-It is so good to see you. Congrats.
The album is finally out, "Give or Take."
-Finally, yes.
-Finally out.
But last time we saw each other, we had a good hang.
-Yeah, so, Jimmy and I actually seen each other
at the past Met Gala.
-Yeah.
-We were both invited by Chanel,
so that means, pretty much, we're at the same table.
I don't know if it's against the rules to, like, talk too much.
-No, we can talk about it.
I mean, it was -- We were at the hottest table
at the biggest fashion night in the history of the world.
And we were there and we hung out all night and we bonded.
-So, and it was only my -- I say "only,"
but it was my second Met Gala.
And I don't want to, like, tell your age,
but it was Jimmy's 19th, so...
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Yeah, it was my 19th.
But I saw you, and you looked a little lost,
like a deer in headlights.
-Just like a deer.
But, also, the thing I remember the most about that night --
So, we're at our table --
And I'm definitely not getting invited back,
because I'm about to tell all the stories.
-No, we didn't do anything that bad.
-So, the secret performer was Lenny Kravitz, right?
-Oh, yeah, he was amazing.
-So, Lenny comes out and starts performing,
and everyone is just enjoying it.
And mid-performance, I feel, like, a tap, and it's Jimmy.
And I'm like, "What, Jimmy?"
He was like, "Do you want to know something?"
I was like, "Right now?" He was like, "Yeah."
He was like, "You know, one time,
Lenny was doing a performance, and he a wardrobe malfunction,
and, you know, everything was out."
And I was like, "Okay."
And then Jimmy went right back
to just enjoying the performance.
[ Cymbal crash, sad tuba plays ]
And I'm just like, "He actually ruined the performance for me."
-What are you talking about? -Now I'm nervous.
I'm like, "What if he rocks out too hard tonight?"
-No, no, I think what I was saying is,
I go, "Did you ever see that had the wardrobe --"
He's the one dude that could have
a wardrobe malfunction and he was just cool with it.
-Yep. -Because he's Lenny Kravitz.
And his stuff just came out, and everyone was like,
"Yeah, that's kind of what we thought," you know?
And he was like, "Yeah, that's what's up"
and didn't care, finished the song, you know?
Yeah, I don't even if he was, you know,
strumming with his hand the second half of the song.
It was unbelievable.
And -- [ Cymbal crashes ]
[ Vocalizes "Are You Gonna Go My Way" ]
Yeah, hands up.
And it -- No, but I'm like, "That dude is just the coolest."
Like, he's the sexiest.
He's just everything you think Lenny Kravitz.
If that happened to me, it would just be
the most embarrassing thing that ever happened in my life.
I think I was trying to say that to you.
-That's definitely what you were trying to say,
but I definitely was scared to watch
the rest of the performance.
-Come on. -That's what happened.
But it was amazing.
-We got talking about you got this album coming out.
Obviously, we know you have your first number 1,
with Justin Bieber, "Peaches."
-Yes, yes. [ Cheers and applause ]
-Were you -- Did that --
-That was pretty crazy, because not too long ago,
I just was a server at a restaurant --
Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.
-Yeah, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.
And -- But that's -- You got to start somewhere.
And I love that you did that. -You have to. Yeah.
-Yeah, and you weren't just a server, by the way, Giveon.
-Oh, wow. -Yeah.
-So, since he's telling all of my business,
I was a server, but, also, every once in a while,
I would have to get inside of a shrimp suit.
[ Laughter ]
-It made you who you are today. Come on.
-It definitely did make me who I am.
Actually, I had to get inside of shrimp suit
and put the head on the shrimp, the shrimp shoes,
and, like, wave everyone in to, like,
try to convince them to come eat there.
-Can you say anything as the shrimp?
-In the shrimp suit, you can't speak, right?
Because shrimp can't talk, but I'm like,
"Shrimp don't have, like, shoes or legs either."
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But I asked you -- I go, "Do you mind if --
There has to be a photo of you as the shrimp."
