Debut Single Released Next Week

Well, welcome to the industry MRJ – what does MRJ stand for or are you Mr J? I'm actually both! It's MRJ which stands for my stage name when I did Theatre and people used to just say MRJ and I kinda went with it.

But I'm also a Mr. Jones so MRJ works also! 

With a voice like your’s you’re no new comer to singing and songwriting, tell us your story? I've always been obsessed with pop music and I sang when was young, then my voice broke and didn't fit years.

I trained in theatre, which came with it but it was always my least confident thing.

When I was out of work I got so bored creatively that I formed a duo with my friend where we did pop covers online and I basically felt I found new parts to my voice. Also, along came life…. including heartbreak etc so I just started writing & realised this was something deep down I've always wanted to do and loved also.

It was now or never, so I’ve spent the last few years developing my music. 

Your press release says you won Perez Hilton competitions TWICE (impressive!), tell us about that?  Did you meet Perez? My friend Natalie in the duo with me found out about it. You had 2 weeks to cover a song of his choice & submit it to him.

We'd put in every hour free when not working and usually spend all Sunday filming it till perfect as we always did it live.

We got mentioned a few times on his blog then won twice covering 'Taylor Swift - 22' & 'Rihanna - Stay'.

He featured us on his blog for the day so we got thousands of hits. It was a great reach which is usually so hard to get.

You’ve bounded onto the scene with a ballad as your debut track, which is a brave move, would you describe yourself as a down-tempo artist? Not at all. Most tracks I've recorded are up or mid tempo, but there was something about this song that stayed with me as well as the subject matter being the most personal & real to me.

So ‘Bliss’ is the debut track, what’s it about?  The title suggests happiness but you sing with a beautiful sadness in your voice  - explain the story. I got heartbroken a few years ago and felt it very hard to let go, leaving me with anger & sadness. Writing 'Bliss' I finally had to just say ‘yes I got hurt but if you hadn't I prob wouldn't be here now, prob writing my best material’. I was the happiest I'd been when the relationship was good, which is where the 'Bliss' comes in, but now I get 'Bliss' from the music.

I've faced a lot of rejection being an artist, but in love it's so much more personal, so had a lot of different feelings 

The video to ‘Bliss’ is incredible, firstly the storyline of the video – take us through that because it’s compelling to watch. Well I actually wanted to work with the director 'Jay Parpworth' and sent him the song to see what he saw.

He straight away had this abandoned house location in mind but the story board didn't fully reflect the story but we worked together and made it more interesting by revealing that the song is about a man and not a woman. I could explain it all scene for scene, but we'd be here all day but every room reflects a stage of my life and my journey into music. 

And it’s shot as a one-take, no edits?  How long did that take to film? It feels as if the one-shot style adds tension and suspense to the video, which is great, is that intended? Oh, yes. It was his idea but I've wanted to do it for ages. It means you have to film it in double time so I had to know the song inside out and acting in double time is a hard thing, but I think I did ok!

It was November and freezing as there was no heating, but I had some great friends in the video who kept spirits up and a bit of alcohol may of been involved to keep up warmth! It was like the 'Blair Witch Project' finding the house.

We actually nailed it by the fourth take, which was amazing, but I realized how important it is to surround yourself with good people in these situations.

Jay is so relaxed and easy to work with. I've actually done my next video with him also. 

Your bio says you’ve done West End Theatre, what have you been in? Grease, High School Musical & Spamalot. I did a lot of other things also but they were my big achievements. It took time but was the best feeling when I got them. 

Which do you prefer, recording or live stage? That's hard. I love live theatre & music. I've really fallen in love with 'open mic' scene in London but as for now & as it's newer to me being in the studio and recording gives me such a high. 

What’s next for you?  It feels as if there’s a big high energy track waiting to come from you (am I right)?  An album maybe? Oh, yeah... the next song is def high energy, but it's really cool production. Michael Stockwell did the track again and its def gonna show another side of me and I’ve brought dance into it, which is where I first started. I've got enough material for an album, but maybe thinking about an EP. What I've recorded in the last few years is so varied.  I recorded an amazing ballad in LA two years ago and just waiting for the right time to bring it out. 

Any last messages? Music is my religion and I hope my music can bring people as much joy as I've got from other people’s music over the years.