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<\/p>\nSix days before the 2026 Grammy Awards, Destin Conrad was just trying to relax.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got all these parties and events and things I gotta sing at,\u201d Conrad told the Tampa Bay Times by phone. The singer-songwriter, about to catch a flight, didn\u2019t have much time to chat. \u201cIt\u2019s a really, really big week.\u201d<\/p>\n
This comes after a really, really big year. In April, Conrad released his debut album, \u201cLOVE ON DIGITAL,\u201d collaborating with Kehlani and Lil Nas X. A jazz record, \u201cwHIMSY,\u201d followed in August.<\/p>\n
Now the Tampa native is trying to preserve his optimism ahead of his first award show. \u201cLOVE ON DIGITAL\u201d is up for a \u201cBest Progressive R&B Album\u201d Grammy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWin, lose or draw, at least my mom and my sister will be there,\u201d he said. \u201cWe get to party and be cute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conrad was born 25 and a half years ago at Tampa General Hospital. Carlene Jamieson, his mom, said he had \u201cthis zest to perform\u201d ever since.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was singing songs before he could even speak,\u201d she said. Her eldest child, Janique Hobbs, put on Aaliyah whenever Conrad cried.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Rock the Boat\u2019 was the song to pacify it,\u201d Jamieson said. \u201cHe got so quiet, and when he heard Aaliyah singing, he was humming it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conrad attended St. Peter Claver Catholic School in Tampa and Shore Elementary Magnet School of the Arts in Ybor City. His mother put him in classes for singing, dancing and piano. Conrad especially loved the music that filled his home.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister is, like a big Aaliyah girl, Usher, Alicia Keys, all of the GOAT R&B legends,\u201d Conrad said. \u201cMy mom was more into like, Luther Vandross and Beres Hammond and a lot of Jamaican artists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jamieson remembers when a video of Conrad covering Alicia Keys went viral.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was six at the time, so eventually he was performing in churches, on certain occasions, and stuff like that,\u201d Jamieson said. \u201cThat\u2019s when I decided I\u2019m gonna move him, because he seems inclined to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
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When Conrad was about 10, Jamieson sold her possessions and relocated the family to California to support his creative growth. In his early teens, he became a star on the short-form video app Vine.<\/p>\n
The family returned to Tampa a few years later, where he attended LennardHigh School in Ruskin.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlorida doesn\u2019t get the credit that it deserves,\u201d Conrad said. \u201cIt played into my music, but it also just kind of played into who I am as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conrad lives in New York now but returns to Tampa frequently to see his family. A trip home isn\u2019t complete without a taste of his mom\u2019s Jamaican food (Jamieson owns Island Chew<\/a> at Brandon Food Truck Park.)<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much undiscovered talent<\/a>,\u201d he said, citing Tampa R&B singer Gabriel Jacoby as an example of someone to watch. \u201cI want to be just thought of and brought up in conversation when it comes to the city.\u201d<\/p>\n A few weeks ago, Conrad sang on NPR Music\u2019s Tiny Desk Concert<\/a> series with his nine-piece band. He took inspiration from performances byMaxwell, Esperanza Spalding and \u201cDoechii<\/a>, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n
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