James Durbin: Era 2.0

[lauraliz]

Congrats to the Durbins on baby number 2 and album number 2. There is a lot to celebrate!

[Outcast]

OK so I got my copy of the album and I'm listening to it. I'll do a review later after a few listens but in the meantime here are the writing credits for each song:

1. Children Under the Sun - James Durbin & Ted Bruner
2. Parachute - James Durbin, Scott Stevens, Andy Stochansky, Conrad Sewell & Matt Copley
3. You Can't Believe - James Durbin, Scott Stevens & Isaac Carpenter
4. Issues - James Durbin & Scott Stevens
5. Fool for You - James Durbin, Scott Stevens, Michael David Hall, Jesse Feister & Robert Campbell
6. Louder Than a Loaded Gun - James Durbin, Griffin Boice & Stephen Aiello
7. Live Right Now - Rune Westberg, Jacob Hoggard & BC Jean
8. You're Not Alone - James Durbin & Dave Bassett
9. Forget It - James Durbin & Scott Stevens
10. Celebrate - James Durbin & Ted Bruner
11. Real Love - James Durbin & Ted Bruner
12. Get Over Yourself (Bonus Track) - James Durbin & Scott Stevens
13. My Only Regret (Bonus Track) - Rune Westberg & Ross Golan

[Outcast]

James Durbin @DurbinRock · 18h
Free at last! Free at last!

My guess is his contract with 19 Management has expired. Haley's should be done too.

[riley]

James Durbin @DurbinRock · 18h
Free at last! Free at last!

My guess is his contract with 19 Management has expired. Haley's should be done too.

Interesting. For grins I went to their website they are both still listed along with Casey and Haley is still on the front page http://coremediagroup.com/19.html. I did read somewhere that it was a three year deal so it should be soon if it already hasn't. I am sure they have all been "shopping" for a while knowing their contracts were ending.

[Miguel]

Interview with James where he expresses some fondness for a couple of his fellow Idols.

What is your best single memory of your journey on American Idol?

Playing on that stage every week with amazing musicians. That & Casey Abrams.

What is James Durbin’s favourite Idol winner? Why? And would you love do a duet with him/her?

Probably Scotty McCreery. I mean watching him grow not only as a singer but his confidence on & off stage & his character was great. He was never off. He's a good ol' boy & didn't let any of it change him. I got to sing with him the night I got eliminated. It was really special because we were the last 2 guys left & we had really bonded by the end of it.

http://www.directlyrics.com/directlyrics...-news.html

[Miguel]

durbinrock
1 month ago
Happy Mothers Day to my love, Heidi Air @theseacliffokies. The strongest woman I know & the greatest mommy to our Hunter. Your boys love & appreciate you more than you'll ever know.

theseacliffokies
1 week ago
Happy Father's Day @durbinrock Watching you give so much love to our Hunter, is really the best thing in the world.

durbinrock
10 hours ago
#haircut

[Miguel]

James Durbin @DurbinRock · Jul 2

Furniture shopping with my beautiful pregnant wife @MrsHeidiDurbin ?

James Durbin @DurbinRock · 21h

ITS A GIRL!!!

[Outcast]

I'm feeling like recording an acoustic record!! Who wants one? And what songs of mine would you most like to hear on it? Any specific covers? Remember, it's acoustic! I wanna hear what YOU want!
Always,
JD

https://www.facebook.com/DurbinRock/post...91?fref=nf

I want to ROCK soooooo badly!!! I can honestly tell you that during the early stages of songwriting & what eventually became "Celebrate", the songs had grit & high, intense energy. I had more than enough songs for a great Alternative Rock record in my opinion. Unfortunately, my A&R (at the time) didn't feel the same way. He hated all the songs & wanted to start over completely! He got me in with songwriters who wrote on a broader scale than just Rock. Guys who, in addition to writing hits for My Darkest Days & Black Veil Brides, also had hits with Selena Gomez & Katy Perry. That made for a change of pace. The writing sessions were never one sided. There was never a limit to what we could create or anyone expecting us to write one certain style or genre. That's where "Celebrate" came from.
So now, I'm preparing to start writing again for my next project. I can't tell you what it's going to be exactly because I won't know until I start. But I can tell you to expect the unexpected. And I thank you. Each and every one of you for sticking with me through thick & thin, fast times & slow times, good times & even better times. Whatever I give you, however you perceive it, know that I'm always giving you a piece of me
Always,
JD

https://www.facebook.com/DurbinRock/post...82?fref=nf

[Miguel]

Sounds like he might be parting ways with his label and wants to give his fans an easy-to-produce single (acoustic) while he works on new material.

[Outcast]

I'm thinking the same. The acoustic single (or ep) is likely for bringing in some dough to finance production for a new album (or ep).

James parting ways with Wind-up soon would not surprise me at all. Era 2.0 was a flop but there's other factors too: The new management firm James signed with deals almost exclusively with hard rock and metal acts, as does his primary bookings agency. This all indicates that James really sees himself as a rocker and desires to return to his rock n roll roots. So Wind-up's desire to mold him into a pop artist is just not a suitable fit in the long run.

While Wind-up's poor judgment is at fault for James 2nd era being a flop, I believe they thought they were doing the best thing they could for him, I don't think they wanted to screw him over. They made a bad call and it didn't work out, they realized their mistake as the A&R who was in charge of Celebrate (Tom Lee) is now no longer part of their A&R team. But unfortunately it's always the artist who suffers most.

Amazingly James has come out of this with his rock cred (that he built during his 1st era) intact. The rock press still reports on him regularly, he still hob nobs with rock royalty, nobody snubs him, not even the super snobby elite like Dave Grohl.

I think James should actually consider fronting an established band at this stage. He might not have as much creative input (at least not in the beginning) but it's a much more financially stable option right now, especially with baby #2 who's about to arrive. James is honestly one of the best voices in modern rock, and he can rock a stage like nobody's business, any band would be privileged to have him as their frontman. And he can always do side projects. Eventually I'd like to see him form his own band where he is the star. He's just not meant to be a solo artist IMO.