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Leon Thomasis no stranger to the spotlight. He may have risen to prominence through Nickelodeon’s hit TV show
Victorious during the early 2010s, but his work in the entertainment industry goes all the way back to playing Young Simba in the Broadway production of The Lion King at only 10 years old. But after decades of hard work (and three Grammys), this singer, songwriter, and producer is just getting started.
Thomas starts with gratitude toward his team and the work they put in behind the scenes, but also toward some of the influences who shaped his artistry today, including Babyface. “When I was working with Babyface, I had all these heavy-weighted expectations on what I did bring to the genre of R&B,” Thomas tells Rolling Stone. “But some of my favorite conversations were me being with him and him unraveling all of my overthinking, and letting me know that I’m more than enough. All I gotta do is just present my version of cool, and the rest of the world is gonna follow.”
He also mentions considering Ty Dolla $ign an amazing big brother who always keeps it real with him and lets him be creative.
While he takes inspiration from R&B and hip-hop from different eras, Thomas is always striving to keep his narrative fresh. He’s continuing to tell new stories and finding ways to say something in an original way. “In R&B, we do sing a lot about love,” Thomas says. “But there’s a lot of different ways you can frame that. I think that’s a big part of how I make music now. Bringing tempo back to the live side of R&B is something I’m really, really attacking hard, because I know it’s possible to have live drums on a song and still be in the clubs with everybody else. It’s possible to be musical and relevant.”
After playing the supporting act on Bruno Mars’ The Romantic Tour, the R&B star kicked off his festival stint at Chicago’s Lollapalooza earlier this month. His performance coincidentally fell on his birthday (he was born on Aug. 1, 1993), which he ecstatically spent onstage and later at T-Mobile’s Club Magenta. There, Thomas jammed along to iconic tunes spun by Toney Handsome (Victorious hits included), handed out vinyls, and interacted with his fans.
Aside from surprise celebrity sightings, T-Mobile’s Club Magenta gives T-Mobile Magenta members, plus their guests, exclusive access to a more comfortable experience at the festival — under the shade with ample seating, an amazing view of the stage, a custom bandana bar, fun prizes, and other cool surprises. And outside the fun, T-Mobile members get access to charging pods and lockers at the festival as extra perks.
“It was a beautiful experience to see how it’s integrated within the actual festival itself,” says Thomas about Club Magenta. “[Members] can watch the show, and then also go party a little bit, hang out. You know, these VIP experiences are being curated by a bunch of different companies; I think the special thing that T-Mobile did was really make them feel comfortable. It felt like you were really around the cool kids, everybody’s having a good time time and there was a lot of community going on. And I think that’s the best thing you can do right now — build communities for fans to engage and connect with people, like mine.”
T-Mobile offers more benefits outside festival grounds, from online streaming to travel to concerts and sports events. Learn more about T-Mobile and what it can offer music festival-goers here.
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