8up said:

Miguel is nearly 28. When Prince was 22 he made "dirty Mind" and 26 when he made "Purple Rain".

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If he is the modern day Prince, he has some catching up to do.

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Also, this:

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All tracks composed and arranged by Prince.

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Credits for Kaleidoscope Dream adapted from liner notes.

[Edited 5/14/13 18:12pm]

[Edited 5/14/13 18:12pm]

TwiliteKid said:

8up said:

Doesn't Adorn sound like Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye?

It sure does. The rest of the album and the way he does "Adorn" live is much more Prince-esque.

I just heard the song for a few seconds and I thought that he totally ripped off Sexual Healing so I can't get too excited for him being the next big thing. I know Prince borrowed some sounds, but not steal a whole song. Maybe I should listen to his album before I made a final judgement.

TwiliteKid said:

^^^^ Yea, because that suggestion is of course meant literally, and the fact that Miguel started late and doesn't play every instrument means he can't possibly be worthy of the comparison. Fucking sad Prince fans, afraid to admit that there MIGHT be a new artist worth getting excited about. [Edited 5/14/13 18:37pm]

I don't think that's the issue but more of the fact that once again a performer pulls off one facet of what Prince does and gets accolades and heralded as the new Prince(again).

HonestMan13 said:

TwiliteKid said:

^^^^ Yea, because that suggestion is of course meant literally, and the fact that Miguel started late and doesn't play every instrument means he can't possibly be worthy of the comparison. Fucking sad Prince fans, afraid to admit that there MIGHT be a new artist worth getting excited about. [Edited 5/14/13 18:37pm]

I don't think that's the issue but more of the fact that once again a performer pulls off one facet of what Prince does and gets accolades and heralded as the new Prince(again).

Exactly. TwiliteKid, if you wanna talk more about it with me, I am here.

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Also, maybe you wanna expand upon what about Miguel gets you excited? I downloaded a few of his songs from itunes and was pretty "meh" about them. Or, you could just continue to be insulting and dickish. Point is: What about Miguel draws Prince comparisons other than most shallow and superficial stuff?

[Edited 5/15/13 11:53am]

skywalker said:

TwiliteKid said:

I'm not sure it's worth discussing with someone who thinks that an artist's age or the fact that he doesn't do everything himself invalidates the comparison.

Prince was the biggest star (chart topper/critical darling/movie star/sell out tours)on the planet at the age of 26, and he (more or less) played/wrote/produced all of his stuff from the start.

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I don't know why you think it's unfair to use those points as a comparison to Miguel. It's valid.It is simply a gauge of artistic and commercial success by comparing career trajectories/benchmarks. By the time Prince was Miguel's age, he'd already conquered the world and was the biggest star on the planet with 6 albums under his belt. He had accomplished enough for a career.

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How do you suggest we compare Miguel and Prince if not by looking their career trajectories? Hairstyles? The fact that some of Miguel's songs sound vaguely like a Prince song?

Call me a dick if you want (although you wouldn't be insulted if the shoe didnt fit, right?)

Not insulted at all, just wondering you are so forcefully presumptious.

but I'm not going to break through that kind of myopia. And if you've actually listened to Miguel's stuff and weren't impressed, than I suppose that's that, but it seems to me that a young R&B artist who displays some ambition and is producing stuff that doesn't sound like every other cookie cutter act out there is worth celebrating.

Do you really think Miguel is breaking the mold though? Is he really like nothing you have ever heard or seen? Yeah, he stands out a bit from the currect state of R&B, but the fact is that R&B is so bland now, that anyone a bit off center would stand out and seem ambitious.

*Also, note the irony of what I have underlined. Miguel is not the one primarily responsible for what his album sounds like. I don't want to say it's a Beatles/Monkees situation, but Miguel has an ENTIRE team of people behind him making his music. I wonder...how much of it is actually him as an artist versus a prop.

