杏吧原创

Julia James 鈥�24 thought someone was pranking her.聽

Shortly after earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in music performance from UMass Lowell, James was working a waitress shift one night when her phone rang. She went out back to take the call, and the person on the other end told her she had been selected as a semifinalist in the CBS Mornings Mixtape Music Competition, a contest that drew hundreds of submissions from singers around the country vying for a chance to be featured on the popular morning show.聽

Several weeks earlier, James had submitted a video of herself covering the Johnny Nash classic 鈥淚 Can See Clearly Now鈥� that she had recorded on her laptop. As she stood in the restaurant holding her phone, her disbelief gave way to excitement, and the news sank in: James was one of 14 musicians picked to advance to the contest鈥檚 next round.

鈥淚 was ecstatic,鈥� she says.聽

Things then shifted into high gear. Clips of James and the other semifinalists were broadcast on the show, which draws 3 million viewers. She was interviewed and performed live on WBZ, the Boston CBS affiliate. A Nashville-based performer ultimately won the competition, but James says the experience was a thrill.

鈥淭here were so many beautiful singers in the semifinals. I was honored to be in a group with them,鈥� says the Southborough, Massachusetts, native, who began using the last name 鈥淛ames鈥� as a stage name when she was a teenager to protect her privacy.

On the heels of the CBS Mornings competition, James was set to release her first album, 鈥淥ctober Avenue,鈥� which she describes as a 鈥済enre-bending鈥� recording that takes inspiration from musicians Phoebe Bridgers, Matt Maeson, Amy Winehouse and others.聽

Now a resident of Nashua, New Hampshire, James teaches music theater, voice and piano at a private music school in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.聽

While an undergraduate, James was the lead singer of the band Miss Karma, which played gigs in Boston and around Lowell. She says the community of musicians that surrounded her when she was a student helped her to develop as a performer.

鈥淟owell鈥檚 music scene has brought so many of my friends together,鈥� she says. 鈥淪ome of my best memories are from the different shows.鈥�

She spent her first year of college at Belmont University in Nashville before transferring to UMass Lowell.聽

鈥淯ML gave me a lot of confidence and a lot of room to find my sound,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wish I chose it first.鈥�

James started writing poetry when she was in fifth grade, in part to deal with the upheaval her family was going through: Her uncle, Richard Phillips, was at the center of a high-stakes international drama when the merchant ship that he was captaining was hijacked by Somali pirates. Phillips was taken hostage and rescued five days later by Navy SEALs. (He went on to write a book about the ordeal, which was made into the film 鈥淐aptain Phillips,鈥� starring Tom Hanks.)

鈥淚n that time, I found a lot of comfort in my writing,鈥� James recalls.聽

Crafting stories and poems eventually led James to songwriting; she says she has penned hundreds. She began playing gigs 鈥� singing and playing acoustic guitar at local restaurants 鈥� at age 14. To date, the largest audience she鈥檚 performed in front of was a crowd of 30,000 at a New England Revolution soccer game at Gillette Stadium, where she sang the national anthem.

It鈥檚 not the crowds that excite her, though: It鈥檚 the idea of connecting with other people, one by one, through her songs.聽

鈥淚f I can reach one person and help them to have a better day, I鈥檝e been successful,鈥� she says.