Miguel

Miguel Jontel Pimentel (born: ), better known online as Miguel is an American singer and songwriter who specializes in contemporary and alternative R&B. The albums second single, "Sure Thing" reached further success in 2023, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and ultimately becoming his most commercially successful song to date.
==History==
===Early life===
Miguel Jontel Pimentel was born on October 23, 1985,https://www.biography.com/people/miguel-21249827 and raised in San Pedro, California.https://web.archive.org/web/20130411212815/http://www.laweekly.com/2012-10-11/music/miguel_kaleidoscope_dream_r_and_b/ He is one of two sons of an African American mother and a Mexican father.http://madamenoire.com/6929/miguel-makes-beautiful-music/ Miguel's parents divorced when he was eight years old.http://www.theboombox.com/2010/06/07/miguel-builds-industry-buzz-with-genre-defying-sound/ At a young age, Miguel was introduced to the older R&B his mother listened to, and his father's musical tastes, including funk, hip hop, jazz and classic rock.
In eleventh grade, Miguel was introduced by a friend to a member of the production company Drop Squad, and he subsequently spent the rest of high school learning his way around a recording studio before seeking a record deal. Miguel is also close high school friends with rapper Blu, who also lived in San Pedro.http://hiphopwired.com/2012/09/10/blu-says-he-is-biggest-hypocrite-since-2pac-talks-working-with-rising-star-miguel/
===Early career===
Miguel signed a production deal with Drop Squad in 2000.http://www.thefader.com/2012/10/02/by-the-numbers-miguels-kaleidoscope-dream/ In 2004, he auditioned to be part of the group Fatty Koo, but their label, Columbia Records chose someone else to complete the sextet. Later in 2004, Miguel was signed by independent record label Black Ice and started working on his studio album, Young & Free. It was scheduled to be released on November 30, 2006,https://books.google.com/books?id=BQ4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA50 but was ultimately shelved.http://www.allmusic.com/artist/miguel-mn0002570457 Black Ice released the single "Getcha Hands Up" with a video debut on 106 & Park, but Miguel decided to change his sound and image and walked away from Black Ice Records.http://www.officialmiguel.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/miguel_xxl_julyaug2010.jpeg He later said in an interview for LA Weekly, "We shot a video, and if you ever see it, you will laugh your ass off. I have a fitted hat on and a white T-shirt and baggy jeans. I was 19 years old and it was the first time anyone had ever given me money."
===2007-2011===
For nearly a year, Miguel's manager at the time submitted several songs to music mogul Mark Pitts; after receiving a song titled "Sure Thing"—which Miguel described as a "highly personal ... record that no one was ever supposed to hear"—Pitts scheduled a meeting with Miguel in October 2007. The following month, Miguel signed a recording contract with Jive Records.http://www.officialmiguel.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/miguel_xxl_julyaug2010.jpeg Miguel recalled that the signing of his contract took place in a "very small room in a very small office in a small corner of the building at Jive".https://web.archive.org/web/20110622081215/http://www.papermag.com/arts_and_style/2010/08/less-is-more.php After being signed, he recorded his debut album All I Want Is You,http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/474985/miguels-kaleidoscope-dream-inside-the-rb-dynamos-fresh-start but was sued by Black Ice for breach of contract.http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/956253/miguel-calls-playing-eminem-jay-zs-stadium-show-unbelievable Consequently, his album was not released for two years. In 2007, Miguel also contributed vocals to three tracks on the debut collaborative project of Blu and Exile, Below the Heavens, appearing under the moniker "Miguel Jontel".http://www.allmusic.com/album/below-the-heavens-mw0000779442/credits
===2012-2013===
After Jive was shut down and absorbed by RCA Records, Miguel was moved to RCA, where Pitts was named president of urban music, and received a new marketing team.http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/474985/miguels-kaleidoscope-dream-inside-the-rb-dynamos-fresh-start His second studio album, Kaleidoscope Dream, was released on October 2, 2012, to critical acclaim.https://www.metacritic.com/music/kaleidoscope-dream/miguel The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 71,000 copies in its first week. As of February 2013, Kaleidoscope Dream has sold 322,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.https://web.archive.org/web/20130327083225/http://www.sohh.com/2013/02/bruno_mars_leads_the_way_kendrick_lamar.html#more The album's lead single "Adorn", which had been released on August 7,http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=69239 became a sleeper hit on urban radio.http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-rb-renaissance-miguel-20121111,0,3483680.story It was Miguel's second number-one single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and his highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 17.https://www.billboard.com/artist/miguel/chart-history/ By September, the single had sold 190,000 copies. According to NPR's Audie Cornish, Miguel "broke through to a national audience in 2012" with both "Adorn" and Kaleidoscope Dream.https://www.npr.org/2012/12/31/168093822/miguel-an-honest-introduction-to-an-r-b-star
===2016-Present===
Miguel partnered with Revolve Impact and headlined the Schools Not Prisons tour, along with other musicians, to spread awareness of mass incarceration throughout California.https://www.calendow.org/rb-singer-miguel-headlines-concert-close-immigrant-prisons/ His music video for "Now" was filmed in Adelanto, which is the location of California's largest immigration processing center, Adelanto Detention Center. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he expresses his advocacy on the corruption and abuse of the immigration system on detained immigrants, "to see innocent people being ripped from their way of life to essentially be incarcerated and used as cheap labor is really crazy to me."https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/watch-miguels-stirring-politically-charged-now-video-202486/
Miguel sang a duet of "Remember Me" with Natalia Lafourcade on the soundtrack of Disney Pixar's movie Coco, which debuted in theaters in the US on November 22, 2017. He also performed the song live at the Oscars in 2018. In January 2019, Benny blanco, Miguel, and Calvin Harris released a music video for the song "I Found You", in tandem with the While They Wait campaign, an initiative by Brooklyn Defender Services, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services and American Civil Liberties Union which raises awareness about the challenges immigrants face while waiting for asylum.https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/8492273/benny-blanco-miguel-i-found-you-refugees 
In early 2023, his R&B hit "Sure Thing" from the album All I Want Is You went viral on TikTok leading to the song to enter several charts around the world, cracking the top 10 for the first time in the UK, and entering the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. The song "Girl With The Tattoo Enter" from the same album reached the Top 100 of Spotify US.
