Giveon is 'not big on parties' during his Give or Take tour ... or ever

Before you hit up Giveon's Give or Take tour and your balloons get deflated, the soulful R&B singer has just one public service announcement for fans: He cannot sing his entire discography. Sadly.

"I just want to say if there's someone who's going to read this interview, and before they come to the show, I only have so many songs in the set," Giveon jokes. "They want me to have every single song I've ever made. I'm like, how is that possible? I would literally be singing forever. So if you're reading this, sorry if your favorite song isn't in it."

Though the Long Beach, California, native released his first single in 2018, it was 2020's "Heartbreak Anniversary" that catapulted Giveon to commercial success – a ballad intense enough to make a car full of grown women cry singing along (not from personal experience or anything).

Now he's touring in support of his album "Give or Take," performing 46 shows in a little more than two months.

Fresh off two sold-out shows in New York's Radio City Music Hall, Giveon talks to USA TODAY about having a day off on the road, which he likens to Sundays because he rarely gets more than a day's rest before hitting the stage again. 

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Giveon's post-concert after-parties include skin care and a good book

If you're hoping to run into Giveon at the local club for an after-party, don't hold your breath. Because he'll most likely be hanging out at his hotel. 

The 27-year-old star is more of a "chill at home with a few friends" type than a big partier, which is one of the reasons he's able to sustain back-to-back performances. 

"I'm not big on parties. A party for me is just a couple of friends in a green room," Giveon says. "I'll have like a glass of wine (pinot grigio is his go-to) and then I'll just go back to my room. It looks a lot crazier (than it is) because you expect a tour lifestyle," 

And that's only if he doesn't have a show the next day. 

If he does, the "For Tonight" artist will go straight to his room, do his skin care routine and read a book before he passes out for the night. 

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"My first tour, I stepped out like once or twice and I was like 'Nope.' So I think it's not for me," says Giveon, nothing he's content with having at least tried it out. "I didn't want to be like 50 at home wondering if I should have like crazy tour stories."

If you think you made eye contact with Giveon, you did

"Was he looking at me? Or was he looking past me?" are all valid questions fans may be wondering. But if you've found yourself at a Giveon concert, he's probably looking right at you.

"A big surprising thing that people don't realize is I actually see faces and remember faces," says Giveon, who recognized a concertgoer from his show in Germany a couple of months earlier. 

The R&B artist was performing in Brooklyn when he stopped midway through a song to ask a fan in the front row: "Aren't you from Germany?" And indeed, she was. "You're here. Wow." 

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Giveon's songs can be so specific, fans will think he wrote them specifically about them. And sometimes, he'll allude to a person he wrote songs about.

"Every song is based on a true story, but I do want to maintain a mystery and not blatantly say because it's also fun. It's like a fantasy as well, so I don't want to just give it away," Giveon says coyly. 

Even stars like Giveon get homesick while touring

When he's home in California, Giveon spends most of his time with his family. Now that he's on the road for extended periods of time, it's proven difficult to replicate those intimate moments.

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"I try to deal with FaceTime calls and family conference calls, but it's not the same. I do have my best friend with me," Giveon shares. "So as far as friends, it can work out, but I can't bring my entire family to every show." 

He does get to see them when making stops in Los Angeles or Denver where family members reside. And when he's not winding down with a glass of wine or a read, he's kicking back with video games as a means to reach his family. 

"I've been playing a lot of PlayStation too, so that's the closest I can get to my family back home. We all play video games, so we all put on the headset and talk to each other about random stuff," Giveon says.

The food Giveon is currently 'obsessed' with 

Though he's particularly excited to hit up Nashville, Tennessee,  for barbecue, which his tour bus driver hyped, the "Like I Want You" singer is simple when it comes to dining on the road.

"I've been obsessed with chicken tikka masala and literally after every show that's what I'm eating," he says.

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Giveon says he was pleasantly surprised to find out how diverse his concerts were. 

"It's a guys' night, it's a girls' night, it's a date night," he says of his audience. "I love to see the diversity. I wouldn't want it to be like a heartthrob situation, so that shows me my music just connects on a real-life level."

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