Video: Miguel - "The Thrill"

I used to follow Miguel back in the day, before "All I Want Is You" dropped and he became the walking sex symbol he is today. Long ago, while browsing through the now-archaic social media outlet for cavemen and women (Myspace, haha), I stumbled on his music page and ended up staying until I moved onto the more sophisticated Facebook, where I lost Miguel for years. Back then, Miguel was Miguel Pimentel (oh yeah, he had/has a last name), and there wasn't much recorded music posted to his page. I liked the 4-5 songs he had up, but that wasn't what kept me coming back for more. What had me hooked, going back and forth to the Myspace account, were the performance videos he'd post every so often. The videos were almost always imperfect: too dark, too grainy, flat-out blurry, too many voices talking over Miguel singing. Still, they offered a look at Miguel as a musician who was hungry to sing, to perform for a small crowd at a bar, a large party, a lone camera -- anybody. Although sometimes timid, he was always electric, always smooth, and forever singing. You had to love it.

Today's Miguel enjoys a lot more luxury and fame, but he is still a performer at the core. Only now he is even better, which only makes him more fun and gratifying to watch. I'm sure you'll love him sing "The Thrill" (off Kaleidoscope Dream) live for Yours Truly at SanFran's Different Fur Studio. Watch and see the music take over his body as he jumps and fidgets to the beat of his band and the melody of his song -- all while maintaining full control of that cool voice of his. This is half (maybe more) of why Miguel is a name the world knows: