There’s a voice in modern R&B that doesn’t so much sing as it settles — low, deliberate, and devastating. Giveon Dezmann Evans, better known simply as Giveon, emerged from Long Beach, California with a baritone that sounds like it was carved from heartwood and polished by years of quiet longing. His best songs of Giveon span lush, cinematic ballads and raw confessions of emotional vulnerability, all delivered with a control that makes you feel every syllable. Whether you’re deep into his debut EP Take Time or catching up with his 2025 output, this list covers the essential tracks every fan needs to experience — and a few deep cuts that reward the patient listener.
Pull on your best pair of headphones (and if you’re in the market, check out this headphones comparison guide to find the right fit for Giveon’s rich low-end frequencies), settle in, and let’s get into it.
Heartbreak Anniversary
Released in 2020 as part of Take Time, “Heartbreak Anniversary” is the track that cracked open mainstream awareness of Giveon’s talent. The production, anchored by sparse piano and a gently swelling string arrangement, creates a cathedral-like space for his baritone to occupy. Lyrically, it’s a meditation on the absurd cruelty of memory — the way a specific date on the calendar can reopen wounds that should have healed. The bridge, where his voice dips even lower before soaring into raw falsetto, is one of the most emotionally precise moments in recent R&B history. It charted globally and remains his most-streamed track, accumulating hundreds of millions of plays on Spotify — and deservedly so.
Last Heartbreak Song
From The Year I Turned 21 (2024), “Last Heartbreak Song” arrives with a sense of emotional exhaustion that feels earned rather than performed. The production is slightly warmer here — more organic, less cinematic than some earlier work — and Giveon leans into the thematic irony of promising this will be the final chapter on heartbreak while clearly still living inside it. His vocal phrasing is more relaxed, more conversational, suggesting an artist growing into his own skin. This is Giveon maturing without abandoning the emotional honesty that made him essential.
Chicago Freestyle
Technically Drake’s track from Dark Lane Demo Tapes (2020), “Chicago Freestyle” gave Giveon one of the most iconic feature verses of the past five years. His contribution — melodic, haunting, almost hymn-like — provided the perfect counterbalance to Drake’s verse. The interpolation of the classic soul sample underneath his vocal is masterfully placed. What’s remarkable is how naturally his voice sits in a track that wasn’t built around him; it suggests an adaptability and instinctive musicality that very few young artists possess. This collaboration announced him to millions overnight.
Like I Want You
Also from Take Time (2020), “Like I Want You” is the kind of track that rewards repeated listens on headphones rather than casual background play. The production breathes — deliberately, almost suspiciously quiet in places — which forces your ear to follow Giveon’s vocal line as it navigates desire and disappointment simultaneously. There’s no bombastic chorus here; instead, the emotion accumulates slowly, like water rising in a room. The vocal layering in the final section, where he harmonizes with himself across three distinct registers, is a quiet flex that casual listeners might miss entirely.
For Tonight
From Give or Take (2022), “For Tonight” represents a sonic step forward in production ambition. The lush orchestration — layered strings, a pulsing low-end, soft percussion — finally gives his baritone a landscape worthy of its scale. The song deals with the tension between physical intimacy and emotional detachment, a theme Giveon navigates without cliché. Live performance clips of this track show an artist whose stage presence has caught up with his vocal talent. It’s the sound of everything clicking into place.
Lost Me
“Lost Me” from Give or Take (2022) hits differently depending on where you are in life. The track opens with a minimal guitar figure before the full arrangement blooms in — and when it does, the emotional weight is considerable. Lyrically, it documents the specific grief of watching someone check out of a relationship long before the official ending. Giveon’s delivery is remarkably controlled, never tipping into histrionics, which paradoxically makes the pain feel more real. If you’re pairing this with a long drive at night, “Lost Me” is the track that will stay with you past the destination.
Still Your Best
From the When It’s All Said and Done… Take Time compilation (2021), “Still Your Best” is Giveon at his most defiant. The lyrical conceit — that even after everything, he remains the best partner his ex ever had — walks a fine line between confidence and wounded pride, and he navigates it beautifully. The production strips back to near-silence in key moments, letting the declaration land without instrumental cushioning. It’s a bold structural choice that pays off completely.
Stuck On You
Another standout from the 2021 When It’s All Said and Done project, “Stuck On You” is perhaps his most nakedly vulnerable track. The admission of emotional dependency — laid out plainly, without metaphor or deflection — is disarming in a genre that often codes vulnerability as weakness. The melody is one of his most immediately memorable, hooking you on first listen and refusing to leave. In a playlist of his best songs, this one earns its placement every single time. For more great R&B and soul tracks to pair with this, browse the GlobalMusicVibe songs archive for curated listening recommendations.
Garden Kisses
“Garden Kisses” from his 2018 EP of the same name is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand where Giveon came from before the industry found him. The production is simpler, less polished than his later major-label work, but his voice is already unmistakably itself — deep, warm, and disarmingly sincere. The romanticism here is uncomplicated, almost old-fashioned in the best sense, evoking classic soul influences from Sam Cooke to Al Green. This is the foundation everything else is built on.
Make You Mine
From Give or Take (2022), “Make You Mine” introduces a slightly more assertive emotional register than listeners might expect from Giveon. The production has a subtle urgency — the percussion is tighter, the bass more insistent — that reflects the thematic push of pursuit and longing. His vocal performance leans into dynamic contrast, moving between tender and intense within the same verse. It’s one of the strongest examples of his ability to tell a complete emotional story within a three-minute window.
