James Andrew Michael is an American

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, musician, songwriter, singer, sound engineer and mixer. He is currently the lead singer of the rock band Sixx:A.M.

Early life

He took piano lessons while growing up and sang in Holland High School's show choir, Vocal Dimensions. As a teen, he played in different local rock bands including The Way We Dress and Night Shift. In the late 1980s, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his musical career.

Career

James Michael has worked as a record producer, songwriter, and/or engineer and mixer with many rock and pop recording artists including

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

, Alanis Morissette,

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

, Mötley Crüe,

HammerFall HammerFall is a Swedish power metal band from Gothenburg. The band was formed in 1993 by ex- Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak. History Early days (1993–1996) HammerFall was formed when rhythm guitarist Oscar Dronjak quit Ceremo ...

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her acti ...

The Rasmus The Rasmus is a Finnish rock band that formed in 1994 in Helsinki while the band members were in upper comprehensive school.Main source of the band's history: The original band members were Lauri Ylönen (lead singer-songwriter), Eero Heinone ...

, Papa Roach,

Trapt Trapt is an American rock band formed in Los Gatos, California. Eight studio albums have been recorded to date: ''Amalgamation'' (1999), '' Trapt'' (2002), ''Someone in Control'' (2005), ''Only Through the Pain'' (2008), '' No Apologies'' (20 ...

American Bang American Bang was an American southern rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. The group was founded by two former members of Llama and one of the Kicks, along with a fourth member, in 2005. American Bangat Allmusic They initially formed under the ...

, Saliva,

The Exies The Exies were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1997. Their name, "The Exies", is short for "The Existentialists". Their two Virgin Records releases, ''Inertia'' (2003) and ''Head for the Door'' (2004), have sold o ...

Deana Carter Deana Kay Carter (born January 4, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter who broke through in 1996 with the release of her debut album '' Did I Shave My Legs for This?'', which was certified 5× Multi-Platinum in the United States ...

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

Lillix Lillix () was a pop rock band from Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada, formed in 1997 when the early members were in high school. The band was originally an all-girl group under the name Tigerlily composed of guitarist Tasha-Ray Evin, keyboard ...

Sarah Kelly Sarah Jean Kelly Work ID No. 493703552 (born September 13, 1976) is an American contemporary Christian musician from Rockford, Illinois. She was signed to Gotee Records, a Christian label under EMI. Kelly is a two time Grammy Award nominee fo ...

Halestorm Halestorm is an American rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, her drummer brother Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. The group's self-titled debut album was ...

Jack's Mannequin Jack's Mannequin was an American rock band formed in 2004, hailing from Orange County, California. The band originally began as a solo project for Andrew McMahon, the frontman of Something Corporate. The band was signed to Maverick Records and ...

Brides of Destruction Brides of Destruction was an American hard rock supergroup from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. The band's last lineup consisted of singer London LeGrand (vocals), Tracii Guns (lead guitar) and Scot Coogan (drums, percussion). Prev ...

Marion Raven Marion Elise Ravn (born 25 May 1984), better known abroad as Marion Raven, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. Raven formed the pop duo M2M with Marit Larsen, though they ceased performing together in 2002. Raven was later signed as a solo ar ...

and Victoria Justice. He put out his first solo album in 2000 titled ''Inhale''. Michael wrote, produced and mixed the entire album and often played all of the instruments. Michael is co-founder (along with

Nikki Sixx Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, bassist, and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a me ...

and

DJ Ashba Daren Jay Ashba (born November 10, 1972) is an American musician, guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He is currently the lead guitarist in Sixx:A.M. He is also known for his work with hard rock bands BulletBoys, Beautif ...

) and lead singer of the rock band Sixx:A.M. The band's debut album, ''

The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack ''The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack'', often referred to as simply ''The Heroin Diaries'', is the debut studio album by Sixx:A.M., a side project of Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. The band also features lead vocalist James Michael and guitarist ...

'', produced by Michael, was on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart for 26 consecutive weeks and featured the No. 1 rock track of 2008 and gold-selling single "

Life Is Beautiful ''Life Is Beautiful'' ( it, La vita è bella, ) is a 1997 Italian comedy drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who emplo ...

