Naia Izumi: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

May 14, 2018 | Bob Boilen -- I am so proud of our 2018 Tiny Desk Contest winner, Naia Izumi. The band he brought and the songs they played for this winning Tiny Desk Concert made us all even prouder. Naia was chosen after we reviewed nearly 5,000 video entries. And the talent that came to us through all those submissions was astonishing. Naia Izumi won us over with his mind-boggling and unique style of guitar playing — a combination of tapping on the fingerboards and soul-filled whammy bar-note bending. And his multi-octave singing range blended so eloquently with his guitar stylings. “Soft Spoken,“ the song he submitted, felt singular and unparalleled to our panel of judges which included past Tiny Desk contest winner Tarriona “Tank“ Ball, Tiny Desk alum Sylvan Esso and Gaby Moreno, along with NPR family members Talia Schlanger (WXPN), Russ Borris (WFUV), Toki Wright (The Current) and the All Songs Considered team of Robin Hilton and myself. It’s a song, as I hear it, that speaks to the power inherent in t