“There was a purity in his voice and an incredible coolness on stage.” “When I saw it, I thought of that famous tape of Michael Jackson auditioning for Berry Gordy,” Medina told Vibe in 1994.
Impressed, Humphrey helped set up a showcase for Campbell and sent a video of him covering “Where Is the Love” to Benny Medina, then a senior executive at Warner. In 1989, he’d auditioned over the phone for Bobbi Humphrey, a jazz flute player and singer known for her work on Blue Note. When Campbell started working on I’m Ready late in 1992, he was still just 16, but was already feeling “a lot of pressure” to deliver a hit album. The two reconvened to work on four more songs that would end up on Campbell’s double-platinum second album, I’m Ready, including another hit, “Shhh.”
It was a brief but successful partnership: Campbell appeared in the Graffiti Bridge film, a sequel to Purple Rain, and sang the Top 15 single “Round and Round,” a brittle track penned by Prince that split the difference between “Sign o’ the Times” and the New Jack Swing that was ascendant in 1990. To me, meeting Whitney would’ve been, ‘Aaaah!'”īut Campbell’s inability to to scrape the lower register didn’t stop him from working with Prince. “I knew who Prince was, of course, but at the time, I had a really, really, really high voice, so I didn’t pay attention to a lot of male artists - I couldn’t sing male artists’ songs. “I remember riding in the limo and talking to him over the phone,” Campbell says. In the podcast episode, Campbell shares that his sexuality was casual to him and that he didn’t view it as a big “coming out” statement.At age 12, Tevin Campbell - freshly signed to Warner on the strength of a voice that was already drawing comparisons to Michael Jackson - hopped on a call with Prince. He confirmed the rumors sying, “Tevin is…” with a rainbow emoji. This year he did respond to one fan’s question on Twitter asking about the famed singer’s sexuality. “That was a great time in my life.”įans have speculated Campbell’s sexuality for many years, but he has managed to keep his private life virtually private. I had never seen that,” Campbell mentions. “Being around people who were like me, LGBTQ+ people that were living normal lives and had partners. He credits his personal growth to the six years he gave to the Broadway musical Hairspray beginning in 2004. I didn’t know who I was,” Campbell said.Ĭampbell stepped away from the industry for awhile. And then I went on the road of discovering myself. “When I came out to my family and friends about 19 or 20, that was it for me. He goes on to share how he opened up to his friends and family. I didn’t try to act a certain way or anything,” Campbell disclosed. The singer goes on to share how it was to come up in the times of a heteronormative R&B industry “I was just a kid singing in the studio.” “I had no idea at the time, like when I was 15 or 16 recording this song that it would have that impact,” Campbell shared of the song’s discovery. “I just kind of wanted to be me, you know?” Campbell said.Ĭampbell has recently received newfound stardom from the younger generation as his hit “Can We Talk” saw a resurgence thanks to the popular TikTok singing challenge. The now 45-year-old artist was discovered by famed talent manager Benny Medina at the tender age of 12 years old and was later guided by his mentor Quincy Jones, who instantly recognized him as “the next Michael Jackson.” Jones affectionately referred to him as such for his charming personality, smooth voice and impressive vocal range.Ĭampbell noted that Jones’ comparison came with a great deal of pressure. “I refer to myself as a former child star because that’s just what I am,” Campbell shared on the podcast about his musical past.
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