". He also co-wrote and handled production for the band's second album, '' This Is Gonna Hurt'', which debuted at No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its second track, " Lies of the Beautiful People", went No. 1 on Active Rock radio. Michael produced, mixed and co-wrote (alongside Sixx:A.M. bandmate DJ Ashba) Mötley Crüe's last studio album ''

Saints of Los Angeles ''Saints of Los Angeles'' is the ninth and final studio album by the American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on June 24, 2008. It was the first full-length studio album with the band's original lineup since 1997's ''Generation Swine'' ...

'' that debuted at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200. He also co-wrote the song "

Higher Than Heaven ''Higher Than Heaven'' is the upcoming fifth studio album by English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding, set to be released on 24 March 2023 by Polydor Records. It was preceded by the singles "Easy Lover "Easy Lover" is a song performed by P ...

" for

James Durbin __NOTOC__ James Durbin FBA (30 June 1923 – 23 June 2012) was a British statistician and econometrician, known particularly for his work on time series analysis and serial correlation. Education The son of a greengrocer, Durbin was born in W ...

's ''

Memories of a Beautiful Disaster ''Memories of a Beautiful Disaster'' is the debut studio album of American rock musician James Durbin, released on November 21, 2011 through Wind-up Records. Recording The name of the album was announced in late September 2011 by Durbin via a Tw ...

'' album released on November 21, 2011. He produced Papa Roach’s new album, '' The Connection'' (as well as co-wrote the track "Where Did the Angels Go"), which debuted at No. 17 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Other projects from around this time include writing the track " People Like Us" for the

'' Greatest Hits – Chapter One'' mixing

Hinder Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formed in 2001 by lead singer Austin John Winkler, guitarist Joe "Blower" Garvey, and drummer Cody Hanson with bassist Mike Roden and guitarist Mark King joining in 2003, solidify ...

’s new album ''

Welcome to the Freak Show ''Welcome to the Freak Show'' is a live audio and video recording by DC Talk. Chronicling the Jesus Freak Tour in the spring of 1996, they were released separately two months apart in 1997 on CD and VHS, respectively. A DVD version was later r ...

'' and writing with and contributing vocals for

, plus writing and producing "Take a Hint" for Victoria Justice featured in the show ''Victorious''. Sixx A M Rock Im Park 2016 (7 von 15)

He released a solo song "Learn to Hate You," which premiered on November 26, 2012. Michael met up with Sixx and Ashba early in 2013 to start writing songs for a new Sixx:A.M. album, which turned out to be ''

Modern Vintage ''Modern Vintage'' is the third studio album by American rock band Sixx:A.M. Modern Vintage peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200 on October 25, 2014. It topped the Billboard Hard Rock Charts, and reached number 5 on the Billboard Rock chart ...

'', released in 2014. It debuted at #1 on the rock charts. The band followed up in 2016 with two albums ''

Prayers for the Damned ''Prayers for the Damned'' (referred to as ''Prayers for the Damned, Vol. 1'' on its album cover) is the fourth studio album by American rock band Sixx:A.M. It is the first half of the ''Prayers for the Damned/Blessed'' double album. It was fol ...

'' and '' Prayers for the Blessed'', before going on a successful USA and European tour. The following year, they decided to take a hiatus. In 2019, Sixx:A.M. released their first song in three years, "Talk to Me," in support of the #TalktoMe campaign against opioid addiction. The following year, James performed on a remake of a Sixx:A.M. song, “ Maybe It’s Time,” featuring Ivan Moody (

Five Finger Death Punch Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...

), Tommy Vext (

Bad Wolves Bad Wolves is an American heavy metal band formed in 2017. Initially finding fame from their first single, a cover of the Cranberries' 1994 hit "Zombie", the band proceeded to find further success with a number of songs topping the ''Billboard' ...

), Arron Bruno ( Awolnation), Joe Elliot (

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

) and Slash ( Guns N' Roses), all proceeds again were donated to the battle against opioid addiction, a cause important to James throughout his career. In 2021, Sixx:A.M. released their Hits album, a compilation of fan favorites and a few new tracks most notably "The First 21." James Michael's 2022 releases include The Retaliators movie theme, “21 Bullets,” written by James and Nikki Sixx. He recently released a solo recording, "California Smile." He is currently working in his recording studios in both the US and UK/Ireland developing new rock and pop artists, focusing heavily on his strengths as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, lead vocalist, producer, and mixer.

Partial Discography

References

External links

*
James Michael
JamesMichaelMedia.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Michael, James 1967 births Living people American male singers Record producers from Michigan Singers from Michigan People from Holland, Michigan Songwriters from Michigan Sixx:A.M. members American male songwriters