Musiq Soulchild scored a commercial hit with his No. 1 album, Luvanmusiq, but fans weren't the only ones taking notice. In this exclusive, we talk to the Philly-bred crooner about his multiple Grammy nominations, and the direction of his next album.

Fans and critics alike have taken notice of the neo-soul stylings of Musiq Soulchild since his platinum debut Aijuswanaseing, but his latest release brought him a first-ever three Grammy nominations.

"It felt good that people still acknowledge what I do and deem me credible enough to be critically acclaimed, so that's always good," Musiq told. "It's a good sign that you still matter in the industry, so I definitely felt good and grateful that I was nominated. One is enough, but to be recognized by the Grammys (multiple times) that's a pretty big deal there."

In addition to garnering nominations for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "B.U.D.D.Y." and Best R&B Song for "Teach Me," Luvanmusiq scored a nomination for Best R&B Album - not to be confused with the category for Best Contemporary R&B Album.

"I actually don't really know what the difference is between the two (categories)," Musiq said. "I mean, those categories are pre-set to cater to or categorize the way the status quo is. Personally I call what I do soul music. I wish there was a category for Best Soul Album, that would be fresh."

The 30-year-old singer is currently in L.A. working on his fifth album, and while it's only three months in the works, he said he's looking to shake things up a bit in terms of sound, subject matter and image.

"I'm really excited about the things that I've began working on as far as the album is concerned, insofar as attempting to stretch out a little bit more," he said. "I figure since this is my fifth release I'm entitlted to pushing things a little forward, as opposed to just keep doing the same thing over and over again. In my opinion there's a thin line between consistency and redundancy. And I want to be consistent, but I sure don't want to be redundant. So I'm going to do my best to keep things fresh on this next one."