As for the Prince comparisons: I don't think anyone is suggesting that he's on Prince's level yet (at least not prime-era Prince), but he's got a lyrical sensibility that echoes Prince (struggling with desire/morality) and he combines different sounds in a similar, yet surprising way.

"No, no, no
I ain't judgin
If you do decide that you might be fn tonight, what?
More power to you if you do decide that you might be fn tonight
Le-le-let me dig that out like a fossil
Damn baby that ass is colossal
Pilates a mill did that body so good
You've gotten a pair I wish I could

How many drinks would it take you to leave with me?"----Miguel

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If you think that these lyrics are Princely...more power to you. I don't see/hear it. To me, is is the typical R&B game spitting that has been running rampant for a while now. I certainly don't see anything here that would make people think, "Oh here is the next/new Prince."

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When Prince slips into lyrics like these (Chocolate Box) he gets ripped to shreds around here, because people know he can do better.

You may not dig what you've heard, but my guess is that his next album will be a BIG leap forward.

It's not that I didn't like what I heard, it just wasn't something new or refreshing.

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Maybe you are right, maybe Miguel's next album WILL turn the music world on it's side and set it on fire. Maybe he will have his Dirty Mind, or become a house hold name for the ages ala Purple Rain.

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However, until that happens, the Prince comparisons don't help Miguel at all. Bottom line: He isn't similar to Prince as a pop star, or as an artist. Has he really displayed anything that makes you think he is "a modern day Prince?"

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Is Miguel doing , in 2013, what Prince did in 1980? 1984? 1987? No. He isn't. That's all. Not jealous, threatened, hating Miguel. He just hasn't done much.

[Edited 5/16/13 8:55am]

I'd love it if another talented muscian came on the scene.

The last musician I can compare to Prince is Gregg Alexander, founder of The New Radicals. But he only made one fantastic genius of an album, and then left performing to become a producer.

TwiliteKid said:

skywalker said:

Exactly. TwiliteKid, if you wanna talk more about it with me, I am here.

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Also, maybe you wanna expand upon what about Miguel gets you excited? I downloaded a few of his songs from itunes and was pretty "meh" about them. Or, you could just continue to be insulting and dickish. Point is: What about Miguel draws Prince comparisons other than most shallow and superficial stuff?

[Edited 5/15/13 11:53am]

I'm not sure it's worth discussing with someone who thinks that an artist's age or the fact that he doesn't do everything himself invalidates the comparison. Call me a dick if you want (although you wouldn't be insulted if the shoe didnt fit, right?) but I'm not going to break through that kind of myopia. And if you've actually listened to Miguel's stuff and weren't impressed, than I suppose that's that, but it seems to me that a young R&B artist who displays some ambition and is producing stuff that doesn't sound like every other cookie cutter act out there is worth celebrating. As for the Prince comparisons: I don't think anyone is suggesting that he's on Prince's level yet (at least not prime-era Prince), but he's got a lyrical sensibility that echoes Prince (struggling with desire/morality) and he combines different sounds in a similar, yet surprising way. You may not dig what you've heard, but my guess is that his next album will be a BIG leap forward.

You're not saying anything that wasn't said before about D'Angelo, Van Hunt, Frank Ocean, Bilal and now we can tack Miguel onto that list. Each of these dudes are very talented and may have a moment where you could believe they are the second coming but truth is they're not really. For my choice Van Hunt is the closest artist to giving me that excitement that Prince does.

And here I thought Prince was the modern Prince.

steakfinger said:

And here I thought Prince was the modern Prince.

He is the one and only and, ultimately, that's my point.

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When Prince was laying it down at First Ave in the early 80's, people weren't all, "Oh this is just like Jimi at Woodstock, or James at the Apollo."

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Clearly, Prince was influenced by these two (and others) but, Prince was something new, something that hadn't been done/seen before. As of now, Miguel is not.

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When Prince took the stage in the "Dirty Mind" era with leg warmers, trench, and bikini briefs...no one had seen that before... not someone that was (at age 22) playing like Santana, moving like Jagger/James, with a filthy falsetto and hailing from "Uptown."

