21 Of My Favorite NPR Tiny Desk Concerts
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NPR created one of the best musical platforms today with their Tiny Desk Concerts.
NPR / giphy.com
NPR's Tiny Desk performances are one of my favorite YouTube guilty pleasures. Below is my list of performances for both new fans and day-one fans who want to go on a good music binge.
Here are my favorite sets over the years:
1.Usher
Usher just had one heck of a performance this past week on Tiny Desk and reminded the world that R&B is not dead after other male R&B acts (Ray J, Omarion, Bobby V, and Giveon) had a tough week.
The arrangement was phenomenal. Eric Bellinger and Veedo provided great backup singing. Honestly, the only problem I had with this Tiny Desk was that it wasn't longer (jokingly, but seriously). Usher's commandment of the room had me captivated and I was prepared to sing his entire catalog while doing my Saturday morning chores.
2.T-Pain
Possibly the first truly viral Tiny Desk, T-Pain put on a hell of a performance during his Tiny Desk, and in my opinion, made the platform a household name.
The amazing part of this performance was Pain not using autotune and absolutely murking this performance using ballads! T-Pain revolutionized R&B and this your proof that he made autotune, autotune didn't make it.
3.Mac Miller
4.Noname
If I need to watch a Tiny Desk to clean my soul... This is the one.
Noname's smooth voice matches her chill persona. She fusions rap, spoken word, and R&B well in her performance. Truly one of the most underrated artists in this generation.
5.Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals
6.Dua Lipa
There are only a couple of "home" versions of Tiny Desk that I put on this list. The first one I knew I had to add was this one. The orange, her outfit, the rasp in her voice...all of it made for a must-watch performance. The bassist in this one also had a wonderful performance.
7.Mitski
Look...people may wonder why I added this one and all I'll say is, watch her perform "Class of 2013" and come back to me. The rawness is something I truly appreciate, and for that, I must add it to this list.
8.Sting and Shaggy
9.SiR
Chasing Summer by SiR is one of the best R&B projects to come out in the last 5 years. His having the opportunity to use his soulful voice provided us with maybe the most emotional Tiny Desk we have seen in the series.Midway through the performance, he expressed he didn't want to be there due to the death of his godson but still coming to show up and show out is remarkable. His mom and brother being two of his three background singers show how talented a family he has.
10.Common
11.Florence + The Machine
What makes this performance special is you can visibly see the group adjusting from big stages to the Tiny Desk stage and doing it effortlessly.
12.Daniel Caesar
13.Lizzo
14.Chloe x Halle
If you ever questioned why these girls are so accomplished at their young ages, put on this performance and bask in their glory. The Halle lower range + Chloe upper range throughout this video was crazy to watch.
These two will become the vocalists of our generation with the trajectory they are on.
15.Billie Ellish
16.BTS
17.Blue Man Group
I'll be honest, when I first saw this years ago this was my first time ever listening to music from the group. This Tiny Desk made me a believer. Next time I'm in Vegas, a ticket will be purchased.
18.Sesame Street
NPR / giphy.com
If this was a ranking of most unique Tiny Desks, this got to be the first one. Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and crew put on a heck of a performance for Sesame Street's 50th birthday.
