# Giveon

Giveon Dezmann Evans Khumalo (/ˈɡɪviən/ born February 21, 1995), known mononymously as Giveon (stylized as GIVĒON), is an American R&B singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with his 2020 song "Chicago Freestyle" (with Drake), which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. That same year, Giveon signed with Epic Records to release two extended plays: the Grammy Award-nominated Take Time and When It's All Said and Done; the former was preceded by the single "Heartbreak Anniversary", which peaked at number 16 on the chart and received quintuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Evans guest performed alongside Daniel Caesar on Justin Bieber's 2021 single "Peaches", which debuted atop the Billboard Global 200, Billboard Hot 100, and Canadian Hot 100, and received four Grammy Award nominations. That same year, his two EPs were bundled into the compilation album When It's All Said and Done.... Take Time (2021), which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200. His debut studio album, Give or Take (2022), peaked at number 11 on the chart.

## 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 "Chicago Freestyle", which is how the single got its name. In February 2020, he was featured on Drake's single "Chicago Freestyle", which had only been uploaded to SoundCloud and YouTube at the time. In March 2020, he 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 on streaming platforms, alongside 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 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 to enter a number of Billboards 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 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 alongside Daniel Caesar on Justin Bieber's hit 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.
On November 3, 2023, Giveon released two Christmas songs that consisted of two covers, "O Christmas Tree" and "The First Noel". Since then, Giveon has appeared as a feature on Arya Starr's "Last Heartbreak Song" which was released on May 31, 2024, and on Teddy Swims's single "Are You Even Real" which was released on January 10, 2025. He then kicked off his latest era by releasing the single "Twenties" on February 7th, 2025.

## 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

| Organization | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| Academy Awards | 2023 | Best Original Song | "Time" from Amsterdam (2022 film) | Shortlisted |
| American Music Awards | 2022 | Favorite Male R&B Artist | Giveon | Nominated |
| BET Awards | 2021 | Best Male R&B/Pop Artist | Giveon | Nominated |
| BET Awards | 2021 | Best New Artist | Giveon | Won |
| Grammy Awards | 2021 | Best R&B Album | Take Time | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 2022 | Album of the Year | Justice (as featured artist and songwriter) | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 2022 | Record of the Year | "Peaches" (with Justin Bieber & Daniel Caesar) | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 2022 | Song of the Year | "Peaches" (with Justin Bieber & Daniel Caesar) | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 2022 | Best R&B Performance | "Peaches" (with Justin Bieber & Daniel Caesar) | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 2022 | Best Music Video | "Peaches" (with Justin Bieber & Daniel Caesar) | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | 2022 | Best R&B Song | "Heartbreak Anniversary" | Nominated |
| MTV Video Music Awards | 2021 | Best New Artist | Giveon | Nominated |
| MTV Video Music Awards | 2021 | Best Collaboration | "Peaches" (with Justin Bieber & Daniel Caesar) | Nominated |
| MTV Video Music Awards | 2021 | Best Pop | "Peaches" (with Justin Bieber & Daniel Caesar) | Won |
| MTV Video Music Awards | 2021 | Best Editing | "Peaches" (with Justin Bieber & Daniel Caesar) | Nominated |
| MTV Video Music Awards | 2021 | Song of Summer | "Peaches" (with Justin Bieber & Daniel Caesar) | Nominated |
| MTV Video Music Awards | 2021 | Song of Summer | "Heartbreak Anniversary" | Nominated |
| MTV Video Music Awards | 2021 | Best R&B | "Heartbreak Anniversary" | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Awards | 2021 | Outstanding New Artist | Giveon | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Male Artist | Giveon | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Album | When It's All Said and Done... Take Time | Nominated |
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | 2022 | Best New R&B Artist | Giveon | Won |
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | 2022 | R&B Artist of the Year | Giveon | Nominated |
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | 2022 | Best New Pop Artist | Giveon | Nominated |
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | 2022 | Song of the Year | "Peaches" (feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon) | Nominated |
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | 2022 | Best Music Video | "Peaches" (feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon) | Nominated |
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | 2022 | Best Collaboration | "Peaches" (feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon) | Nominated |
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | 2022 | R&B Song of the Year | "Heartbreak Anniversary" | Nominated |