Luke James is an amazing triple threat. Aside from his leading man’s good looks, complete with handsome dark features and curly dark hair, Luke possesses a smooth baritone voice that can croon the panties off of multiple generations of women. A singer, talented songwriter and brilliant actor, Luke is the quintessential triple threat. Born in New Orleans, Luke recalls being surrounded by music as a child. Consumed by music as a child, there was never much of a question when it came to his future career goals. Singing and performing were his lifeblood growing up, but like reality, fans have learned from shows like MTV’s 90s hit Making the Band and Fox’s newly re-booted American Idol. Securing one’s personal happily ever-after in the music industry is a daunting task. If not for the opportunity to play one of his childhood idols, Luke may not have ever realized his dreams.
Another Singer Helped Luke James Get His Career Started
Idolizing some of the most successful soulful crooners on the planet, like R&B’s one-name monikers, Joe and Tyrese, gave Luke the motivation to keep honing his craft. He even got the opportunity to sing back-up for Tyrese as a young man trying to make a name for himself as an artist. As one half of duo Luke & Q, he was gifted the opportunity to sing back-up for the 90’s heart throb. Today’s fans have expressed their surprise at seeing the now-famous Luke as a background singer behind Tyrese in a clip recently circulated on social media.
In an interview on the wildly popular We Sound Crazy podcast hosted by music and television industry heavyweights Tamone, Phillionaire, Chuck Harmony and Claude Kelly, Luke explains how he used to look up to Tyrese before he had the opportunity to sing back-up for him. “Seeing Tyrese made me want to keep trying. Singing backup for him was surreal, because it was like I was singing behind my idol. I got a chance to learn all the dos and don’ts from him. I saw when to take pictures and when not to, just so much I learned from him. It was an invaluable experience,” Luke says.
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How Impersonating Johnny Gill Took Luke James’ Career to New Heights
Even after singing for Tyrese, the talented vocalist hit numerous roadblocks in his passionate pursuit. He couldn’t seem to convince a record label to stay interested in him as a solo artist. “I went through all these changes ,” Luke recalls. “I remember singing songs like ‘Run to You‘ by Whitney Houston and ‘Tomorrow’ by Tevin Campbell, but then my voice changed. I remember singing and then waiting for a response and hearing people say I didn’t sound the same. It broke my heart.” Luke started researching artists with big voices that were often overlooked because their voices required songs that could challenge them. Keven “Dino” Conner from the group H-Town was one of the vocalists that Luke began studying along with Johnny Gill.
While Luke was trying to keep his head above water as an artist, he realized his talent for songwriting. He started writing for other artists and ended up having songwriting placements with some of the industry’s most popular voices, like Chris Brown, Britney Spears and Justin Bieber. But he grew stagnant in music and became depressed.
A friend of Luke’s thought about him during a casting for The New Edition biopic. Luke remembers showing up at a warehouse that resembled an old school band camp, ready to claim his opportunity. “We’re in this warehouse and its hot and I see New Edition names on the wall with all these pictures underneath. At first, they wanted me for Bobby, but I resonated with Johnny because, again, he is an artist with this big voice. I saw my name under his with all these other pictures, and they told us it wasn’t a done deal,” Luke explains. Not only was Luke in competition for the coveted spot playing Johnny Gill, but also the young boys cast to play them during their early years had already learned their parts and gelled as a cast. Luke says it was apparent the older cast had to work together to be able to represent what the younger cast had already perfected.