-I tried to burn, delete, destroy,
every single picture of me as the shrimp,
but, somehow, you guys got a picture, so...
-That's Giveon right here, ladies and gentlemen.
[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪
-That's how you know it is me. I'm just...
-You're just doing that. Oh, my gosh.
But then I was talking to you,
because I didn't want to embarrass you,
but I was talking to you backstage about this,
and you go -- You told me about the one time, did you meet SZA?
-So, my third interview for the restaurant --
Yes, third.
I don't know why Bubba Gump
requires three interviews for some reason.
-Three interviews. Yeah, yeah. -So, my third interview --
-You almost made it, yeah.
We don't know if you're shrimp material.
-I'm just like, "What?"
So, I'm walking into the third interview
and I just see SZA walking.
And I ambush her like, "Hi."
-Yeah.
-Just was rambling out the words.
I don't even remember everything I said,
but then I said too much.
But she was extremely nice. But I got the job, though.
-Yeah. But then -- No, but then this is really what happened.
But then didn't you sing for her?
-Okay... [ Laughter ]
-You can't jump over the desk. -Right.
-But then you -- -Yes, I sang for her, okay?
I was gonna leave that part out. I sang, and she was just like...
-Why would you leave it out? -I don't know. I just --
-You're a fan.
-I was a very big fan and still am.
I was singing for her, and she was just like,
"This guy's singing."
-You should have done it in the shrimp costume.
-I definitely should have, but you're not allowed to talk.
-Oh, yeah, that's true.
Yeah, you got to be out of character. Yeah, yeah.
-To to be quiet. And in the suit, like --
-Yeah. Have you ever talked to SZA about this story?
-So, she came to a show like years later.
And I told her, and she was like, "Oh, I don't remember."
So, I went on Instagram and unsent the DM that I sent her.
-Wait. You DM'ed her when you were --
-Absolutely. I was like, "This is me, remember?
Please remember."
And then, at the show, she was like, "I don't remember."
I went to the DM, and it says, "2014.
Hi. My name is Giveon.
I was the kid at Long Beach Bubba Gump.
Do you remember me?"
And I -- -Just took it off.
-I took it off.
-You're like, "I don't want any proof of me doing that."
-So if she brings it up,
"I don't know what you're talking about."
-Let's talk about "Give or Take."
-"Give or Take," yes. -Here we go.
Is it two years in the making, at least?
-So, yeah, two years in the making.
-Wow! That's got to feel good to be out, huh?
-Yeah. It's a sigh of relief.
But now I think the work kind of starts now.
-Yeah.
-I would hate to just drop it
and then just abandon everything.
-No. No.
Which song are you doing tonight?
-So, tonight, I'm performing my new song, "Lie Again."
-"Lie Again." -Yeah.
-Yeah. You know, we saw you the other night.
I was watching the BET Awards on Sunday.
-Oh, my God. You've seen it. Yeah.
-Well, I noticed you had an issue or something with sound...
-I had a technical difficulty for sure.
-...with your performance.
And later, you tweeted that BET sabotaged your mic.
-Mm-hmm.
-And then we heard that you were joking.
And I just thought that maybe if you want to right now --
to whatever camera you want to, would you like to, Giveon,
explain yourself?
-Oh, my -- Is this the same mic? I don't know if I trust the mic.
-You can trust us.
You can trust us. Please explain.
-[ High-pitched ] Yes. I was joking.
BET did not sabotage me.
-Okay. They didn't sabotage you at all.
-[ Deeply ] No, no, not at all.
I'm positive BET supports me
and would never purposely alter my voice.
-That sounds great.
Well, thank you for clearing it up, everyone.
-[ Auto-tuned ] No, of course. And, anyway...
♪ I'm happy to be here ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪ So happy to be here ♪
And I know I can trust you guys, so thank you, guys.
-Giveon, everyone.
Yeah, we would never do -- We would never.
Giveon! "Give or Take" is available now!