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Miguel's growth also comes from songwriting: He co-wrote three songs on Usher's "Raymond v. Raymond," co-wrote the Blige and Musiq Soulchild duet "Ifuleave" and Jaheim's "Finding My Way Back." He's also expanding his audience: He recently wrapped up a tour with R&B crooner Trey Songz, and is the opening act for Alicia Keys' "Set the World on Fire Tour," which kicks off March 7 in Seattle. Keys also co-wrote a song on Miguel's latest album. Miguel, who is black and Mexican, said he's been influenced by a number of acts, including James Brown, Freddie Mercury, Van Morrison and Jimi Hendrix. His sound is part of the progressive movement in R&B that includes acts like The Weeknd and Ocean, who earned six nominations at this year's Grammys. "I think they're all helping each other at this point," said Pitts, who's worked with Notorious B.I.G., Diddy, TLC and Nas. "What Frank Ocean is doing
-- musically and what he stands for, him coming out, all of that -- is bringing attention to the sound. ... So is Miguel ... and now the Grammys." Miguel said the progressive R&B movement is made up of soul-influenced "freethinkers" who are "hungry to be ourselves." "(We) acknowledge the fact that we're influenced by soul music or were raised on soul music, but ... we're hungry to transcend the expectations or the idea that soul music is one thing, (that) R&B is one thing," he said. "R&B is an actual genre and I miss that the only expectation is to be soulful
-- the sound of it and the delivery is completely up to the artist." The 55th annual Grammy Awards will air live on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 10.
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