J Music

2014, The Year I Stuck to My New Year’s Resolutions | “Almost Is Never Enough” (Cover)

2014, The Year I Stuck to My New Year’s Resolutions | “Almost Is Never Enough” (Cover)

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I can finally cross off one of the top 3 items on my bucket list — I performed at my first open mic!!

Every year at Penn, the Inspiration and the Excelano Project collaborate for a night of love talk and slow jams. As an Inspiration alum I had already planned on attending the show, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to take on one of my greatest fear — performing solo.

For once, right after I decided to perform, I had the perfect song in mind. “Almost Is Never Enough,” a power-ballad on Ariana Grande’s debut album Yours Truly was instantly one of my favorites off the top-charted release. The song, a duet with The Wanted’s Nathan Sykes, is the perfect mash-up of 90’s-inspired R&B, with the flair of a contemporary anthem.

Additional photos and video from the show coming soon!

J Music: The Best Christmas Playlist Since 2002… When I Made It

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  1. Who Would Imagine a King – Whitney Houston
  2. The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole & Natalie Cole
  3. Silent Night – Mariah Carey
  4. Let It Snow – Boyz II Men
  5. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Alvin & the Chipmunks
  6. O, Holy Night – Mariah Carey
  7. I’ll Be Home for Christmas – Whitney Houston**
  8. O, Come All Ye Faithful – Luther Vandross
  9. Walking in a Winter Wonderland – Ashanti**
  10. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)- Mariah Carey 
  11. Silver Bells – The Temptations 
  12. Away in a Manger – Gladys Knight & the Pips 
  13. All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey 
  14. Seasons of Love – Rent 

**In reflection, I would probably swap these two out. I like to remember Whitney at her best, and this isn’t it. And including Ashanti amongst these legends was just disrespectful.

If I burned a new CD today, I would add:

  • Mary, Did You Know – CeeLo Green
  • What Christmas Means To Me – Stevie Wonder
  • Santa Clause is Coming to Town – Jackson 5 (amongst a few others)
  • This Christmas – Chris Brown

Happy Holidays everyone!! 

Related Articles: 

J Music: O Holy Night – Luke Edgemon 

J Music: Mary Did You Know – CeeLo Green

J Music: The 20/20 Experience Tour (Hartford, CT)

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What you didn’t get with the Legends of the Summer Tour, you get 10x over with the 20/20 Experience Tour. As far as overall production — full-band, choreography, spectacular visual element, set list and design, ebb and flow — only show that almost touches Beyonce’s I Am… Tour (the best show I’ve ever been to two snaps). The show didn’t end until almost 12 a.m. in Hartford (on a weeknight) — the arena was still at capacity, with fans on their feet, until the end.

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J Music – Jojo Performs “Billions” at Club Red

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Cause I’ve been to different atmospheres

Never did I breathe so clear

Know there’s billions in the world

But I’ll always come back to you

Jojo’s performance of “Billions” in Tempe, Arizona on her six-city tour with Leah Labelle. “Billions” was a stand-out track on her mixtape Agape. Praying for east coast dates! #FreeJojo

J Music: New Coursera Music Classes Starting Oct. 14

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Found 2 new courses that may be of interest for all my singers/musicians writing and producing their own music.

Introduction to Music Production with Loudon Stearns

Learn about the music production process—including recording, editing, and mixing—and the tools available to you to create contemporary music on your computer.

Workload: 6-8 hours/week

Find more information here.

Songwriting with Pat Pattison

Learn an efficient, effective process for writing songs that express your ideas and emotions, including a range of tools that revolve around the concept of prosody—the matching of lyrics and music to support your underlying message.

Workload: 6-8 hours/week

Find more information here.

J Music: Hershey Park Debut, All in the Family

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During our family trip to Hershey Park, my cousins and I (3/4 of the group formerly known as J5) couldn’t walk past the studio without jumping into the booth!  Check out our rendition of “Weak” – it’s not that bad for one take, only having 5 minutes to arrange and rehearse – lol. Excuse the failed harmonies; we were a bit too ambitious.

Funny enough, Coko of SWV is our (distant) cousin, so we kept it all in the family!

Here’s my solo version of “Weak” from the beginning of my YouTube days in 2008: