Miguel Gets Wild at Bowery Ballroom in New York City [EXCLUSIVE]
Miguel is the perfect singer to witness serenading an audience on “Hump Day” in New York City.
His albums don't do any justice in comparison to the dynamic, electric show he puts on filled with splits and jumps that could rival Michael Jordan. And we can't forget about his multiple outfit changes.
The R&B singer strolled onstage at 9:15 p.m., donned in all white for his sold-out show at the Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday night (Aug 5). The place was packed shoulder-to-shoulder including in the VIP balcony, where Spike Lee was spotted taking in the sights and sounds of Miguel.
The Wildheart creator started the show with “Simplethings,” a bonus track on the album that wasn't released as a single. But that didn’t stop the entire audience from singing along with him word-for-word.
A celestial blue background with stars filled the screen behind Miguel and as he moved his arms around, it looked like he was flying through space. Feathers hung from the arms of his jacket, emphasizing on the idea of freedom and flight.
About 35 minutes into the show, Miguel performed his breakout hit “All I Want Is You,” and at the line, “Now that you’re gone, gone, gone,” so was he. It was time for the first break -- and outfit change.
The “How Many Drinks?” crooner came back out with a white tank top designed with the "Wildheart" logo over the left side of his chest. But, it wasn’t long before the singer was taking it all off.
At first he teased the crowd by lifting up his shirt, gyrating and sticking his tongue out like a fifth member of KISS as he performed “gfg.” But soon the audience got what they wanted. A single gold necklace with a black pendant was all that Miguel was wearing above his white jeans and studded belt. “New York, you gonna get wild with us tonight?” he asked, only to be answered with shameless screams.
But, the highlight of the night was when the Los Angeles native covered 2Pac’s “I Get Around,” complete with the dance akin to the humpty. Afterwards, he got back into his music with “Quickie,” and a remix of “How Many Dranks?” over Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools (Drank).” “How many drinks does it take to get with you?” sang Miguel over K. Dot’s “Pour up, drank, head shot, drank, sit down, drank.”
As the show progressed, there seemed to be one message that the Kaleidoscope Dream creator wanted to get across -- aside from the fact he has an impeccable six-pack. Every so often, while moving between songs, he would break out into a speech about personal identity and normality. “You are the only you that has ever been and that will ever be, ever,” the singer told his fans, emphasizing the phrase by repeating it twice so that everyone could hear.
Miguel, who is of Mexican and African American descent, spoke on how he suffered with pinpointing who he was, until he decided to redefine the rules instead of taking the ones placed on him by society’s boxes and labels. After sharing his story, it was only fitting that he performed “What’s Normal Anyway?” next. “Too proper for the black kids, too black for the Mexicans. Too square to be a hood n----, what’s normal anyway?” sang Miguel while smiling charmingly at the crowd.
“Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt uncomfortable. Raise your hand if you ever felt like you didn’t belong,” he asked the crowd, which was met with multiple hands up.
Later in the show, he urged the audience to hold up their hands again but this time it was for something different. “I promise I will never conform,” he bated the crowd into repeating. “I will be myself. I will believe in myself.”
“Welcome Wildhearts,” he said with a smile.
“Now, you never have to wonder about where you belong. It’s with me,” said Miguel before breaking out into his last song -- “Adorn.”
And just like that, we were indoctrinated.
Check out Miguel's high-energy performances including the cover of 2Pac's "I Get Around" below.
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