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Giveon
Giveon in 2020
Background information
Birth name	Giveon Dezmann Evans
Born	(1995-02-21) February 21, 1995 (age 29) Long Beach, California, U.S.
Genres	Neo soul R&B
Occupations	Singer songwriter
Years active	2018–present
Labels	Not So Fast Epic
Website	giveonofficial.com

Giveon Dezmann Evans (/ˈɡɪviən/), known mononymously as Giveon (stylized as "Givēon" and in all caps), is an American R&B singer. He rose to prominence with his collaboration with Drake on their 2020 single, "Chicago Freestyle". In the same year, Giveon released the EPs, Take Time and When It's All Said and Done, the former was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and the latter reaching the Top 10 on the US Top R&B Albums chart. He released "Heartbreak Anniversary", as the second single from Take Time, which reached the Top 40 in the US and was certified Platinum by RIAA. In 2021, Giveon was featured alongside Daniel Caesar on the Justin Bieber single "Peaches", which debuted at number one on the Billboard Global 200 and US Billboard Hot 100 charts. In 2022, he released his debut studio album Give or Take.

Early life

Giveon Dezmann Evans was born in Long Beach, California. He and his two brothers grew up in a home with a single mother; he realized his passion for music at a young age, often singing at birthday parties. He credits his mother with pushing him to explore this early love for music and protecting him and his brothers from the pressures of gang culture and poverty. He attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, and took a music education program at the Grammy Museum at age 18, where he fell in love with Frank Sinatra, whose bellowing voice was inspiring to the teenager. Giveon listened to R&B and soul and was also greatly inspired by Drake. Giveon fell in love with Barry White and Frank Sinatra music through a Recording Academy program where kids got to learn about music history. Giveon was inspired by 1960s jazz and wanted to modernize what he heard.

Career

2018–2019: Career beginnings

Giveon self-released his debut single "Garden Kisses" in August 2018. Shortly after that he was discovered by Canadian record producer Sevn Thomas, who found him on a random playlist on SoundCloud, and later signed him to his record label Not So Fast and Epic Records. After signing, he started to perform his original songs at different live venues, including "Like I Want You", before recording them professionally. In November 2019, he released the single "Like I Want You" shortly before serving as an opening act for Snoh Aalegra on her Ugh, A Mini Tour Again of Europe and North America.

2019–present: "Chicago Freestyle" and extended play releases

In 2019, Giveon toured with Snoh Aalegra, where Giveon would often freestyle as he only had two songs out at the time. Giveon's manager sent his freestyle performance from Chicago to Drake. It led to their collaboration in "Chicago Freestyle", which is how the single got its name. In February 2020, Evans was featured on Drake's single "Chicago Freestyle", which was only uploaded to SoundCloud and YouTube at the time. In March 2020, Evans released his debut EP, Take Time, which was executive produced by Thomas. The EP topped Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart, earning Giveon his first charting project. Take Time also received acclaim from contemporary music critics who called it "breathtaking" and "polished". In May 2020, "Chicago Freestyle" was released for streaming, along with Drake's mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes. The song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, earning Giveon his first Billboard-charting single. It also became a top 40 single in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland. In September 2020, Giveon announced the release of his four-track second extended play (EP), When It's All Said and Done, and shortly released its lead single, "Stuck on You". After being released on October 2, 2020, the EP debuted at number 93 on the Billboard 200. With a rapid increase of mainstream attention, Giveon's singles "Stuck on You" and "Like I Want You" began entering a number of Billboard R&B charts in late 2020, with the latter later being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in December 2020. During that time, Giveon earned his first-ever Grammy Award nomination when Take Time was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards. He also made his debut television performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, performing "Stuck on You".

During the week of February 27, 2021, Giveon earned his second and third Billboard Hot 100 entries with "Heartbreak Anniversary" and "Like I Want You", entering the chart at numbers 74 and 95, respectively. On March 12, he released the compilation album, When It's All Said and Done... Take Time, a combination of his first two EPs, which included a new song titled "All to Me". Just a week later, he was featured on Justin Bieber's single "Peaches" from his album Justice.

On September 16, 2022, Epic Records revealed that Giveon recorded a track for the film Amsterdam called “Time,” co-written by Drake.

Artistry

Giveon is known for his baritone vocals. He is inspired by jazz music from the 1960s and 1970s. He cites Frank Sinatra, Frank Ocean, Drake, Adele, and Sampha as some of his biggest influences.

Discography

Studio albums

• Give or Take (2022)

Tours

Headlining

• Timeless Tour (2021) – Giveon's first tour, consisting of fourteen different shows spread throughout North America. One show was outside of the United States, in Toronto, Canada where Drake made an appearance.
• Give or Take Tour (2022) – Began on August 22, 2022, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and ended on October 21, 2022, in Toronto, Canada. The tour included North-American locations and Canadian locations in Montreal and Toronto. After the presale, Giveon added more tour dates, extending the tour by six shows.

