Jahméne

Jahméne Aaron Douglas (born 26 February 1991) is a British soul/gospel singer who records under the mononym Jahméne. He was the runner-up to James Arthur on the ninth series of The X Factor in 2012.

In December 2012, he signed a record deal with Sony Music.^[1] In July 2013, he released his debut studio album, Love Never Fails, which peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart and included appearances from Nicole Scherzinger, in a duet of "The Greatest Love of All", and Stevie Wonder, who lent his harmonica skills on "Give Us This Day". In September 2014, Jahméne signed his second deal with Independent Label Moonshot Music and has been working on his second album, which is set for release in early 2016.

Career

2012: The X Factor

On 30 May 2012, Douglas auditioned in London for the ninth series of The X Factor. He sang Etta James' "At Last" with a powerful voice in what Louis had stated as a "revelation" and received four yes' from judges Louis Walsh, Tulisa, Gary Barlow and Nicole Scherzinger. Douglas managed to advance to judges' houses, where he impressed mentor Nicole Scherzinger with his rendition of David Guetta's "Titanium", thereby making it to the live shows. He fought his way through to the finals with James Arthur and Christopher Maloney. On 8 December, he was the first act to make it safely through to the second night of the live finals, along with Arthur. He finished the competition in second place.

2013: Love Never Fails and X Factor Around the World

On 19 December 2012, it was announced that Douglas had signed a record deal with Sony Music.^[1] On 25 January 2013, it was confirmed that he had signed with RCA Records and would be releasing his debut album in May.^[2]

It was announced by RCA Records that Douglas' first album would be called Love Never Fails and would be released on 22 July. It debuted at number one in the UK. Douglas also donated all of his profits from the single "Titanium" to the domestic abuse campaigns of the charity Women's Aid. The album features appearances from his X Factor mentor Scherzinger and Stevie Wonder.^[3] He released a single from the album, a cover of David Guetta's "Titanium", on to his Vevo account on 12 June 2013.^[4]

In August 2013, Douglas performed in Indonesia for RCTI's 24th anniversary television special, X Factor Around the World, along with Samantha Jade, The Collective, Melanie Amaro, Novita Dewi and Fatin Shidqia.^[5] "Titanium" subsequently hit number 1 the following day in Indonesia.

2014–present: The Second Album

In September 2014, Jahméne signed with Independent label 'Moonshot Music,' and has been working on his second album which is set for release in early 2016. In August 2014 Jahméne dropped a hype track called "Down for Love" as a reintroduction to his sound paired with a black and white video that followed shortly after. The video included appearances from Misha B and Lisa Maffia as a nod to the UK music scene. "Down For Love" is a throwback track in sound with elements of Old School Hip Hop fused with RnB. "Down for Love" had its radio premiere on Sarah Jane Crawfords' BBC Radio 1Xtra show.

"Down for Love" was released on 6 November 2015, with a separate release for the remix bundle on the same date. The bundle features remixes from DJQ, FooR and Adikitive.

Jahméne's second album has been in the works since his first album. He's been working with well established names including Diane Warren, Andrea Martin, Stanley Brown, Sacha Skarbek among others.

Personal life

Jahméne Douglas was born in Swindon 26 February 1991 to Mandy Thomas and Eustace Douglas. The parents' relationship resulted in Jahméne's later work to help those suffering with domestic violence. It has been reported that Douglas is planning on touring schools to help raise awareness and teach people about healthy relationships. Douglas is the first youth ambassador of the UK charity Women's Aid, for children and young people.^[6]

Jahméne is of Christian faith and speaks openly about how that has pulled him through many dark places. His debut album's title, Love Never Fails, is taken from the scripture 1 Corinthians 13, one of his favourite passages in the Bible. The idea of the album was to have spiritual twists on the chosen covers. Jahméne has been seen exercising his faith in public. He refused to sing "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" by Katy Perry, for an X Factor group ensemble performance, because of its graphic/unsuitable lyrical content. He opined that Ella Henderson, 16 at the time, should not be made to sing the song and that lyrically it was not suitable for the family show.^[7]

Awards

Jahmene Douglas was nominated for "Best Newcomer" at the MOBO Awards in 2013 and performed "Next to Me." Douglas has also received a nomination to which he won "Best Male Newcomer" from the Urban Music Awards.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

• Official website
• Jahméne on Facebook