I consider Junior Turner, above all, a balladeer par excellence. Give him a slow song and a microphone, and then watch the lyrics melt like butter on warm toast. So when Junior turns up with a hand-clapping, finger-snapping rockabilly number on “Forever I’m Yours”, I’m pretty apprehensive…but I shouldn’t have been.
The track lands on the music scene like a stick of dynamite with the fuse lit. The sound is incredibly warm with every instrument coming through distinctly. It is as if Junior and the band had set up shop in your living room.
Junior Turner usually takes a 3 minute pop song – especially if it’s a ballad – and makes it into an art form. Nothing about his music is revolutionary on the surface, but each song is dexterous and complex within its own simplistic framework. The melodies never feel calculated or mechanical despite how expertly they are crafted.
Each note that Junior sings seems like the natural progression from the previous note. “Forever I’m Yours”, once again, is a particularly good example of Junior’s fluidity as a songwriter and performer – Its sugary pop on the surface, but over repeated listens, its marked by an incredible attention to melodic detail.
The lyrics are witty and thematically hit upon the notion of fleeting coolness. Junior, sounds plush and comfortable with his new-found rock n’ roll hipness. He literally sings a love ballad in a swinging up-tempo beat with the notion that love is a vapid and fleeting thing if you don’t grab hold of it quickly.
Junior’s melodic and superbly endearing voice conveys this wanton edginess and enchantment without coming across as pretentious. The production is pitch-perfect, and the harmonies are there, but they’re not syrupy. And the band brings an energy and an old-school musicality that is characteristic of the 60’s to the track which is extremely focused. The acoustic bass work throughout is also stellar.
“Forever I’m Yours” is definitely a diverse track for Junior Turner and his fans, but it is just as endearing as anything he has done previously because of its outward simplicity and accessibility. It is a work of craft, sincerity, and an amplified vision of music. I love it.
The Junior Turner Awards Story: in April 2014 Junior picked up ‘Best Pop Song’ at the prestigious awards ceremony for ‘the indie music channel’ as well as 2 awards in Los Angeles in December 2014 at the Akademia Music Awards. In 2015 Junior Turner went on to win his 2nd award in Hollywood picking up ‘Best music video’ for his song ‘Save Me’ & late 2015 he picked up ‘Best pop song 2015’ for ‘Save me’ at the Josie Show Music awards in Nashville USA.
At the 2015 USA radio music awards voted for by USA radio presenters Junior Turner picked up both ‘Best pop artist 2015’ and ‘Best pop song 2015’ for ‘Save Me’. In 2015 Junior was contacted by the Sweeney family to ask if he would write a song in memory of Liam Sweeney who along with John Alder died onboard flight MH17 when it was shot down over the Ukraine in 2014. They were travelling to watch their beloved football team, Newcastle United, play in a pre-season tournament in New Zealand.
Junior penned and released a song called ‘United We Stand’. In September 2015 he performed the song live at an evening with former Newcastle Utd & England footballer Alan Shearer. This performance was videoed by a member of the audience and uploaded to YouTube where it was spotted and nominated for the ‘Best Live Performance’ award at the Indie Music Channel awards 2016. The song went on not only to win this award but also an honorary award at these awards which were held at the Grammy Museum, LA in the US on 24th April 2016. His music videos are now being broadcasted on national USA TV and in several other countries.
JUNIOR TURNER OFFICIAL LINKS: Artist Website – iTunes – Twitter – Facebook – Youtube
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