12 Things you don’t know about Miguel

1.  Real name Miguel Jontel Pimentel

2.  Miguel was born October 23, 1985 in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California

3.  He is one of two sons born to a Mexican father and an African American mother. Miguel’s parents divorced when he was eight years old

4.  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

5.  At age 5, Miguel wanted to become a dancer

6.  At 14, he was writing songs and developing ideas with a four-track recorder he took from his uncle

7.  Miguel signed a production deal with Drop Squad in 2000. In 2004, he was signed by independent record label Black Ice and started working on his studio album, Young & Free

8.  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”

9.  He contributed to Usher’s Here I Stand and Raymond v. Raymond, as well as Asher Roth’s Asleep in the Bread Aisle and Musiq Soulchild’s “IfULeave”

10.  In August 2013, the new single “#Beautiful” with Mariah Carey became Miguel’s third million-seller in the USA, following “Sure Thing” and “Adorn”.

11.  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

12.  Miguel described his sound as “nostalgic in a sense that it’s familiar… it’s shocking, edgy, energizing”