Supporting

• Ugh, A Mini Tour Again (2019) – The Ugh, A Mini Tour Again was a North American fall tour by Swedish singer Snoh Aalegra, held in support for her second studio album, "Ugh, Those Feels Again". The tour began on November 21, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois, and ended on December 7, 2019, in Los Angeles, California – spanning a total of 7 dates.

Awards and nominations

References

1. Penrose, Nerisha (October 2, 2020). "Giveon Will Always Be Real With You". Elle. ISSN 0888-0808. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
2. "Neo-Soul 2020: 23 Contemporary Artists Pushing the Sound Forward - Okayplayer".
3. ^ "Rising R&B Singer Giveon Makes Pain Sound Beautiful". BET. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
4. "Giveon Explains The Meaning Behind His Name, The Inspiration Of His Unique Sound & More, Mic Check" (video). youtube.com. BET Her. May 22, 2020.
5. Polo, Maxamillion (March 3, 2020). "Get to Know Giveon, a Haunting and Angelic Voice in R&B". Ones to Watch. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
6. Pastore, Alexandra (September 18, 2019). "Just Being Giveon". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
7. "R&B Singer Giveon Details His California Upbringing & Breaks Down His Latest Single "Like I Want You" [Interview + Premiere]". Okayplayer. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
8. Brown, August (December 7, 2021). "With Drake and Justin Bieber co-signs, Long Beach's Giveon looks to spin his R&B into Grammy gold". Los Angeles Times.
9. "R&B Singer Giveon Details His California Upbringing & Breaks Down His Latest Single "Like I Want You" [Interview + Premiere]". OkayPlayer. 7 February 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
10. ^ Gage, Dewayne (2021-03-31). "How Giveon Patiently Worked His Way to R&B Stardom". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
11. ^ Rashed, Ayesha (March 27, 2020). "GIVEON Drops Debut EP "Take Time"". Respect. ISSN 2150-8674. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
12. "EXCLUSIVE: Scarborough's Sevn Thomas Chats Working with Drake, Rihanna, Travis Scott and Discovering Giveon". 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021.
13. Giveon (November 21, 2019). "LIKE I WANT YOU is finally out now on all platforms! i appreciate you all for waiting ever so patiently. thanks to everyone involved in helping me put this song together. i hope you all fall in love with it! more music coming your way very soon" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
14. Inman, DeMicia (September 24, 2019). "Snoh Aalegra Announces North American Tour With Baby Rose". Def Pen. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
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20. Zellner, Xander (May 12, 2020). "Drake Charts All 14 Songs From 'Dark Lane Demo Tapes' on Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
21. Rashed, Ayesha (October 1, 2020). "Giveon Announces New EP 'When It's All Said And Done' Available 10/2". Respect. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
22. Okon, Wongo (September 30, 2020). "Giveon's 'Stuck On You' Fronts His 'When It's All Said And Done' EP". Uproxx. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
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24. Folk, Antwane (December 22, 2020). "Giveon's Single 'Like I Want You' Reaches Gold Status". Rated R&B. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
25. ^ "Giveon". Grammy.com. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
26. King, Akili (December 10, 2020). "Singer-Songwriter Giveon On His Grammy Nomination and Taking Time for Self-Care". Vogue. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
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29. @Giveon (March 4, 2021). "The anniversary for the release of Take Time is creeping up on us all.. I decided to combine both of my first two eps into one project: When It's All Said and Done... Take Time. I also added a new song to the project. 3/12.. pre-save at midnight ✨ ..." (Tweet). Retrieved March 11, 2021 – via Twitter.
30. @Giveon (March 10, 2021). "tomorrow night ✨ ..." (Tweet). Retrieved March 11, 2021 – via Twitter.
31. "7 Things We Learned While Justin Bieber Played His 16-Track New Album Over Zoom". British Vogue. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
32. Bowenbank, Starr (September 16, 2022). "Giveon to Release New Single 'Time' Co-Written by Drake for 'Amsterdam' Movie Soundtrack". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
33. ^ Ju, Shirley (April 9, 2020). "Giveon: Get To Know Baritone Singer-Songwriter". Flaunt. ISSN 1523-5726. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
34. "Giveon Explains His Quick Rise, Songwriting Approach and The Impact of a Drake Collaboration". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
35. Santiago, Elliot (September 14, 2021). "GIVĒON Announces Dates for His 2021 "Timeless Tour"". Hypebeast.
36. Samuels, Keithan (2022-06-14). "Giveon Announces 'Give or Take Tour' Dates". Rated R&B. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
37. Folk, Antwane (2019-09-25). "Snoh Aalegra Announces Mini Fall Tour". Rated R&B. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
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45. Davis, Clayton (February 2, 2021). "Viola Davis, Tyler Perry and Regina King Up for Entertainer of the Year at 2021 NAACP Image Awards". Variety. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
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External links

• Official website

• 1995 births
• Living people
• African-American male singer-songwriters
• American male singer-songwriters
• American contemporary R&B singers
• American baritones
• 21st-century African-American male singers
• 21st-century American male singers
• Singers from Los Angeles
• MTV Video Music Award winners
• Musicians from Long Beach, California
• Singer-songwriters from California
• Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni