James Follette
James Follette is a 25-year old soul singer from London with a love of all things retro! His references range from Amy Winehouse to Gladys Knight, Prince to Otis Redding.
He releases his debut single in May on the Basquiat Beats label.
A couple of years ago, he met legendary manager Davett Singletary (Usher, Cee-Lo Green, Outkast et.al) who helped guide and facilitate the writing and recording of an album all his own.
Life displaying it’s usual twists and turns, literally flipped up side down when tragically Davett passed away at her home in Los Angeles late last year.
She had plans for this young man and they were comprehensive, cool and cutting-edge. From placing him with an ‘angel’ in Justin Timberlake to having his videos directed by Billie Woodruff - the world seemed like it was just about to become his oyster.
Not one to mope though, James is celebrating the memory of Davett and vows to complete her vision alongside new label Basquiat Beats and is pushing forward with the release of his amazing, soulful , original material, and looks set to see the release of his teaser cut 'Cold Inside', followed by debut single 'Tears' in mid-2012.
In the meantime though, he’s had some fun with his version of Christmas classic ‘Santa Baby’ - twisting up gender roles and throwing in some 21st Century references.
It proved really popular upon release in December 2011, with it being picked up by the biggest chain of shopping malls in America and appearing on a number of platinum FM radio play-lists.
And the success Stateside repeated itself on British shores with the song being play- listed in stores, hotels and gyms nationwide plus front page pride of place on iTunes, Amazon and eMusic! All these releases are leading up to his return booking at Jazz Cafe and a slot at SXSW in Austin, Texas.