Giveon has had quite the year. Not only has his own music taken off – Heartbreak Anniversary reached #1 on Spotify charts in the Philippines, Malaysia Singapore and Indonesia, but he has racked up accolades on other major artist collaborations. The Grammy-nominated R&B singer was featured in Drake’s In the Bible and Justin Bieber’s Peaches (which recently won Best Pop Video at the MTV Video Music Awards a few days ago). In the past couple of months, his artistry has reached new heights, landing him a golden ticket to the soiree of the season, the annual “Met Gala.”

When asked how he was going to move forward with this newfound stardom he replied, “I think I’m just going to take this year as a message of just keep doing what you’re doing and if you just try your best, the world will catch on.”

For this year’s Gala, Giveon worked with his stylist Yashua Simmons and the Maison Valentino team to put together a look that was timeless and would reflect the “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” theme. The finished look is a teal three-piece suit layered with a couple of diamond necklaces. During our conversation, he also shared his dream Met Gala table, which would include Frank Sinatra, Frank Ocean, Denzel Washington and Eddie Murphy. 

 

“And I wouldn’t want too many, I want us to have some elbow room,” the artist laughed.  

And even with all the success he’s found this year, Giveon is looking to the future. Currently, he’s working on his debut album that aims to document the insanely hectic, but beautiful 16-18 months. Along with his new reality, Giveon shares that it also talks about a topic he’s very familiar with: love. “It touches on heartbreak and it touches on what is it like to be in love as me with this newfound attention,” he elaborated. 

As he was getting ready for the Met Gala (to a playlist that included Drake, Pop Smoke and French Montana), the artist answered a couple of questions about the inspiration behind his Valentino ensemble, the emotions of attending such a star-studded event and more. 

VMAN: Hi Giveon, thanks for sitting down with us. The first question we have for you is, how does it feel to be invited to the Met Gala? What emotions are going through you right now?

GIVEON: It’s an eye-opener because my first body of work I’ve released it during the pandemic so the world was closed. So everyone around me — I stayed around the same people and everything looked the same. So to get invited to certain things, kind of lets me know like, you’re kind of arriving. It’s a surprising honor.

VM: And are there certain things at the Met Gala you’re excited for? The performance? Seeing friends? The carpet itself? 

G: Yeah, I mean, of course, the iconic carpet that I’m so used to just seeing it on TV. So I’m excited to be actually a part of the process of being able to see it.

VM: And can you describe your Valentino ensemble right now? What was the process of working with the team? 

G: Yeah. So it was a mixture of Yashua my stylist and Pierpaolo, the creative director for Valentino, and just the overall Valentino team. It was super seamless, it was organic. I went into the Valentino store in LA. We had a fitting, and then a couple days ago, we had another fitting and it was just smooth transition.

VM: If you could describe it in a couple of words, how would you describe it?

G: It felt like a dream. All the pieces were flowy and it just felt like I was just out of the Devil Wears Valentino.

VM: That’s very funny and with the theme being “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” what are some American designers you’re really liking right now? 

G: Well I’d say Ralph Lauren is always an American icon, like whether it’s right now or before. And I just pull from Ralph Lauren as an artist to try to make things that are timeless, instead of trying to be trendy. And it’s more than just the fashion, it’s a lifestyle.

VM: And let’s say you could organize the seat at the Met Gala. Who would you have sitting at your table? They can be living or dead. 

G: Frank Sinatra. Frank Ocean. Denzel Washington. You know, just, I wasn’t. I feel like my table would need some humor too so maybe, Eddie Murphy. And I wouldn’t want too many I want us to have some elbow room. [laughs]

VM: And just a couple more questions for you. You’ve had this amazing year with Heartbreak Anniversary, Peaches with JB, Drake with In the Bible and recently yesterday you won a VMA — congrats on that.

G: Thank you. 

VM: So how was it being at the VMAs and also winning? 

G: So this whole year is my first round of everything. So anytime I go there, I’m just like, looking around like this. And the VMAs it was so funny for us getting our named called because we were like in the middle of a conversation. And it kind of like, it was a shock. And it was like, what do I do now? Like, I didn’t know what to do. So then we go on stage and walk up. And I was just like yeah you’ve done this a million times so I’m gonna just follow your lead. I was just following your lead, I don’t know what to do. So if you see it, you could see me going, like do it. Like do it. He kept trying to get me to say stuff and he was like, ‘Everybody Giveon.’ And I was like alright but it was exciting and I’m honored to be a part of it, and I can’t wait till the next time so I can be more seasoned.

VM: That’s very exciting. And the last question we have for you is how are you going to take the experience of this year and move to the future? And also what are your future plans? 

G: Yeah, so I think I’m just gonna take this year as just like a message of just keep doing what you’re doing. And like if you just try your best to put out quality, the world will catch on you don’t have to like, be too obnoxious or gimmicky just make quality and the world likes it they’ll catch on to all this stuff. And I’m working on my debut album.

VM: Can you tease some themes that you’re going to talk about in your album? 

G:  Yeah, so my album is just the story of what I’ve been doing the last like 16 to 18 months. So it’s just it touches on love. It touches on heartbreak and it touches on what is it like to be in love as me with this newfound attention. And just being able to tell what’s authentic around me because I think that’s the tricky part.