Lie Again
“Lie Again” from Give or Take sits in morally complex territory: it’s a request for comfortable deception over painful honesty. The production is atmospheric and slightly cinematic, with reverb-soaked keys creating a dreamlike quality that mirrors the psychological space the lyric describes. What makes this track remarkable is Giveon’s refusal to judge his own narrator — he simply inhabits the feeling with complete authenticity. It’s the kind of writing that reveals how sophisticated his understanding of emotional storytelling has become.
Favorite Mistake
From Take Time (2020), “Favorite Mistake” occupies the complicated emotional territory of knowingly choosing something harmful because it feels too good to resist. The guitar work on this track is understated but crucial — it gives the arrangement an organic warmth that contrasts beautifully with the more polished elements. His baritone in the lower registers here is particularly arresting, and the track rewards listening through quality earbuds; if you’re looking for something that does justice to these sonic details, check out this earbuds comparison guide to find the right option.
The Beach
Also from Take Time, “The Beach” uses geographical metaphor to map emotional distance. The production is wide and open — panned elements creating a sense of vast space — which perfectly reinforces the lyrical theme of longing across distance. It’s one of his most sonically inventive arrangements, suggesting a producer and artist in genuine creative dialogue rather than simply executing a formula. The outro, where the track dissolves into ambient texture, is unexpectedly beautiful.
Last Time
From When It’s All Said and Done (2021), “Last Time” is a masterclass in vocal restraint in service of lyrical ambiguity. The protagonist says goodbye while the music suggests he doesn’t entirely mean it — and that tension between word and tone is exactly what makes the track so emotionally resonant. The string arrangement in the second half elevates the track from intimate confession to something approaching the scale of tragedy, without ever feeling overwrought.
At Least We Tried
“At Least We Tried” from Give or Take (2022) offers something slightly different in Giveon’s catalog: a kind of hard-won grace. Rather than pure grief or wounded pride, this track reaches for meaning in the wreckage of a relationship. The production is warmer, less sharp-edged than some of the album’s more painful tracks, and his vocal performance reflects that slight softening — still deep, still controlled, but with something gentler underneath.
Unholy Matrimony
From Give or Take, “Unholy Matrimony” is one of his most thematically daring tracks — a meditation on a relationship that’s clearly wrong for both parties but too intoxicating to leave. The production leans into minor-key tension, with a string arrangement that feels genuinely unsettling in the best way. It’s not a comfortable listen, which is precisely the point. Giveon proves here that his artistic ambition extends well beyond making beautiful music about beautiful feelings.
Are You Even Real
From I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 2) (2025), “Are You Even Real” represents Giveon’s most recent artistic statement and it’s a compelling one. The production feels like a natural evolution — lush but restrained, with the kind of careful layering that rewards close listening. Thematically, it asks questions about love’s authenticity in an age of emotional performance, which feels urgently contemporary. Early listener response has been enthusiastic, and it slots naturally into the canon of his best work.
Dancing in the Smoke
From Nobody Wants This Season 2: The Soundtrack (2025), “Dancing in the Smoke” is the most unexpected entry in his recent catalog — a soundtrack contribution that finds Giveon in slightly new sonic territory. The track has a cinematic quality that suits the context, with production choices that push beyond his comfort zone in interesting ways. It suggests an artist willing to let external creative contexts pull him somewhere new, and the result is one of his most intriguing recent performances.
Tryna Be
“Tryna Be” from Give or Take (2022) is the album’s understated gem — the track that reveals itself slowly over multiple listens. The production is economical to the point of minimalism, putting Giveon’s baritone front and center with almost nowhere to hide. His phrasing on this track is especially careful, with subtle rhythmic variations that give the vocal an almost spoken-word quality at times. It’s the kind of track that serious fans cite when they want to explain what makes him different.
Scarred
“Scarred” from Give or Take closes this list with a track that feels like a reckoning. After the emotional journey of the album, it functions as a statement of consequence — what heartbreak actually leaves behind, beyond the songs and the metaphors. The production is sparse and aching, and Giveon’s vocal performance is among his most emotionally direct. There’s no artifice here, no clever metaphor to hide behind. It’s raw, honest, and exactly the kind of artistic courage that makes him one of R&B’s most essential voices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Giveon’s most popular song?
Heartbreak Anniversary from his 2020 debut EP Take Time remains Giveon’s most-streamed and widely recognized track. It introduced his distinctive baritone to a global audience and has accumulated hundreds of millions of streams across platforms. The track’s sparse production and emotionally precise lyricism made it an immediate touchstone in contemporary R&B.
What album is Chicago Freestyle from?
Chicago Freestyle appears on Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes, released in 2020. Giveon contributed a featured verse that became one of the most celebrated collaborations of that year, dramatically expanding his public profile and introducing him to Drake’s massive audience.
What is Giveon’s latest album or project?
As of 2025, Giveon’s most recent solo project is I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 2), which includes the track Are You Even Real. He also contributed Dancing in the Smoke to the Nobody Wants This Season 2 soundtrack in 2025.
What genre is Giveon’s music?
Giveon’s music sits primarily within contemporary R&B and soul, with clear influences from classic soul artists like Sam Cooke and Al Green alongside more modern production aesthetics. His work often incorporates orchestral elements — strings in particular — that give his recordings a cinematic quality uncommon in mainstream R&B.
Is Giveon’s music good for headphone listening?
Absolutely. Giveon’s productions are rich in low-frequency detail, subtle layering, and spatial mixing choices that reveal themselves on quality headphones in a way that casual listening simply doesn’t capture. His baritone also benefits enormously from the intimacy of headphone listening — it creates the impression that he’s singing directly to you.
Where is Giveon from?
Giveon was born and raised in Long Beach, California. The influence of Southern California’s rich musical heritage — spanning West Coast soul, jazz, and R&B — is evident in his sound, though he’s developed an aesthetic that feels genuinely his own rather than derivative of any regional tradition.