From “singing under string lights” to selling out venues worldwide, 2024 was a total whirlwind for rising superstar Mark Ambor! He’s stolen hearts with his thoughtful lyrics and uplifting messages, and his music filled more ears than ever throughout the year. As of December, he has nearly 23 million monthly listeners on Spotify and several million followers on social media.
The only way is up for Mark, but while we’re still in 2024, let’s take a look back at what an incredible year he and his fans have had!
Mark & Stardom ‘Belong Together’
Mark’s banner year really kicked off when he released ‘Belong Together’ on February 16th, just two days before he embarked on his So Good To Be Alive Tour. We’ll touch on that tour in a second, but back to ‘Belong Together’ first! This sweet love song has earned over 579 million streams on Spotify alone, making it his biggest song to date. We love that so many people are resonating with such a cheerful, wholesome track!
He told The Honey POP in August, “I feel like every person that has a song that does well is like, ‘I wrote it in, like, a half hour!’ It’s like everyone says that, but I think I wrote that one in about an hourish, between 30 minutes and an hour. I remember the chorus of that song came immediately though, and I mean, it’s not profound; it just felt good. And yeah, I don’t know, I just ran with it.”
He also told us that he wrote ‘Under The Willow,’ a gorgeous instrumental track on his Rockwood album, around the same time as the song dropped. Quite a busy month!
It’s So Good To Be Alive At The Same Time As Mark
On February 18th, it was time to kick off Mark’s first tour of the year! The So Good To Be Alive Tour hit North American cities like Toronto and New York (which gave Mark his first hometown shows) before heading overseas for stops in Paris, Berlin, and more. And it was in Amsterdam that one of his and the fandom’s favorite traditions started: the pop-up shows.
“The reason we started doing them was because the first tour sold out, and there were a bunch of people who wanted to come,” Mark told THP. “Our solution was [saying], ‘I’ll be at the venue this day.’ I’d post on my story the day before, the day of, like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna sing a couple songs acoustic for free outside if you wanna come.’ It started in Amsterdam, and then people saw that. Then people came in London and in Vienna, and it was kind of this thing that exponentially grew in each city. That was just so much fun because we were creating such a memory together. It was always, like, kind of chaotic. It was in the middle of the street.”
He reflected later in our interview, “It’s always just the thing you give the least amount of thought to, and it’s always the thing that stands out. Even when I think about, you know, social content or posting things online, it’s always the video you don’t care about that’s the one that… I think there’s something to that, like your truest form of yourself, truest version of yourself when you aren’t thinking about it too deeply. You go out and just put out whatever into the world, or have a spontaneous pop-up show or whatever. That feels so human—the human thing.”
The Summer Of Rockwood
It was a pretty massive summer for Mark, complete with special shows like the Kiss 108 Kiss Concert in June and the Macy’s 4th Of July Fireworks. And on August 16th, exactly six months after dropping ‘Belong Together,’ he released his debut Rockwood album! The record brought already-released fan favorites like ‘I Hope It All Works Out’ with gripping new songs like ‘Bruises and Stains,’ ‘Someone That’s Better,’ and ‘Hate That I Still Love You.’
Rockwood is a triumphant celebration of what makes us human, embracing late-night hangouts with friends, childhood memories, and even the pain of heartbreak. There’s hurt, as there always is while you’re growing up and falling in and out of love, but it’s ultimately overshadowed by hope and, eventually, acceptance. It totally raised the bar for alt-pop and debut albums as a whole!
‘Run Rudolph Run’ To Stream Mark!
Christmas came a little early for Mark Ambor fans! He released a cover of the iconic ‘Run Rudolph Run’ for Spotify Singles Holiday on October 15th, and though we like to save holiday music for after Thanksgiving, we couldn’t stop ourselves from streaming this one on repeat. But give it a listen and you’ll understand!
Welcome To Rockwood!
Finally, Mark kicked off the Rockwood Tour in October, and it even included a New York City show on his birthday! This tour was pretty much what every Mark fan was waiting for, and the proof is in the numbers – quite a few shows sold out, to the point where he added extra dates in select cities. The demand is growing so fast and it’s what he deserves!
Even with the amount of success he’s had this year, Mark has consistently stayed humble and focused on his main mission, never forgetting who he is or his roots. We mean, come on, he named his entire album after his most-loved hometown park and even has a song called ‘Academy Street’ that references a few different places in Pleasantville, NY! He’s been genuine at every step of his journey and it’s allowed him to build an authentic, caring connection with his fans. Two fans even got engaged at the Detroit stop of the tour, permanently cementing Mark as part of their lives!
“I think my end goal, or whatever, is to just keep growing in the sense of reaching more people with this positive message, and this optimism, too,” Mark shared in our Q&A. “It’s just this appreciation for the short life we have, enjoying every second, and making memories with the people around us that we love. And, you know, not letting the small things tear us down, or the heartbreak tear us down. I really just feel like we’re here for such a short time, and I wanna make the most of it.”
He truly made the most of every moment in 2024, all while making it a whole lot of fun for fans! Mark is set to finish the Rockwood Tour in spring 2025 with stops in cities like Dublin and Stockholm, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of these shows bring or what he’ll have up his sleeve for us next year.
What were your favorite Mark Ambor moments of 2024? Did you get to see him live? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
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