UM Singer-Songwriter ‘Lo Noom’ Masters Crayon-Rock Genre

By Parker Blaylock
Hottytoddy.com intern

Andrew Newman, who goes by the stage name of Lo Noom, is a singer-songwriter and producer from Hattiesburg, Mississippi who prides himself on making unique music that is authentic to himself.

He admitted that the inspiration behind his name, Lo Noom, originally just “sounded cool,” but has begun to take on a new meaning for him. He explained the title as something that is constantly evolving and changing.

Newman, 21, is a junior integrated marketing communications major in the School of Journalism and New Media at Ole Miss.

His musical creations began early in his life – the third grade.

“The first time I remember singing in front of people was in the third grade. I always sang by myself,” Newman said. “In my class, someone started singing, and then I started singing along with them.”

Newman’s new album, “Noom,” released in May. Photo taken by Scout Treadwell.

His rendition of Relient K’s “Sadie Hawkins Dance” blew his classmates away. It was at this moment his friends discovered a hidden talent.

From third grade on, Newman has been writing music. Since his high school years, he started compiling an album of demos that is also planned to release sometime in the near future. After, he plans to release music in a more structured timeline.

Most of his music was released on SoundCloud in high school but is now available on both Apple Music and Spotify where he has roughly 17,000 monthly listeners.

His followers and fans at Ole Miss are growing. Matthew Ide, a junior public policy leadership major from Asheville, North Carolina said that Newman’s creativity is unmatched.

“I got the unique experience of discovering Lo Noom through becoming his friend first. His music is a testament to who the man he truly is,” Ide said. “It’s filled with so much heart and real-life stories.”

Lo Noom blurs the lines of many genres. He enjoys all music from hip hop to jazz to alternative to blues. Right now he described his music as a “crayon-rock” which he later described as a ‘60s pop sound. Lo Noom is dedicated to creating different types of songs and sounds.

“While a lot of artists are good at developing this one type of sound over their career, I like to make something different each time,” Newman said.

Newman said he seems to find his most creative and best pieces when he least expects it. Whenever he is looking for a distraction, he finds himself resorting to music.

Balancing school and music is tough, he says.

“That’s why I am hoping to be able to be at a point where I can focus on it fully. I do try to just play a little bit a day–whether that be writing or recording,” Newman said.