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As I said...so far in his career, at age 27, Miguel simply has not even been to the/had a career benchmark comparable to the "Dirty Mind" era Prince, let alone where Prince went afterwards. Again, it's unfair to compare him to Prince...no matter how hard he tries to jack Prince's whatever.

[Edited 5/16/13 16:53pm]

Miguel is talented-love the guy's work, but hear me and hear me good-THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER ARTIST LIKE PRINCE!

nursev said:

These artists should be ashamed of themselves, why no lip sync award? They nailed it!

more like miguel is the modern day hulk hogan

BAM BABY! not one but two!

and let us not foget the little girly arm swing he does during the take off.

[Edited 5/19/13 22:36pm]

steakfinger said:

tab32792 said:

i just had this discussion on twitter last week. There is no Old day prince or a modern day Prince. There's just Prince and people who look like and/or sound similar to him. Miguel is a good artist but can't sing dance write or play instruments like Prince. There's only one. They do the same with the many MJ clones (usher, chris brown, JT, justin bieber)

Dancing is not required to be an artist of any kind other than a dancer.

Right, very blinkered view you've got there,

anyway this Miguel bloke, pretty beige really, he's no Prince, nowhere near

freakdogg said:

I like Miguel. He is a good singer but I think Bruno Mars is a whole lot closer to being a modern day Prince. He is a gifted piano player and can also play the guitar and drums. His voice is very powerful and he always performs with his band. He is also influenced by many artists from different genres as Prince was.

and he can actually perform!

freakdogg said:

I like Miguel. He is a good singer but I think Bruno Mars is a whole lot closer to being a modern day Prince. He is a gifted piano player and can also play the guitar and drums. His voice is very powerful and he always performs with his band. He is also influenced by many artists from different genres as Prince was.

I would agree with you on that ...Bruno Mars is more Prince

And I also prefer Bruno Mars live that listening to an album of his.

he always impresses me with his live performance

mzspongebob said:

more like miguel is the modern day hulk hogan

BAM BABY! not one but two!

and let us not foget the little girly arm swing he does during the take off.

[Edited 5/19/13 22:36pm]

I never understood this comparision.

He sounds NOTHING like Prince

He doesnt play instruments

He writes some of his music but its very average

He is an okay performer

His voice is average

His music is NOTHING like Prince

Whats the connection?

I find a better comparision to be with D Angelo because you can clearly hear how he is influenced by Prince, he plays multiple instruments and writes all his music. He also is a great performer but even he is not a "modern day Prince". There is ONLY ONE Prince.

In the way that he approaches R&B and Soul is very much like Prince.It's very artsy and avant gard.What is wrong with saying he is the modern day Prince.Prince was his eras Stevie Wonder,Sly Stone,Jimi Hendrix,Little Richard AND James Brown.Miguel has all that homo erotic sex appeal that's ironically hetero that Prince has..Also the way that he kind of slid in under the radar like Prince.He sings live(most don't these days) and has an actual band to back him in performances.He cares for how his music sounds and the whole presentation of it.He is part of a list of performers that all fall into that "the next Prince" group.D'angelo,Andre 3000,Frank Ocean,Lenny Kravitz,Jonelle Monae(spelling may be off on that one..lol),Bruno Mars.and to an extent George Michael,Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke

NikkiAndTheRevolution said:

I was just informed of this today, and I am quite appalled. Thoughts?

It's because the bulk of people in this world lack common sense, Miguel does the same splits Prince did back in the day, so therefore, he must be the modern day Prince. Most of the sheeple eat it right up, but of course we all know it's a ridiculous notion. Even Miguel knows it's a ridiculous notion.

But just wait and see, if Prince decides to ever jump off his piano and clip a fans head with his inner thigh on the way down, almost breaking her neck via a forceful face plant into the stage, then everyone will be calling Prince a modern day Miguel.

And the cycle continues........

peace