"Sweet Is the Work" receives special recognition!

I'm very excited that on the first year of entering, my very own version of "Sweet Is the Work" was awarded 'Special Recognition' in the Annual Church Music Submission 2010. Yay!

Some of you will remember that this song made it's debut on my last album "How Can I Keep From Singing?" and I'm really thrilled that it received a special recognition, as the submission receives entries from all over the world! Cool huh?!

You can click (here) to see the list of all the 2010 entries.

You can hear a recording of "Sweet Is the Work" on the "Listen" page of my website (top player) and on the "Shop" page underneath the picture of the "How Can I Keep From Singing?" album, or you can download the sheet music free of charge on my "Sheet Music" page (all at www.jamesloynes.com)

Guess it's time to get back to writing then :)

Thanks so much for your continued support everyone!

Woohoo!...

Just a quick blog post to say thank you so much to all those who voted for me and showed their support during The Stage/Pure Solo - "Mad About Musicals" competition... which I...

**drum roll**... WON! Yay!

I'm really thrilled. The prize is to feature as a vocalist on Silva Screen's "100 Greatest Musicals" album along side stars of the theatre, such as Dave Willetts and Lesley Garrett!

Entrants had to record a vocal for one of three song choices and post it to their "puresolo.com" profile so that members of the public could vote and give however many "hearts" they thought the recording deserved. I chose to sing the "Raoul" part for Andrew Lloyd Webber's "All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera.

The first stage of the competition was determined by public votes alone and then the top ten were judged by a panel including Helena Blackman (BBC's "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?"), Rick Clark (Manager of new Media and Music Production at Silva Screen Records) and The Stage Newspaper's assistant editor Scott Matthewman.

Runner up in second place was Melissa Cavanagh, singing "Over The Rainbow" - Wonderful company as she has a fantastic voice. You can hear her singing a brilliant version of "On My Own" from Les Miserables on her YouTube channel (click here).

It's very cool to have been chosen as winner from a long list, to record with such well known and respected performers and I can't wait to find out what song they have in store for me!

Thank you again for your votes everyone, I'm so very grateful!

Wish me luck :)

PS - I have recently recorded some songs from musicals, which can be found on my YouTube channel or for MP3 Download at my website (www.jamesloynes.com/music)

Happy Father's Day!

Looks like my latest blog posts are on a theme!

Well, it's Father's Day this weekend and I wanted to make a brief post to tribute my own Father. I honestly couldn't ask for a more supportive and generous Dad, who would do or give anything to see that his children have all they stand in need of to be happy and successful.

But not only has he always been so generous, he has always made his love for the Saviour so clear and as my brothers, sister and I grew up, we always knew how important Jesus Christ is to my Dad.

Recently I had the great honour to be the first to perform composer Sally DeFord's new song (a tribute to Father's) "I Knew My Father Knew" - A song which explains that of all the great treasures we can pass on to our children, the most wonderful is that of faith and a testimony of our Saviour Jesus Christ, a thing that will become more precious (and useful) as time goes on.

Thank you Dad and all other Dad's who understand that to grow closer to our children we need to grow closer to the Lord.

Happy Father's Day! I hope your day is as special as you are to your loved ones.

Many thanks to YouTube user 'ElsieBird68' for providing this video for "I Knew My Father Knew"

Happy Mother's Day! (Majorly late!)...

Here's an extremely late Mother's Day treat...

A while back, I stumbled upon a song, which I think has real charm. The song was originally intended to be used in Disney's movie, 'Aladdin," but was ultimately cut due to changes in the storyline.

In the song, Aladdin sings to his Mother of how one day he will make her proud.

I love this song, because I think it sums up how most of us feel towards our parents and how really, when it comes down to it, we all want to make them proud of us (whether we'd like to admit it or not!)

Bless my Mum, when she heard this recording, she called up to say that she hoped I knew she was proud of me. I know it without a doubt and I'm so grateful for it. We must all remember to tell each other how much we love each other and how proud we are of each other... never assume that someone knows how much you appreciate them... sometimes we just need to hear it.

Thanks Mum (and Dad) for being proud of me.

Here's to all you other special Mum's (or Mom's) depending on which side of the pond you reside! Hope you are treated to the luxuries a Mum deserves :)

Here's to the hero...

It's been a sad few weeks. My wife's Dad (Jim) passed away. What a wonderful character. Full of fun and seldom a judgmental thing to say about anyone... even those in his life who had clearly wronged him.  It was a real shock to us all, because although Jim definitely had some early signs of dementia (something which only served to enhance his playfulness), there were no signs of health problems. It was sudden though, and I guess if there was such a thing as a good way to go, this would be it. Clean shaven and showered just before, and napping in the chair. Always a gentleman, even until the end.

We'll certainly miss Jim Hindley, a definite community hero, who poured much of his time into charity work and the rest of it into making people feel good about themselves.

Each person that passes leaves a gap... but when a real character like Jim passes away, it feels like life will be a little bit more boring for a bit... time I guess, to start getting busy!

We love you Jim.

See you soon.

James never waits!...

I really can't wait to go see Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical "Love Never Dies" (a sequel to his international sensation "The Phantom of the Opera")

I usually prefer to be surprised when it come to birthdays, but I just had to ask my wife Francesca to get me tickets so we could make sure there were any to get!

I'm sure it'll be a great show from what I've seen and one particular song (the Phantom's main ballad for this show) really got me. "Til I Hear You Sing" is a song which tells us of the Phantom's longing to see Christine again and to hear her sing (of course!)

It's a beautiful song and I just couldn't resist recording it. Play the video below or visit my YouTube Channel. Hope you enjoy!

How can I keep from Smiling!

Last month had a little surprise for me!... On 28th February, mine and Sally DeFord's arrangement of "How Can I Keep From Singing?" (the title track of my latest CD), was performed by a 300-voice choir at the tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah!

It really is a beautiful hymn, which I hadn't heard until Sally introduced me to it. I was so pleased that our arrangement was chosen for the event, I only wish aeroplane tickets weren't so bloomin' expensive, otherwise I'd have loved to have seen them perform it... Here's hoping they recorded it and send us a copy! 

Keep checking back at www.jamesloynes.com  &  www.defordmusic.com for more new songs and arrangements.