T-Pain’s Tiny Desk Concert back in 2014 surprised many as he performed his biggest hits with just a pianist backing him up, without auto-tune. Not many knew that he could sing that well without the help of the auto-tune technology. It ended up being the most watched Tiny Desk concert in NPR Music’s history.
Now the veteran singer has announced a six city tour based on the same format. “For my whole career I’d been trying to convince people that I actually have a real speaking voice,” he tells NPR. “So showing my singing skills on such a big platform was a huge accomplishment for me. The love and respect I’ve received from my NPR performance has not only shown a different side of me to fans, but it also has introduced me to a whole different set of fans. All I see on social media is how all my fans want to see this in person, live, with their own eyes.”
T-Pain also explained how that particular performance changed a lot for him. “I know for a fact that I could’ve sounded better that day if I hadn’t been smoking so many cigarettes beforehand, and because of that I quit a week later and haven’t touched a cigarette since. My heart problems have gone away. I feel great. I can breathe again. A lot came from this performance.” The tour will stop in San Francisco, Chicago, New York and more places. Smino and Felly will be the opening acts on select dates. Check out the full schedule below. Tickets will go on sale this Friday, August 25th on his official website. T-Pain is set to release his new album OBLiViON later this year.
October 4 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
October 5 – West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy Theatre
October 15 – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
October 24 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre
October 25 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair
October 30 – Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall