James Morrison (singer)

Infobox musical artist
Name = James Morrison

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Img_capt = Morrison performing at the 2007 Glastonbury Festival.
Background = solo_singer
Born = birth date and age|1984|8|13
Rugby
Origin = Rugby, Warwickshire, England
Instrument = Vocals, guitar
Genre = Pop, soft rock, soul, Blue-eyed soul
Occupation = Singer, songwriter
Years_active = 2006–present
Label = Polydor (worldwide except North America)
Interscope (North America)
URL = [http://www.jamesmorrisonmusic.com JamesMorrisonMusic.com]

James Morrison (born 13 August 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rugby. He now lives near Brighton.

In 2006, he debuted with the single "You Give Me Something" which became a huge hit around Europe, Australia, and Japan, charting at #5 in the UK and #1 in New Zealand. His debut album, "Undiscovered", went to #1 in the UK.

Early life

James Morrison Catchpole [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/moslive/article-1049350/James-Morrison-The-hard-man-rock.html] dropped the Catchpole name for his music career. At age 13, Morrison began to learn guitar when his uncle Joe showed him how to play a blues riff. He started busking when he lived in the village of Porth, near Newquay, Cornwall. After several years of playing other musicians' songs, he eventually started to compose his own. He attributes his distinctive voice to a severe bout of whooping cough that nearly killed him when he was a baby. [Speaking on Channel 4 television show Richard and Judy on 13 February 2007.]

Personal life

In September 2008, James' long-term girlfriend, Gill, gave birth to a 5lb baby girl named Elsie.

Music career

Whilst visiting Derby with his long time girlfriend from the city, he came across a now-renowned Open Mic night at Ryan's Bar. Morrison spent the best part of two years developing there a platform. Polydor Productions took the chance and signed him. He became the supporting artist for Corinne Bailey Rae on her tour supporting her debut album.

He got his worldwide success with debut single "You Give Me Something", which reached the #2 spot in Holland and the #5 spot in the UK. He released his debut album "Undiscovered" on July 31, 2006. He got great reviews from different papers. "There isn't a bad track on it" (The Sun), [http://www.jamesmorrisonmusic.com James Morrison ] ] "Undiscovered may prove to be the least apposite album title for years" (The Times).It topped the UK album chart in its first week of its release. The album has sold over 1 million copies around the world (as of December 24, 2006).Fact|date=September 2008

The album's second single was "Wonderful World", which has already been a top-10 hit in the UK, reaching the #8 spot; it also reached #8 in the Netherlands.

He also performed at the 2006 V Festival. He was due to only play one of the smaller tents but, due to the number of people wanting to get into the tent, he had a ten-minute set on the main stage before HARD-Fi came on (Weston Park). At the 2007 V Festival he played his full set on the main stage.

He also performed "You Give Me Something" at the 2006 Royal Variety Performance in front of Prince Charles and The Duchess Of Cornwall.

On December 18, 2006 James Morrison's third single, "The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore" was released. It peaked at #30 in the UK, which made it the lowest peak of all his singles until "Undiscovered", which peaked at #63, was released.

James Morrison appeared on "Live from Abbey Road" following his live recording session at Abbey Road Studios on January 5 2007.

His album's U.S. release, which he is currently promoting, was March 13, 2007. He made his first appearance on national TV at the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show. He also appeared on NBC "Today" show on March 16, 2007, performing "You Give Me Something" with just guitar and Wurlitzer piano. The album debuted at #24 in the US with 24,000 copies in its first week. He still has yet to release a second single in the US.

and won the "Best British Male Solo Artist" category. (Other nominations were for the "Best British Breakthrough Act", "Best British Single Shortlist"). His fourth single in the UK was "Undiscovered". It was released on March 12, 2007, a day before his American album debut. The song peaked at #63.

On April 4, 2007, he was awarded the title of an AOL Breaker artist, [ [http://music.aol.com/franchise/breakers/winner-james-morrison AOL Breaker Winner: James Morrison] ] a contest that was voted by fans.

At the Concert for Diana on July 1, 2007, he performed the songs "Wonderful World" and "You Give Me Something" in honour of Princess Diana.

During the summer of 2007, Morrison headlined the Forestry Commission's Forest Tour.

His fifth UK single, "One Last Chance" was released on July 2, 2007 as a download only. The video is being shown on The Hits, The Box and Smash Hits music channels. The video was shot in Canada in April 2007.

On November 29, 2007, he performed in KL Convention Center for the Acoustic Live&Loud KL '07; a music festival in Malaysia. James had performed alongside Rick Price and local singer Dayang Nurfaizah. The audiences had gotten more than they expected when he performed a brand new song that is going to be in his next album.

Recent Work

Morrison performed a duet with Jason Mraz called "Details In The Fabric" on Mraz's new studio album, "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things", which was released on May 13, 2008. [Jasonmraz.com - [http://jasonmraz.shop.musictoday.com/Product.aspx?cp=418_13384&pc=JZ19COMBO We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things Jason Mraz Official Store Pre-Order ] ]

On 29 September 2008, Morrison's second album entitled "Songs for You, Truths for Me" was released , preceded by the single, "You Make It Real", a week earlier.

In the writing process for this album he worked with Ryan Tedder, Martin Terefe and Steve Robson. The album also features a duet with Nelly Furtado entitled "Broken Strings".

Discography

*"Undiscovered" (2006)
*"Songs for You, Truths for Me" (2008)

References

External links

* [http://www.jamesmorrisonmusic.com James Morrison's Official Website]
* [http://www.jamesmorrisonmusic.com.au James Morrison's Official Australian Website]
* [http://www.Interscope.com Interscope Records] Official Site
* [http://jamesmorrison.forums.umusic.co.uk/ James Morrison Official Forum]
* [http://www.jamesmorrisonfanclub.com/ James Morrison Fanclub]
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