(BoyWithUke featuring Oliver Tree) 		30 — Non-album single
"Voices"
(KSI featuring Oliver Tree) 		2023 — — Caught in Two Minds
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.

Filmography

[edit]

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2019 The Late Late Show with James Corden Himself [66]
2020 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Himself [67]
2022 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Himself [68]
2023 Royal Crackers Zane

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Category Result Ref(s)
2020 Guinness World Record Largest Kick Scooter Won [69]
2022 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Social Music Star Nominated [70]
2023 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Social Music Star Nominated [71]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "Here We Go Again" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number 14 on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[62]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Xu, Vivian (February 20, 2022). "Concert review: Oliver Tree's over-the-top antics distract from music at Shrine Expo Hall show". Daily Bruin. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  2. ^ Santiago, Elliot (February 10, 2021). "Lil Yachty and Oliver Tree Drop Music Video for "Asshole"". Hypebeast. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "Oliver Tree Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020.
  4. ^ Curtin, Kevin (March 26, 2022). "Oliver Tree on crying, his cowboy lineage, and his influences... which are none". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  5. ^ "Here's what you need to know about the Oliver Tree album you can't hear". Alternative Press. March 27, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Baine, Wallace (March 10, 2006). "Santa Cruz's Oliver 'Tree' Nickell has reached the ears of world from his laptop". santacruzsentinel.com.
  7. ^ Leight, Elias (August 16, 2019). "Oliver Tree Is Outlandish, and It's Working". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Baine, Wallace (June 22, 2016). "Branching Out With Oliver Tree". santacruzsentinel.com.
  9. ^ "Chartbreaker: Inside Oliver Tree's Retro, Meme-Friendly World And How He Turned 'Hurt' Into a Hit". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  10. ^ Weir, Mat. "Branching Out With Oliver Tree". euphoric.net.
  11. ^ a b "Viral Sensation Oliver Tree Releases Debut EP Alien Boy" (PDF). Atlanticrecords.com.
  12. ^ "OWSLA Getter Oliver Tree Carson Daly". owsla.com. November 3, 2016. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  13. ^ "Oliver Tree Releases New Single 'Upside Down'". broadwayworld.com.
  14. ^ Tree, Oliver (February 16, 2018). "All That x Alien Boy" – via YouTube.
  15. ^ a b c d "Oliver Tree Chart History - Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  16. ^ Lopes, Shane. "The Best (and Weirdest) Fashion at Coachella 2017". LAWeekly.
  17. ^ "Louis the Child at Hollywood Palladium on Sat Dec 16, 2017 8:00 PM PST — Live Nation". livenation.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  18. ^ "Skizzy Mars tour". Dola.com.
  19. ^ Tree, Oliver (December 7, 2018). "Hurt". YouTube.
  20. ^ Oliver Tree (April 11, 2019), Oliver Tree - Fuck [Official Music Video], retrieved April 14, 2019
  21. ^ Oliver Tree, Oliver Tree final tour Twitter Announcement, retrieved June 13, 2019
  22. ^ Hartshorn, Tori (August 2, 2019). "Oliver Tree Drops Sophomore EP". Broadway World. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  23. ^ Oliver Tree - Cash Machine [Official Music Video], December 6, 2019, retrieved December 6, 2019
  24. ^ Tree, Oliver (March 25, 2020). "pic.twitter.com/e3d7SbO8Bu". @Olivertree. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  25. ^ "Oliver Tree on Instagram: "UGLY IS BEAUTIFUL IS OUT NOW..."".
  26. ^ "Largest kick scooter". Guinness World Records. May 19, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  27. ^ Oliver Tree Crashes The World's Biggest Scooter, July 17, 2020, retrieved October 1, 2021
  28. ^ "Instagram".
  29. ^ Diymag (February 5, 2021). "Oliver Tree releases new track 'Out Of Ordinary' | News". diymag.com. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  30. ^ "Oliver Tree Concocts A Belter For All The Outcasts With "Out Of Ordinary"". This Song Is Sick. February 5, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  31. ^ "Oliver Tree | Official Website | "Cowboys Don't Cry" Out Now!". olivertreemusic.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  32. ^ "Oliver Tree releases new song "I Hate You," announces US tour". 105.7 The Point. May 20, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  33. ^ a b "Oliver Tree Bounce". Preludepress.com. June 21, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  34. ^ "Oliver Tree Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  35. ^ "Oliver Tree Chart History: Alternative Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  36. ^ "Oliver Tree Chart History: Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  37. ^ Peaks in Australia:
  38. ^ "Discographie Oliver Tree". austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien.
  39. ^ Peak chart positions for albums in Canada:"Oliver Tree Album & Song Chart History: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  40. ^ a b "Discography Oliver Tree". irish-charts.com. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  41. ^ "Oliver Tree - Ugly is Beautiful". charts.nz. Hung Medien.
  42. ^ "Oliver Tree" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company.
  43. ^ a b c d e "Canadian certifications – Oliver Tree". Music Canada. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  44. ^ a b c d e f "Gold/Platinum: Oliver Tree". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  45. ^ Kupfer, Rachel (November 6, 2021). "The Pursuit of Happiness: Oliver Tree On New Country Album, Antarctica Headlining Dreams". EDM.com. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  46. ^ "Oliver Tree Chart History: Alternative Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  47. ^ "Oliver Tree Chart History: Heatseeker Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  48. ^ "Welcome To The Internet - EP by Oliver Tree & Little Big on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  49. ^ "Oliver Tree Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  50. ^ "Oliver Tree Chart History: Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  51. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  52. ^ "Oliver Tree Chart History: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  53. ^ "Discography Oliver Tree". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  54. ^ "Discography Oliver Tree". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  55. ^ "Oliver Tree | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  56. ^ "Oliver Tree Chart History: Billboard Global 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  57. ^ a b c "British certifications – Oliver Tree". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 14, 2023. Type Oliver Tree in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  58. ^ a b "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  59. ^ "Turn It Up (feat. Tommy Cash) - Single by Oliver Tree, Little Big on Spotify". Spotify. September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  60. ^ "Miss You - Single by Oliver Tree & Robin Schulz". Apple Music. August 5, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  61. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  62. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 10". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  63. ^ "Oliver Tree Reveals New Song, "One & Only"". Prelude Press. July 21, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  64. ^ "Oliver Tree Chart History: French Charts". lescharts.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  65. ^ Powell, Karlie (September 20, 2020). "Whethan pulls Oliver Tree out of retirement for one last collab 'Freefall'". Your EDM. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  66. ^ "Oliver Tree Performs Hurt on Corden". www.sonic1029.com. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  67. ^ Sani, Niko (November 6, 2020). "Watch Oliver Tree's Wild Performance of Unreleased, Getter-Produced Song on Colbert". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  68. ^ Major, Michael. "VIDEO: Oliver Tree Performs 'Life Goes On' & 'Cowboys Don't Cry' Medley on KIMMEL". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  69. ^ "Largest kick scooter". Guinness World Records. May 19, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  70. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (April 10, 2022). "Kids' Choice Awards: 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Wins Big; Dr. Jill Biden Speaks". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  71. ^ "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award 2023 Nominees: The Complete List". E! Online. January 31, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
[edit]
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