If you’re sitting there asking yourself “Who in the hell is Miguel?”, you’re either not an R&B fan or Kelly Clarkson before his performance at the Grammys earlier this month. Who he is, really, is an incredibly talented singer who has been working in the industry for nearly a decade and makes what he describes as “eclectic, artsy R&B-pop”. He’s great, and we’ll be hearing a lot more of him over the coming months and years, for sure.
In any case, Miguel wants to set something straight before going any further: he’s not your typical R&B star, despite the message you might get from his Salaam Remi-produced Kaleidoscope Dream (which is a damn good album).
From Billboard:
I wanted it to be as edgy and alternative as my lifestyle. I don’t think I live the lifestyle that’s expected of a quote unquote R&B artist. I’m just not that dude. I don’t go to the club and pop bottles. I have my smooth moments, I suppose, but my life isn’t like that. Honestly, I don’t really listen to R&B music. I’m much more into lots of rock’n’roll. That juxtaposition was really important to highlight.
Overall, I wanted people to feel the way we would if we had a drink for the first time and we actually have a conversation. I wanted them to walk away knowing I wasn’t going to give them my deepest, darkest fucking secrets, but that there was some character to my personality. So that when you do have drinks with someone for the first time you can go, “You know what, this guy is kind of cool. I like where his head is at.”
I do indeed like where his head is at. It’s refreshing to see this new generation of artists like Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, etc. Also, the rock’n’roll influence is definitely noticeable in his music, and that’s probably why it’s so different than the run-of-the-mill stuff we’re hearing on the radio. I can’t wait to hear what he comes up with next. Give his track ‘Adorn’ a listen – what do you think?
Went to his concert in Paradiso, Amsterdam (I’m Dutch) a couple of weeks ago, and my oh my… That guy is incredibly talented, has an awesome stage presence, sings live and has the smoothest and funkiest dancemoves I’ve seen in a while. I’ve never been a real fan of any artist really but this guy is amazing. Love the fact that his music doesn’t sound like any of the fast-food-music-crap I can’t seem to escape nowadays. Love the fact that he is getting the recognition he deserves. Yay Miguel!