Miguel

Background

Miguel Jontel Pimentel belongs to the new wave of R&B artists. Born on October 23, 1985, to a Mexican American father and an African American mother, he grew up in San Pedro, California. He was exposed to various styles such as R&B, jazz, funk, classic rock, and hip hop from a young age.

In 2000, Miguel signed with the production company, Drop Squad, and four years later, with the record label, Black Ice. His first studio album titled “Young & Free” was shelved. Although Black Ice finally released a music video for one of his songs, he could not identify with the image and the contract was dissolved. In 2007, he signed up with Jive Records but was sued by Black Ice for recording his debut album “All I Want is You” as a breach of the contract, which delayed the release by two years. In the meantime, he collaborated with several artists, including Blu, Exile, Below the Heavens, Usher, and Asher Roth, and released a mixtape titled “Mischief: The Mixtape.” His debut album was finally released in November 2010 but sank. In May 2011, the single ‘All I Want Is You’ re-entered the Billboard 200, selling more than 400,000 copies in the U.S. In 2012, he released his second album, “Kaleidoscope Dream,” which received critical acclaim. He was given the Grammy Award for ‘Best R&B Song’ for his single ‘Adorn.’ He collaborated with Mariah Carey for his fourth single, ‘#Beautiful,’ which became his third million-selling single in the U.S. In June 2015, he released “Wildheart,” his third studio album; in 2016, he released “Waves”; and in 2017, his fourth album, “War & Leisure,” came out.

He has worked in movies such as “Live by Night” (2016) and “Detroit” (2017), and has been vocal about social issues such as mass incarceration and corruption in immigrant processing. He married actor Nazanin Mandi in November 2018.