Mark Ambor, the 25-year-old and up-and-coming musician, recently had his first big break when his song “Curls in the Wind” blew up on TikTok with over 980 thousand views.
The song was published on July 7, 2023, but received real traction when Ambor posted a TikTok video promoting the song, earning him a real taste of fame.
Ambor grew up in New York, about forty minutes outside of the city, where he played piano as a child but never expressed interest in music until high school. The summer before his freshman year of college was when the idea of being a musician first entered his mind.
“I never sang for anyone,” Ambor said. “I decided where I was going to college, but I was not going to school for music at all.”
Ambor’s sudden inspiration to write music was brought on by the sadness one typically feels when leaving home for the first time. As he recalls it, he was home alone for the afternoon, his friends had already all left and he was at home “bored and lonely.”
“I didn’t really want to leave and go and start a whole new world in college,” Ambor said.
Those feelings were what brought on his first songwriting experience, though, and after writing his first song, he simply never stopped. While Ambor studied in college, his passion for music grew as he learned to play guitar.
“Covid then happened, and I basically took that opportunity to pursue music because no one was pursuing anything, and my friend told me to make a TikTok,” Ambor said when describing the early days of promoting his music.
Through TikTok, Ambor was able to connect with fellow artists and grow his following. After years of work, Ambor signed with a record label and honed in on the type of music he wanted to produce.
“I like songs that aren’t super abrasive – I want my music to sound like I'm just in the room singing to the person listening to that song,” Ambor said.
Fame did not come to Ambor quickly. He currently has over two million monthly listeners, but that is after nearly six years of dedication and hard work. The first song he produced was put up on SoundCloud, where barely anyone even knew who he was.
But, Palm Beach Atlantic University student Abby Knox was one of the few who were listening to Ambor when he was only 19 years old.
“I’m a huge fan of his,” Knox stated. “I’ve been listening to him since my sophomore year of high school. It’s been really cool watching his whole journey progress to what it is now.”
Ambor has nine songs on Spotify and is considering an album.
“I love the idea of an album,” Ambor stated. “I feel like you’re looked at more seriously as an artist when you have an album.”
The idea of a tour and an album is still in the works for Ambor and his team, but both are dreams he is actively pursuing.
“I think it would be really cool for someone who doesn’t have quite as big a following yet to put on a performance!” said Emily Moses, another fan from PBA’s campus. “I would be really excited to attend a concert of his and am excited to see how his music grows.”
Ambor hopes to continue producing new music and have an album someday. Currently, he plans to travel to Los Angeles to meet people who will help him take his music career further.
By Ashlyn Knaebel