Mark Ambor makes New York City his stage, treating every day as an opportunity to perform. Whether he’s singing for an impromptu crowd in Union Square or serenading commuters aboard a packed 6 train, Ambor has a knack for turning ordinary moments into memorable ones.

After building a devoted following on TikTok—where he now has more than 1.5 million followers—Ambor broke through with his viral hit “Belong Together.” The song has amassed more than 1 billion streams, landed on the Billboard Hot 100, and led to his television debut with performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The TODAY Show. Most recently, Ambor opened for Ed Sheeran in Arizona and released his new single, “These Are the Days,” on June 26.

New York is at the center of much of Ambor’s life. His father grew up in the Bronx, and Ambor himself was raised in Pleasantville—a ridiculously named town just 30 miles north of the city, where he now lives. His recent single, “New York Confident,” serves as a love letter to the place he calls home, while much of his music, especially his album Rockwood, draws inspiration from the people and places that shaped him. Blending pop and folk, his songs pair infectious melodies with an easygoing sincerity.

That same spirit carries into Ambor’s approach to performing. Often found staging an impromptu concert or striking up conversations with fans after a show, he gravitates toward genuine connection. His image is equally unpretentious—usually just jeans and a white T-shirt—and he resists chasing trends for the sake of relevance. Whether risking a noise complaint by blasting Justin Bieber in his apartment or passing on the DJ route many artists eventually take, Ambor has built his career around something increasingly rare online: authenticity.

Ailbhe Killalea: What does your writing process look like? 

Mark Ambor: Any success I’ve had so far came from me writing alone. I was living at my parents’ place a few years ago, and I was just writing in their basement and producing these songs, and that’s where I made “Belong Together” and a song called “Good to Be”. I signed at Capital [Records], and I’ve been working with other people now and right now you’re catching me at a time where I’ve gone back to just trying to write on my own again. I think I kind of missed doing it alone in a weird way. It’s a little more therapeutic. No matter how hard I try to be open and honest with people around me there is nothing more pure than just me alone. 

AK: So much of your music seems to be about making these performances accessible and connecting with New Yorkers. I saw the video of you performing on the 6 train. What about having those public shows and making them accessible to people is so important to you?

MA: We started doing little pop-up shows in 2024 when I had just put out “Belong Together” and “Good to Be.” We had sold out a small headline tour, all these nights at small rooms from North America to Europe, and there were all these people reaching out, like “I couldn’t get a ticket, I want to come.” So me and my manager, we were like, “we’ll play a few acoustic songs outside every venue or in a park nearby the day of the shows, if people show up, they show up.” Way more people showed up than we ever anticipated, and then it kind of became a thing amongst the people that are fans of the music and I’ve just kept doing it. 

Naturally, my energy is definitely spontaneous. That’s just how I am. I like doing things without fully thinking about what will happen. That subway experience is something that we have no control over, we could have gotten shut down, we could have gotten kicked out, but instead we got all these people that wanted to have fun and make a memory together on this train. We sang a bunch of songs in there. Those people in that train will never forget that. I will never forget that. 

AK: Do you have any specific musicians that you feel you’re inspired by or have a similar message to you?

MA: I’ve always loved Coldplay. I’ve always loved Chris Martin’s energy. 

AK: The first concert I ever went to was Coldplay.

MA: Those shows are insane. Their energy is something I resonate with. It feels like humanity, it feels like togetherness. 

AK: Off the top of your head, what do you think your top three artists would be? 

MA: Coldplay is definitely one. The Lumineers are probably two. I love the simplicity of their songs. When a song can be so simple but still be impactful, those are the best songs. I’ve been really into Tyler Childers. That songwriting is something that I resonate with the most. It’s a little crafty and creative in the way they formulate stuff. 

AK: If you weren’t doing what you’re doing right now, in terms of genre of music, what other genre can you see yourself doing? Because you’re kind of in the pop-indie, or what would you define it as?

MA: I don’t actually know. It sometimes gets grouped into this pop-folk thing and that’s fine. A lot of my new music I worked on with my band that I met through the first album. So there’s a slightly more band-y feel in some of these new songs. I don’t know if there’s another genre I wish I was doing. I think sometimes you hear a banger, like some Calvin Harris song, you’re like “fuck, I wish I could make a song like this.” 

AK: Have you ever tried to DJ?

MA: No, no, I haven’t. I feel like everyone’s trying to DJ now. I don’t want to. 

AK: I feel like a lot of singers and songwriters are trying to break through social media, and at the beginning, it feels like you’re just putting stuff out there and nobody really reads it or listens to it, so what’s your advice to someone struggling to start out? 

MA: I think it’s the hardest thing in the world, but just putting your heart and soul into what you’re making and putting it out into the world. I know sometimes it takes a really long time for the world to notice, but if you’re consistently being yourself and putting it out there it will be heard. What I’ve discovered is when I’ve been more honest in my music and more myself, the more attention it’s gotten. Especially today, I think authenticity moves online better than any other thing, which is kind of awesome. As cheesy and cliché as it is, just be authentic and if you fully believe in it put it out into the world. 

AK: I have a couple of rapid-fire New York questions. What’s your favorite neighborhood in the city?

MA: Lower East Side, obviously. 

AK: Your favorite restaurant? 

MA: Commerce in the West Village. 

AK: What’s your favorite place to dance?

MA: It’s crazy but the truth is I don’t know if we’ve ever really gone to a place specifically to dance. The most dancing is probably in my apartment. I have a nice speaker and I’ll just blast music in here. I remember when Justin Bieber was playing Coachella, we were all super into that so we were blasting Justin Bieber in here a bunch. I got a noise complaint.