GIVĒON

Giveon, the Grammy-nominated R&B performer celebrated for his refined baritone voice and introspective songwriting method, launched his major-label career in 2019 through the blues-infused, retro-contemporary ballad “Like I Want You.” The single appeared across multiple Billboard R&B charts and opened the door to a prolific 2020. His breakthrough period featured the short-form projects Take Time and When It’s All Said and Done, a guest spot on Drake’s Top 20 pop single “Chicago Freestyle,” and parallel traction with his own “Heartbreak Anniversary.” After Take Time earned a Grammy nomination, the two EPs were merged into the gold-certified When It’s All Said and Done…Take Time (2021), which arrived around the same period as “Peaches,” his chart-topping team-up with Justin Bieber and Daniel Caesar. The momentum carried forward to Give or Take (2022), his debut full-length album.

A native of Long Beach, Giveon Evans began singing as a child and first performed publicly during school years. At 18 he joined the Recording Academy’s Grammy U program, where an invitation to reinterpret “Fly Me to the Moon” in the manner of Frank Sinatra revealed the full potential of his baritone range and prompted dedicated refinement of that instrument. He issued his earliest commercial recordings in 2018 with the reflective ballads “Garden Kisses” and “Fields.” Soon afterward he signed with Epic and, in 2019, delivered “Like I Want You,” produced by Sevn Thomas, Jahaan Sweet, and River Tiber. Its rollout overlapped with his appearances that autumn as the opening act on Snoh Aalegra’s North American headline tour.

Giveon put out his first EP, Take Time, in March 2020, by which time “Like I Want You” had climbed to number 12 on Billboard’s R&B Songs chart and number 20 on the Adult R&B Songs chart. Shortly after “Heartbreak Anniversary” emerged as the EP’s second single, he connected with Drake’s circle and contributed vocals and co-writing to the number 14 Hot 100 hit “Chicago Freestyle” on Dark Lane Demo Tapes. That October he released the concise follow-up EP When It’s All Said and Done, three of whose four tracks—including the Aalegra duet “Last Time”—also registered on the charts. Take Time later received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album.

In March 2021 the combined collection When It’s All Said and Done…Take Time gathered the tracks from both prior EPs and introduced the new song “All to Me,” the same month Giveon joined Justin Bieber on the Grammy-nominated number-one pop hit “Peaches.” Meanwhile “Heartbreak Anniversary” gained traction on TikTok and earned him a second Grammy nomination. By July the track reached number 16 on the Hot 100 and achieved multi-platinum status. Giveon next appeared on Drake’s Certified Lover Boy as featured vocalist and co-writer of “In the Bible,” then scored another Hot 100 entry with the gold-certified ballad “For Tonight.” He followed with the equally unguarded “Lie Again,” a second preview of the June 2022 album Give or Take.