==Controversies==
===Miguel Leg Drop===
During an energetic performance of "Adorn" at the Billboard Music Awards on May 19, Miguel failed in an attempt to leap across the stage, injuring two audience members in the process. Barely missing the stage, Miguel landed on two women, hooking his right leg over one and knocking the other into the stage.http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/bbma-2013/1562910/miguel-lands-on-fans-in-dramatic-jump-at-billboard-music-awards The incident, known as the "Miguel Leg Drop", became an immediate internet sensation and has been satirized in numerous internet memes and gifs.http://www.funnyordie.com/slideshows/8660bb3c35/examples-of-the-miguel-leg-drop-meme It has also been the subject of controversy, with the show's producers claiming that they had denied the singer permission to attempt the leap, while Miguel's representatives have countered that no objections were raised during earlier rehearsals.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/06/miguel-practiced-billboard-music-awards-jump_n_3395746.html
===Accusation of Sexual Assault===
In 2017, Miguel was accused of sexual assault by Xian Bass, a fan of his music.https://web.archive.org/web/20210716171527/https://www.spin.com/featured/miguel-war-leisure-allegation-we-forgot-feature/ Miguel denied the accusation, calling it "bizarre" and "twisted," as well as claiming that Bass' story of what transpired is not accurate.https://www.vulture.com/2017/12/miguel-responds-to-resurfaced-sexual-misconduct-allegation.html
==Discography==
===Albums===
*All I Want Is You (2010)
*Kaleidoscope Dream (2012)
*Kaleidoscope Dream - Track by Track Commentary (2012)
*Wildheart (2015)
*Wildheart (Deluxe Version) (2015)
*War & Leisure (2017)
*Viscera (2024)
===EPs===
*Kaleidoscope Dream: The Water Preview (2012)
*iTunes Festival: London 2012 (2012)
*Kaleidoscope Dream: The Air Preview (2012)
*Spotify Sessions London (2013)
*Rogue Waves (2016)
*Spotify Sessions (2016)
*Te Lo Dije (2019)
*Art Dealer Chic 4 (2021)
===Mixtapes===
*Art Dealer Chic, Vol. 1 (2012)
*Art Dealer Chic, Vol. 2 (2012)
*Art Dealer Chic, Vol. 3 (2012)
*Wild (2014)
===Singles===
*All I Want Is You (ft. J. Cole) (2010)
*Strawberry Amazing (2011)
*How Many Drinks? (ft. Kendrick Lamar) (2013)
*Coffee (F***ing) (ft. Wale) (2015)
*coffee (2015)
*...goingtohell (2015)
*FLESH (2015)
*Hollywood Dreams (2015)
*NWA (ft. Kurupt) (2015)
*face the sun (ft. Lenny Kravitz) (2015)
*Simple Things (Remix) (ft. Chris Brown & Future) (2015)
*2 LOVIN U (2017)
*Shockandawe (2017)
*Remember Me (Dúo) [From "Coco" \ Steerner Remix] (2018)
*Sky Walker (ft. Travis Scott) [Niko The Kid Remix] (2018)
*Remind Me to Forget (2018)
*Sky Walker (Spanish Version) (2018)
*Spotify Singles (2018)
*Remember Me to Forget (Remixes) (2018)
*Got Friends (2018)
*R.A.N. (From SUPERFLY - Original Soundtrack) (2018)
*Light Me Up (2018)
*Python (2018)
*Banana Clip (Spanish Version) (2018)
*Sky Walker (Recorded Live at Austin City Limits) (2018)
*Funeral (2019)
*Too Much (2020)
*Sunbathe (2021)
*Don't Forget My Love (2022)
*DEATH FANTASY (2022)
*Don't Forget My Love (Remixes) (2022)
*Sure Thing (Sped Up) (2023)
*Give It To Me (2023)
*Number 9 (ft. Lil Yachty) (2023)
*Sure Thing (Live) (2023)
==Filmography==
*Live by Night (2016)
*Detroit (2017)
*The Platinum Life (2017)
*Fearless (2020)
==References==
Category:Music YouTubers
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2012
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