PERFORMING can be an extreme sport for American R&B sensation Miguel who is renowned for getting serious air on stage.

In Australia to perform at the iconic winter festival Splendour In The Grass and sold-out side shows, the pop artist who is airborne on the cover of his latest record War & Leisure has been acclaimed as one of the most exciting live entertainers in the world.

“I just go for the air, you can’t plan when you are going to do it,” he said ahead of his Sydney concert at the Enmore Theatre.

“I’ve definitely hurt myself on stage, for sure, multiple times, you have always got to put it on the line.”

Miguel has been one of the artists to redefine the parameters of modern music in the past decade, collaborating with everyone from fellow Splendour star Kendrick Lamar to pop diva Mariah Carey and most recently with dance producer Kygo.

“You go from Kendrick to Mariah or Kygo, there really are no rules anymore,” he said.

“Even in terms of collaborating with businesses, it was not cool to do that before, artists were told they were selling out.

“Now these things are not looked down upon anymore so the boundaries in which it is OK to create, there’s no limit.”

The line-up at Splendour certainly reflects the genre-free landscape of festivals now with something for everyone from local hip hop heroes Hilltop Hoods, minimalist pop pioneer Lorde and dance party starters The Presets among the highlights.

Miguel predicts Latin and Asian artists will exert even greater influence over pop music in the next few years.

“It is exciting to see all this urban and this ethnic music lead the way, not just black music but bands like the K-pop band BTS who went No. 1 and we’re going to see more Latin artists topping the charts and leading streaming,” he said.

“Our minds are open to so many other sounds and because it’s such a numbers game now, people have to realise when songs are big in Brazil or China, where there are huge populations, when they crossover we are going to see more and more how they will dictate what is relevant.”

When he has not been touring this year, Miguel has been supporting fiance model and actor Nazanin Mandi as she plans their upcoming wedding.

“Thank goodness it’s her day and it’s really about what she has dreamt up and what she wants — I’m happy to sign the cheques,” he said.

“My whole thing for me was the food — I just want to have the best food I’ve ever eaten and I’ll be happy. We’ve had great tastings so we’re there, I’m good.”

Miguel performs a special Nova Red Room concert on Tuesday and at Splendour In The Grass on Friday.