Artist Spotlight: GIVĒON
One of my all-time favourite singers deserves his spotlight whilst I explore the mark he makes on the music industry.
I have been a huge fan of GIVĒON for a while now. From his ability to harness traditional genres and use them in the modern music scene, to his rich, emotionally heavy tone, his songs always resonate so powerfully. The 30-year-old singer released his latest album BELOVED earlier this year and is now on his world tour, which sees him grace Manchester and London’s stages in March.
My favourite thing about music more recently is how influenced it is by soul and jazz music. The singer, more often than not, opts for orchestral accompaniment with his vocals in order to hone in on this more traditional, earthy and authentic sound. He uses strings really well–on new song ‘MUD’ for example–but more so his emphasis on woodwind instruments. The use of horns often makes the songs feel very GIVĒON-esque, a staple of his music. This is even more present on BELOVED, notably on ‘RATHER BE’ and ‘TWENTIES’. This sound could run the risk of being repetitive or feel unoriginal, but GIVĒON is able to alter the flow, spotlight his vocals and even switch up the concept of his songs to ensure they feel fresh and new.
The singer writes some of the most beautiful and heartbreaking love songs, from this existential yearning to an inability to love another, the songs cut right to the bone. His lyricism is always so honest and does not present itself as clean or perfect, and that is exactly how it garners its power. He is not afraid to be arrogant, perhaps even coming off as toxic, in pursuit of absolute honesty and authenticity with his listeners, and it works every time.
GIVĒON has two EPs, TAKE TIME and When It’s All Said and Done, along with two full-length albums, Give or Take and BELOVED. I admire how the artist is able to evolve his sound in a way that feels natural and evolutionary, but does not stray from the fundamental uniqueness that draws his listeners in consistently. My favourite album of his would have to be Take Time, purely because it was released first and has some formative tracks on it. Thinking of ‘Heartbreak Anniversary’ or ‘Like I Want You’, the songs took their rightful place on the soundtrack of my life, ever since 2020.
From Give or Take, ‘dec 11th’, ‘Lie Again’, ‘Remind Me’ and one of my all-time favourite tracks ‘For Tonight’ stand out to me. These are some of GIVĒON’s most cutting, yet sensational tracks to date, and I remember exactly who I was, where I was and how I felt when listening to them for the first time.
This is not to diminish his newest release either. BELOVED is a really strong album with more mature, evolved sounds that I really appreciate. The artist is able to tell a consecutive story with these tracks, and even marks the difficulty of moving on from such a great, big, beautiful past love. His commitment to pouring his heart out onto such charmingly crafted songs for us to appreciate will never be taken for granted.
I am excited to see where GIVĒON’s music goes next and I hope I will be able to experience his music live next year, given that his often orchestral accompaniment would perform exceptionally on stage.