{"id":32802,"date":"2018-02-07T12:23:56","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T12:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=32802"},"modified":"2018-02-07T12:23:56","modified_gmt":"2018-02-07T12:23:56","slug":"the-master-the-apprentice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/02\/the-master-the-apprentice\/","title":{"rendered":"The Master & The Apprentice"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Alexander O\u2019Neal has a career that has spanned over 30 years and spawned countless top 40 hits after being signed by Prince back in 1981 to Warner Bros. His voice has been compared to the legendary Otis Redding and he has seen great success in the UK.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Songs like ‘Fake’, ‘Saturday Night’, and ‘Criticize’, to name a few, will always be remembered as classic songs from the 80\u2019s. Now after nine solo studio albums released between 1985 and last year, he\u2019s back on the road with the ‘Resurrected Tour’, which climaxes at the London Palladium in April.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

So when an R\u2019n\u2019B master chooses someone to tour with him, we should take notice. The fact that the big man from Mississippi has chosen Welsh singer-songwriter Jay James as his support is a next big step for the former X Factor favourite and he is thrilled to bring his music to a whole new audience.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Essentially Pop was lucky enough to catch up with Jay and ask him a few questions about the past, the present and the future and he gave a really good insight into the hard work needed to make steps in music, his excitement about the tour and what he hopes to achieve. Tickets are available here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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EP: Jay, a lot of people will recognise you from X factor in 2014, but in fact you were highlighted as one to watch by none other than Radio 1\u2019s Annie Mac and Soul R\u2019n\u2019B expert Trevor Nelson as early as 2012. Do you think, retrospectively, that despite raising your profile, X Factor may have detracted from your real soul pedigree?<\/strong><\/div>\n
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JJ<\/b>: Thanks so much for the questions! Not to shy away from some possible hype but the love was certainly for the track I featured on, probably more so than me as the writer & featured artist, all the same to be acknowledged by them and have some awesome airtime & love was class!<\/div>\n
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I definitely try not to think retrospectively about anything to be honest. After doing the show, which I\u2019m glad and grateful of, I\u2019ve certainly found some music industry folk with unaccepting preconceptions about it and \u2018the people\u2019 who do it, that\u2019s a real shame. It\u2019s ok for the likes of Adele, Beyonce and Coldplay to use it as a platform to promote themselves but it seems there\u2019s still some stuck up thoughts towards new artists trying it. There are little to no platforms available for artists now to find their light and give them the opportunity to showcase themselves without all the usual shit & hype expected, hit songs, working with hot music producers, writers, a big internet following blah blah, essentially the show gives the ability for someone to just sing and be judged on a voice, after the camera\u2019s turn off and the show ends ultimately it\u2019s down to you to utilise whats been gained and prove you want more than to just be famous and on TV. I think in short my \u2018real pedigree\u2019 I hope, will be in the music I\u2019ll continue to make.<\/div>\n
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