James “Leroy” Booker is an independent artist out of Kenosha, Wisconsin with influences from Frank Ocean, Babyface, and Drake. Booker grew up with both parents being in music. His father was a semi-professional singer and dancer back in the 70s and his mother played the violin. He said he fell in love with music cause that’s what kept his family together. He began writing at an early age and learned how to record by the time he got to high school. After graduation, he decided to shoot his shot and pursue his passion for music professionally.
Leroy Booker: The American Idol Experience
Booker auditioned for American Idol and was talented enough to make it on the show. Though he didn’t progress as far as he would have liked to, he learned so much from the experience. Unfortunately, getting rejected on the show wasn’t the only hardship he faced. Booker ended up losing it all; his home, all of his money, both of his jobs, and even his relationship. When asked in an interview how he overcame this struggle, he replied. “After getting rejected on American idol and the countless other no’s, I think what got me here today was the willingness to take no’s on the chin to eventually catch that yes with a right hook. I just love it and what music can do on a big scale is insane.”
The Road to Success
Leroy Booker decided to take his life back and overcome all adversity. He began writing/recording more music, working with his mixing and mastering engineer that he still works with to this date, Luke Reelfs. Along with his engineer, Booker also has worked with producers Ross Grieb and Louphoria and eventually landed the opportunity to meet and work with NeYo. NeYo inspired Booker to really push the music further. He then began building a huge following on social media, posting all of his work. With his journey to success, he hopes to one day work along side of Justin Bieber and create something amazing. You see, even after rejection, Leroy Booker took every loss as an opportunity to learn and grow.
He says, “I think constantly getting up from all those no’s is the hardest challenge cause you have to not take it so personal, it’s just based on preference . But when you give the power to others to tell you what is the best depiction of you, that’s when the challenge of stepping back and showing who you are is the most important.”
“Black Card” Coming August 24th
Booker is releasing his single “Black Card” on August 24th and this one is going to be something worth tuning into! When asked what the song was about, Leroy says, “It’s about meeting that fling that makes you feel like a baller.” He goes on to say. “They make you consider getting serious before even truly getting to know them. It’s about wrestling with accepting commitment and having fun finding that balance. It’s about the initial attraction to someone.” Leroy booker wants people to listen to his music and know that they’re not alone with what they’re going through. Through following him, he wants his listeners to see that dreams are possible if they have the effort to chase it. He said, “It’s all about consistency and maintaining the thing that makes you human and that makes you relatable.”
Be sure to follow Leroy Booker’s Instagram and stream his music on Spotify here.
