Just My Faves

I’ve been diggin’ Jessie James for a while now, but haven’t gotten around to writing this “Introducing” post until now. The second I heard “Wanted”, I loved it! It immediately went on my iPhone. A couple of weeks ago, I found “Guilty” and it still has perma-repeat status on my iPhone. So, I decided I needed to start sharing Jessie’s gift with my visitors.

It’s curious that I even appreciate Jessie’s music because she’s just as much country as she is pop. But not too much. I wouldn’t like her at all if she was all Nashville. Her sound reminds me of the late 90s when pop music had a lot of crossover tunes from the likes of Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, and Shania Twain. I bought all of their albums and some of those hits still reside on my iPod to this day. Jessie James takes me back to that, and that’s why I’m a fan.

Not only that, but the girl’s got some serious pipes! Have you heard her sing? It’s ridiculous. I hear hints of Miss Aguilera at times and that’s a very, very good thing. She is a pure vocalist, which I consider an endangered species these days.

WHO IS JESSIE JAMES?
Jessica Rose James is a former “military brat”, who spent much of her youth moving around from town to town. Music has always been a part of her life as she was writing songs when she was as young as 9 years old and singing as a 2 year old. Her early demos got the attention of Mercury President David Massey which led to an audition with L.A. Reid, after which she was immediately signed.

Jessie has been writing and living in Nashville for a while now, so it’s easy to see where the country influence comes from. She describes her sounds as “pop with a little bit of twang”.

WHAT’S GOING ON NOW?
Jessie contributed a song, “Blue Jeans”, to the Confessions of a Shopaholic soundtrack before her debut single “Wanted” hit radio stations. Her self-titled album is due July 28th, and she is about to embark on the Jonas Brothers world tour as their opening act. That’s a huge stage for a new artist and I’m sure she’ll impress!

Her current single, “Wanted”, is doing well on the charts. I’s about to go Top 30 on pop radio, is currently sitting at #98 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is selling well 50s on the iTunes charts.

Read the Billboard review of “Wanted”:

Pull out all the sex appeal from Carrie Underwood in “Before He Cheats,” throw on a Pussycat Dolls beat and infuse some powerhouse Christina Aguilera vocals, and it’s nearly Jessie James’ “Wanted.” The Nashville-based singer’s first single has a forceful bang and a slight Southern twang, tapping into Pink and Kelly Clarkson territory with its slamming rock vibe. Mitch Allan (Daughtry, Faith Hill) constructed an alluring rock song with some parts country, some parts hip-hop. James crafted the track with a hot pop/rock team of songwriters: Allan, Kara DioGuardi and David Hodges; paired with her convincing vocals and swagger, she’s got what it takes to make a name for herself. —Michael Menachem

WHAT’S NEXT?
Single #2 is “Bullet”. Take a listen below:

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OFFICIAL LINKS
Official site by Island Records
MySpace
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Imeem (Check out the live sessions!)
Kyte.tv Channel

ANYTHING ELSE?
Watching studio produced video doesn’t always impress. Sometimes you need to see live and/or acoustic performances to really appreciate a singer’s talent. Below is a video of Jessie singing the National Anthem at a Cavs/Magic NBA Playoff game a couple of weeks ago.

And check out the new Billboard Breaking & Entering feature. They just did one on Kristina DeBarge a little while ago.