Orville Peck is a rising Canadian country music star, particularly known for wearing a leather-fringe mask, which he insists is for additional theatricality, and not meant to be a disguise as most people claim – he has never shown his face in public.
Age, Early Life, and Education Background
Daniel Pitout alias Orville Peck, was born in Canada under the Capricorn zodiac sign on 6 January 1988, which makes him 34 years old as of 2022. His father was a sound engineer, who encouraged him to try out lending his voice to cartoons and other productions – he hasn’t revealed the names of his parents in public.
As a child, Peck was keen on theatrics and trained in ballet for close to a decade.
Simultaneously, he frequently performed in music theatres, and by the time he was 20 years old, he’d also participated in several national musical competitions. He relocated to London and enrolled for acting training into the famed London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) before playing a lead role in a West End play.
Facts and Hobbies
As Orville once revealed, his idol is Dolly Parton, and he grew up singing to her tunes, revealing that ‘I fell in love with Dolly Parton when I was very little, but I also learned a lot about punk and rock ‘n’ roll from my brothers.’
He is physically fit, and used to skateboard to school as a teenager.
Career and Social Media Presence
Peck’s name hit the headlines when he collaborated with Sub Pop to release his first and self-produced album “Pony” in 2019, made-up of songs such as “Old River,” “Nothing Fades Like the Light,” “Hope To Die,” “Roses are Falling,” among others. Surprisingly, he wrote the songs, played every instrument, and even produced the album while he was living with his parents, without a studio, and so had to work in a coffee shop. Determined to carve a niche for himself, he performed his songs, “Take You Out” and “Dead of Night” live on Q, which aired on CBC Radio One later that year, and he undoubtedly garnered more fans. In 2018 and 2020, he was honoured with several awards for his praised hit songs and his acclaimed debut album.
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Orville later took it to “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on 29 January 2020, with his applauded hit “Dead of the Night”, which was followed by his announcement that he was planning to tour selected US states’ cities as well as perform in the Stagecoach and Coachella Festivals. In May 2020, he hinted that there would be a follow-up to his “Pony” album and he was set to release an Extended Play (EP) entitled “Show Pony” in June that year. However, due to the protests against unlawful killings, police brutality, and in honour of the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA, he delayed the release until August. He has made several other hits, such as “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (with Paul Cauthen and The Unrighteous Melody), “Unchained Melody,” and ”No Glory in the West” among others.
Perk has recorded many covers including Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” Tammy Wynette and George Jones’ “Something to Brag About,” and “Smalltown Boy” which he sang for the Spotify Single series’ 2020 Pride Edition, released exclusively on 29 June 2020, and everywhere else one month later. In April 2021, Orville was featured by the American singer and drag queen Trixie Mattel in her “Full Coverage, Vol 1” EP. He also appeared in June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash’s “Jackson” duet cover.
Social Media Presence
Daniel is a prolific Instagram poster, who is fond of updating his fans about his latest work, promotion, and shots from his performances.
His Facebook page is full of his magazine covers, screen grabs, selfies as well as his daily routines and hobbies. He is also active on Deezer, on which he offers his fans personalized playlists – figures show that he was the most streamed musician on the platform in 2020.
Honors and Awards
Peck was nominated for 2019’s Polaris Music Prize in The Album of The Year category for his “Pony” album. In the year that followed, he won two A2IM Libera Awards (in the categories of Breakthrough Artist and Best Country Album for his “Pony” album) and was also nominated for the same award in the category of Album of the Year.
In the celebrations of the 50th LGBTQ Pride parade anniversary, Queerty online magazine named Orville among forty-nine other heroes “leading the country towards acceptance, dignity, and equality for all people.”
Personal Life
Orville openly identifies as gay; however, he has not publicly spoken about his past romantic affairs. A few years ago when he was asked in an interview why he likes performing with a mask on, he said, ‘The only reason I don’t talk about it in depth is not because I want to dodge any questions, but because I want people to have their own take on it. I don’t want to lay it out and pin it down. I just don’t think that’s important.’
Is Orville Peck NÜ Sensae’s Daniel Pitout?
Multiple sources have speculated that Orville is the persona of Pitout, a NÜ Sensae punk band’s drummer, basing on the similarity of their tattoos and also because Perk said that he had joined a punk band. Daniel was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and played a starring role in “Pan Goes Wrong,” performed in 2016 in the West End which coincidentally lines up with Orville previously revealing that he had appeared in a West End in the course of his stay in London. Since Orville has not revealed his face or confirmed his identity officially, this remains an unsolved mystery up to now.
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Orville is of slim build, weighs approximately 160lbs (73kg), and is 5ft 11ins (1.81m) tall. He has a set of blue eyes and dark brown hair – his arms are inked with tattoos. He always wears a mask and has a huge collection of them, some of which have names, and he is also fond of wearing cowboy hats.
Net Worth
Perk has accumulated his net worth through his primary career as a songwriter and musician. He secures a couple of endorsement deals from time to time, which has also contributed to his total earnings. As of 2022, his net worth is at least $1 million as sources estimate.
