At his Atlanta show, he promises to bring that same youthful energy. After all, the last time he did a North American tour was in 2018 and that was for a DJ set. The “7 Days Commitment” tour will feature a live band and a performance of all the hits that made him a star in the early aughts. The May 4 Lovers & Friend Fest is the unofficial start of the tour, which then moves to San Francisco on May 6 and ends in Philadelphia on May 15.

The seven-city tour is a nod to his hit song “7 Days.”

Credit: Nicky Kelvin

Credit: Nicky Kelvin

David’s decision to embark on the tour came after getting a call to perform at this year’s Lovers & Friends Festival in Las Vegas. The request prompted his team to see if they can add some dates to make his time in the U.S. worthwhile.

“Then we made it happen and it just felt really wholesome. The timing was perfect. Little did I know we’d be announcing a [U.K.] arena tour off the back of that, but just a lot of good music, and now albums and everything sort of just seems to be landing at the right place now.”

In fact, he said America is what gave him a nice outlook on live shows. During the recording process for “Born to Do It,” he spent a lot of time living in New York. He also lived in Miami before moving to London.

”The performances you have in America are incredible. I mean, around the world, we have amazing artists, but when you do your band shows in America it’s levels, so that excites me. When I look at the songs and what they mean to people, ... performing those songs the way that people heard them on the albums is the most important to me.”

His new album doesn’t have a title yet, but it’s slated for a January release.

These days David is inspired by newer artists like the New York drill rapper Cash Cobian or by legacy acts like Usher, whose Las Vegas residency completely embodied an R&B nostalgia that made it the most talked-about show for the past three years. He wants to make songs that are fully aware of these trends while staying true to himself as a songwriter.

“You never know when you’re making music, if it’s timeless, or where it’ll all fit into the mix. When I was 17 making the first album, I wasn’t even really thinking about any of those things. I was just like how’s this gonna sound on my little Walkman when I put it on the headphones and come back from the studio and walk home? Is it giving me that feeling? And I think we all get back into our feelings that you start to yearn for.”

Credit: Edward Cooke

Credit: Edward Cooke

On social media, he’s teased an unreleased song “Commitment” that he’ll debut on tour. Of the song, he said it’ll hint to fans that he’s in his “R&B bag” again. David said the album might have the same name, but he’s still fleshing out the details. He’s just happy that he has all the songs in place. The songwriter prides himself on making music that lands in listeners’ hearts with its melodies and storytelling.

“I’ve got the music,” David said about the new album. “When you DJ and you play music out, you know what lands and what doesn’t soon, so I’m in that same pocket like I used to be with ‘Born to Do It.’ I used to play the songs out in the club before they even got anywhere near being the album.” I’m doing the same thing at the moment. I dropped stuff in my sets that people don’t know that necessarily is going to be a song.”

However, he’s cognizant about giving fans the full Craig David experience, which will always lead with the classics.

“I’m really conscious of making sure to balance the hits, which is why on the [tour] poster, it says ‘Full band! All the hits!,” but only because that’s what I’d want to hear. I want to hear ‘7 Days, I want to hear ‘Walking Away,’ I want to hear ‘Rise & Fall.’ I actually want to hear ‘Booty Man.’ I know what it is that people want to hear, so I’m gonna make sure that I give you all of that.”

IF YOU GO

Craig David- 7 Days Commitment Tour

8 p.m. on May 8. $37-88. Tabernacle. 152 Luckie St NW, Atlanta, GA 30303. 404-659-9022. https://www.livenation.com/venue/KovZpaFEZe/tabernacle-events