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Music video shoots can be tedious —- so much so that stars often anticipate scenes that are considered out of the ordinary. Such was the case with “Broken Strings,” James Morrison’s hit U.K. duet with Nelly Furtado. At one point, objects shatter and flames erupt behind the bed he’s sitting on.
“I was waiting for that explosion all day; I was so excited about it,” British singer Morrison said from a tour stop in Salt Lake City. “They got this fire (expert), and he told everyone (adopts exaggerated American accent), ‘Be careful, guys. If you don’t need to be in here, get out. It’s going to be pretty dangerous. There may be shards.’ He was building up to this big thing. When they finally said ‘action’ and went to blow it up, it was like the tiniest thing ever. … I laughed and said, ‘Is that it?’ I expected a big flame ball. It was over before it even began.”
Just the opposite was true for Morrison, who arrived on the international scene with a bang. The earthy pop, folk and orchestral soul strains of his 2006 disc “Undiscovered” made an immediate connection. It entered the U.K. charts at No. 1, spawned a pair of Top 10 singles, sold a million copies and was the biggest-selling album by a male artist in that territory.
Released in the United States the next year, “Undiscovered” made a respectable Top 30 debut as Morrison played amphitheaters with John Mayer. He was among two dozen performers at The Concert for Diana, held at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2007 and telecast worldwide.
“I expected to work for at least a couple of more albums before I had that much success,” admitted Morrison, 24. “It came really quickly. That was pretty scary … and a bit daunting. But I just rolled with it. As long as I keep my eye on the quality of the music, I’ll take it as it comes.”
Earlier this month, the raspy vocalist from Rugby, England, began a U.S. tour opening stint for Adele. On Feb. 18, Morrison is up for Best Male Solo Artist at the Brit Awards —- a category he also won in 2007.
The Belly Up show on Saturday is a headlining gig, where he will perform semiacoustic with a second guitarist and keyboardist.
“Hopefully, we’ll get some backup vocalists for that one,” he said.
Superior second effort “Songs for You, Truths for Me” (Interscope/Polydor) made another strong impact back home last fall. Stateside, the sultry song “Nothing Ever Hurts Like You” is Top 10 at adult album alternative radio with frequent spins at San Diego station KPRI/102.1 FM. Additionally, the song “You Make It Real” can be heard in a romantic comedy, “He’s Just Not That Into You,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Scarlett Johansson that comes out Feb. 6.
Morrison wanted everything to sound bigger on the latest CD and reflect more of his influences (Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison, Sam Cooke). As a result, the more complex instrumentation provides a distinct midperiod Motown and R&B vibe (“Nothing,” “If You Don’t Wanna Love Me,” “Save Yourself,” “Precious Love”).
The latter tune features the sweet pipes of in-demand session pros Julia and Maxine Waters.
“When they came in, I was blown away,” Morrison said.
For added variety, he collaborated with a different set of co-writers/producers, including Dan Wilson (Semisonic, Dixie Chicks) and Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic).
“Dan just steered me in the right direction when I needed it.”
Although he doesn’t feel like a soul singer, Morrison acknowledged having a soulful delivery.
“I just try to concentrate on the lyric and what I’m singing about and let that be the soulful part of it, rather than the style of what’s playing … you sing about things that are important to you, that mean something and open yourself up in the song. That’s soul music to me.”
Written by George A. Paul
