BRANDEN & JAMES Team Up With Shoshana Bean for Their Debut Album

BRANDEN & JAMES are bringing a soulful new sound to fans with the long-awaited release of their debut album, Chasing Dreams. A follow up to their critically-acclaimed 2018 EP, Hallelujah, the forthcoming album is set to drop worldwide on July 31st, 2020 and includes a duet with Broadway superstar and Billboard #1 recording artist, Shoshana Bean.

Chasing Dreams features 12 tracks; richly accompanied by the Budapest Art Orchestra. The Shoshana Bean (Hairspray, Wicked) collaboration, "Perfect Symphony," is a reimagined Ed SHeeran cover, highlighting Bean's signature soul and Branden's powerful tenor voice, while the cello weaves effortlessly in between the two. While some tracks such as Roxette's hit song, "It Must Have Been Love" are lushly orchestrated, others such as Keane's emotional ballad, "Somewhere Only We Know," and "You Belong" - an original written by Branden - are stripped down at times with only an array of haunting cello lines, and one stirring solo voice.

Since the release of Hallelujah, BRANDEN & JAMES' adult-contemporary style remains present yet matured, with fresh, classical takes on more modern covers such as "A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman and Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars." Some rousing new songs appear on the album such as the timely "Till We See" written by multi-Grammy winner Keith Thomas, who has penned hits for the likes of Vanessa Williams, Amy Grant, and Luther Vandross. Also included in their classic sound is "Vinceremo (You and I)," an epic English-Italian anthem written by Allan Rich who wrote "Run To You" for Whitney Houston.

To accompany the Chasing Dreams album announcement, BRANDEN & JAMES just released the first single and video from the album, a timely cover of Robyn's number one hit "Dancing On My Own."

"This is the first time since Gay Pride celebrations began in 1970 in New York City that people will be celebrating virtually due to the pandemic," says Branden James, the duo's lead singer and finalist from Season 8 of America's Got Talent. "Many LGBTQ+ people around the world already feel marginalized, so we hope to remind them with this uplifting song, that it's ok to be alone sometimes."

The pair recorded the album with multi-platinum, classical-crossover producer, Patrick Hamilton (Katherine Jenkins, David Garrett, Alfie Boe). In support of the album launch, Due to COVID-19, all 2020 tour dates have been cancelled. However, BRANDEN & JAMES have organized multiple US tours of performing arts centers taking place in Spring & Fall 2021/2022.

Australian cellist James Clark, the duo's co-creator and arranger says: "People tell us we're like Josh Groban meets The Piano Guys. The cello is a very trendy instrument these days; appearing on many mainstream artists' new works. On this album, we gave the cello an equal voice to emphasize how perfectly it blends with the human voice. Every track on this album highlights the range and versatility of what is arguably the most soulful instrument in the world."