Grammy award-winning singer Miguel graces the cover of the latest issue of Billboard Magazine. In his cover story, Miguel dishes on his Grammy win (“Adorn”), his music, his upcoming tour with Alicia Keys, and more.
Check out some excerpts from Miguel’s cover story below.
Congrats on winning your first Grammy. Since the award wasn’t televised, where were you when you found out?
I found out in the car as we were pulling up to the red carpet. It was an “Oh, shit” moment. I had my girl with me and it was like, “How crazy is that? And I get to perform?” It was just a great feeling.All this success in the last 12 months means a lot to you, coming off how you began this whole process almost exactly one year ago with the Art Dealer Chic mixtapes. You released those independently rather than through RCA just after the Jive merger. Why?
In late 2011 I was like, “I’m going to put out a series of micro EPs.” I just knew I wanted to put out free music and make it very quality vs. quantity, very personal. Make the whole thing a personal creative process from the artwork to the painting to the design to the production and writing-just for the people who discover music like I do online or my favorite blogs. We put out the first one at the top of February of 2012, and “Adorn” was on that and it got quite a buzz. It got a great response and Mark Pitts, my A&R, was convinced that it should be a single and I was excited, but I was like, “Are you sure this could work?” He was like, “Man, that shit is going to kill.” And he was right.So, since you’re about to tour with Keys, you may know that her secret for voice lubrication is melted gummy bears. Do you have any rituals of your own for keeping that falsetto intact?
Nothing as good as that, but all-natural honey is my favorite. And then an apple before I go on. What are those pink and yellow ones? Honeycrisp. You know what else I like as an alternative? Nectarines. It’s a similar texture, especially when you get a good nectarine.
Miguel will join Alicia Keys on her “Set the World on Fire Tour,” which kicks off next month. See tour dates here.
Read the full cover story here.
