Jahméne | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Jahméne | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jahméne Aaron Douglas |
| Born | (1991-02-26)26 February 1991 (age 34) Birmingham, England |
| Genres | R&B,soul,gospel |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | RCA (2012–2014) Moonshot Music (2014–2017) |
| Website | jahmenemusic |
Jahméne Aaron Douglas (born 26 February 1991) is a Britishsoul/gospel singer who records under the mononymJahméne. He was the runner-up toJames Arthur on theninth series ofThe X Factor in 2012.
In December 2012, he signed a record deal withSony Music.[1] In July 2013, he released his debut studio album,Love Never Fails, which peaked at number one on theUK Albums Chart and included appearances fromNicole Scherzinger, in a duet of "The Greatest Love of All", andStevie 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 released his second album,Unfathomable Phantasmagoria, in September 2016.
On 30 May 2012, Douglas auditioned in London for theninth series ofThe X Factor. He sangEtta James' "At Last" with a powerful voice in what Louis had stated as a "revelation" and received four yeses from judgesLouis Walsh,Tulisa,Gary Barlow andNicole Scherzinger. Douglas managed to advance to judges' houses, where he impressed mentorNicole Scherzinger with his rendition ofDavid Guetta's "Titanium", thereby making it to the live shows. He fought his way through to the finals withJames Arthur andChristopher 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.
On 19 December 2012, it was announced that Douglas had signed a record deal withSony Music.[1] On 25 January 2013, it was confirmed that he had signed withRCA Records and would be releasing his debut album in May.[2]
It was announced by RCA Records that Douglas' first album would be calledLove 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 hisX Factor mentor Scherzinger andStevie Wonder.[3] He released a single from the album, a cover ofDavid Guetta's "Titanium", onto hisVevo account on 12 June 2013.[4]
In August 2013, Douglas performed inIndonesia forRCTI's 24th anniversary television special,X Factor Around the World, along withSamantha Jade,The Collective,Melanie Amaro,Novita Dewi andFatin Shidqia.[5] "Titanium" subsequently hit number 1 the following day in Indonesia.[citation needed]
 | This section of abiography of a living persondoes notinclude anyreferences or sources. Please help by addingreliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately. Find sources: "Jahméne" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The album,Unfathomable Phantasmagoria, was released on 23 September 2016. This album features 16 tracks with Jahméne also writing several tracks.Samuel L. Jackson lent his voice to the project. Jahméne met Jackson in 2012 when he invited Jahméne to sing at a charity ball he was hosting. He lends his voice to the intro of the album opening the record with the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 13:4–8. Jackson then goes on to read from, Galatians 5:22–23 as an interlude on the album, which also features in the lead single's video, "Is This the Time?" Jahméne then went on to release "I Wish" from the album as the anthem for the charityPeace One Day. The song was written byDiane Warren.
The album consists of his signature sound, including soul, R&B and gospel. Notable writers other than Diane Warren includeAndrea Martin, Stanley Brown (Shirley Caesar, Hezekiah Walker, Karen Clark Sheard),Sacha Skarbek, Electric (Little Mix, Rihanna, The Wanted) and Jim Beanz (Timbaland, Chris Brown, Dru Hill).
Jahméne stated that he had more control over the process of making the album in comparison to his first, from the sound, to his songwriting, down to the artwork and title. The sleeve inside the physical copy even includes one of Jahméne's poems entitled "Shadow Serpent".
Track listing
| No. | Track title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "1 Corinthians 13:4–8"(featuringSamuel L. Jackson) | Bible verse; Andrea Martin | Damian Montagu | 1:00 |
| 2 | "Never Too Far Away" | Andrea Martin, Jenay Daniels | Stanley Brown | 3:33 |
| 3 | "Love" | Jim Beanz,Raghav Mathur, Donnell Shawn Butler | Charlie J Perry, SOS,Harmony Samuels | 3:18 |
| 4 | "Catch the Rhythm" | Jahméne,Sacha Skarbek | Damian Montagu, Charlie J Perry | 3:48 |
| 5 | "Tornado" | Jahméne,Tim Kellett, Christian 'Crada' Kalla | Crada | 3:11 |
| 6 | "Down for Love" | Jahméne,Davinché,Tim Kellett | Davinché | 3:50 |
| 7 | "Get It Right" | Jahméne,Mo Brandis,Tim Kellett | Charlie J Perry, Damian Montagu | 3:00 |
| 8 | "Galatians 5:22–23"(featuring Samuel L. Jackson) | Bible verse; Jahméne,Max Marshall, Electric | Charlie J Perry, Damian Montagu | 0:59 |
| 9 | "Is This the Time?" | Jahméne,Max Marshall, Electric | Charlie J Perry | 3:27 |
| 10 | "Look Up" | Jahméne, Stanley Brown, Courtney Rumble | Stanley Brown | 4:23 |
| 11 | "When I See Ya" | Andrea Martin, Bruce Robinson | Stanley Brown, Charlie J Perry | 4:08 |
| 12 | "My Faith" | Phil Taylor, Said Hussain | Phil Taylor | 3:44 |
| 13 | "I Wish" | Diane Warren | Damian Montagu | 4:08 |
| 14 | "Forever & Eternity" | Jahméne, Charlie J Perry | Charlie J Perry, Damian Montagu | 3:43 |
| 15 | "Reach You" | Laura Leanne Critchley, Joseph Spenser Mott | Damian Montagu | 4:36 |
| 16 | "If You Just" | Jahméne, Arden Hart | Damian Montagu | 4:04 |
| 17 | "Right Away"(hidden track) | Jahméne, Arden Hart | Arden Hart | - |
Jahméne Douglas was born in Birmingham in 1991 to Mandy Thomas and Eustace Douglas. He is of mixed heritage which includes English,St. Kitts (Caribbean) and Welsh. He is the firstyouth ambassador of the UK charityWomen's Aid, for children and young people.[6] Before rising to fame when he appeared onThe XFactor, he worked in anAsda supermarket in Swindon.[citation needed]
Jahméne is a Christian and speaks openly about how his faith has pulled him through many dark places. His debut album's title,Love Never Fails, is taken from the scripture1 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.)" byKaty Perry, for anX Factor group ensemble performance, because of its graphic/unsuitable lyrical content. He opined thatElla 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]
Jahmene Douglas was nominated for Best Newcomer at theMOBO Awards in 2013 and performed "Next to Me". Douglas also received a nomination and subsequently won Best Male Newcomer at theUrban Music Awards.
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [8] | UK R&B [9] | IRE [10] | SCO [11] | |||
| Love Never Fails |
| 1 | — | 30 | 1 |
|
| Unfathomable Phantasmagoria |
| — | 21 | — | — | |
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Orb |
|
| Incomplete |
|
| The First Noël |
|
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [8] | |||
| 2013 | "Titanium" | 94 | Love Never Fails |
| "Forever Young" | — | ||
| 2015 | "Down for Love" | — | Unfathomable Phantasmagoria |
| 2016 | "Is This the Time?" | — | |
| "I Wish" | — |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
