10) Miguel has had three records that have all sold more than a million copies in the U.S. Adorn, Beautiful, and Sure Thing.
9) His debut album didn’t perform well at first and was under promoted by his record label, but eventually went on to sell over 400,000 copies making it a sleeper hit. It debuted at 109 on the Billboard 200. Only sold 11,000 copies in its first week.
8) Miguel used to perform on other artists tours. He was a featured act on both Trey Songz and Usher’s tours.
7) He has unexpected musical influences. Miguel cites David Bowie, John Lennon, Bruce Lee, and Saul Williams as influences. Prince is one of his biggest influences and he has been compared to him
6) He couldn’t release his debut for more than two years amid a contract dispute with his former label causing him to lend his voice to other artists and their tracks while the lawsuit was settled.
Usher – “Here I Stand” and “Raymond v. Raymond”
Asher Roth – “Asleep in the Bread Aisle”
Musiq Soulchild – “IfULeave”
5) He’s been in TIME. Back in 2013 Miguel was listed on their 100 most influential people from around the world. This list is comprised of “artists and leaders to pioneers, titans and icons”.
4) He doesn’t just make generic music. When Kaleidoscope Dream was released in 2012 Miguel said, “I want to change the face of R&B songs”.
3) He’s bilingual. According to an interview Miguel did back in 2012 the singer, who is half Mexican, used to be fluent in Spanish. “I could speak Spanish fluently growing up, but I’m so out of practice.”
2) He is part of the new wave of R&B. Miguel, The Weeknd, and Frank Ocean are all part of this new movement of R&B that Miguel describes as “almost redefining or reprogramming people’s expectations or whatever preconceived notions there might have been, based on the past decade and a half.”
1) He has his own way of keeping himself “centered”. Miguel has been open about being a fan of Transcendental Meditation. He has his own way of keeping himself “centered”. “A lot of people don’t understand that voice in your head that is consistently going, or thinking. There is a way to take a break from that, and just kind of be in the moment. That is what whole meditation is about. It’s just brilliant… It’s good to take a breath from everything and just center yourself.”
#POWER106CRUSH The Weeknd, Kehlani, Miguel, Kid Ink + Tory Lanez #POWER106CRUSH The Weeknd, Kehlani, Miguel, Kid Ink + Tory Lanez (Via Power 106 Los Angeles) here:
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