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Givēon's new album BELOVED has been in rotation for a minute, but no one loves it more than his family — especially his mom.
During an exclusive interview with iHeartRadio, the Grammy-nominated artist spoke about his family's reaction to hearing his second studio album. Givēon said his family declined to listen to the album before it dropped. They wanted to have the same experience as the rest of his fans, and didn't want to spoil it for everyone else.
"My mom was a little disappointed because she just assumed that she was going to be on the album," Givēon explained.
"Because all of my other work, her voice makes an appearance at some point because of all her voice notes," he continued. "But then, she started getting a little too cocky. She just sent me voice notes about random s**t. I'm like, 'You are not getting on the album.'"
The California native's project consists of 14 soulful tracks inspired by the iconic era of R&B that dominated the 1970s. His lead singles, "Twenties" and "Rather Be," are clear indicators of the vintage direction Givēon took for his follow-up to Give or Take.
"Considering the fact that the music is warm and classic and '70s inspired and soulful, I just wanted to pull from a term that had all of that wrapped up in it, that I used to hear my grandpa call my grandma," he said about the album.
Givēon also revealed that listening to artists like Frank Ocean, Miguel and Frank Sinatra inspired him and gave him the confidence to sing in the deep tone he's known for. Watch the entire interview below.