Remember your high school crush? Remember being wildly infatuated, head over heels in love, but not knowing the first thing to say? Unless you were a very uncommon teenager, you’ve had that experience. Chances are, no matter how far removed you are from high school, those emotions are still pretty fresh in your mind. And if by some chance they aren’t, well, James Cole is here to bring you right back to those heady and hormonally charged days. “Type of Guy,” his latest single, is the lament of a teenager whose affections aren’t getting reciprocated – and the accompanying video clip makes his predicament manifest.
Not that Cole has much to worry about. It’s rare that a teenager comes off as smooth as he does. We’re not just talking about his appearance, although we’re sure you’ll agree that he looks perpetually fresh. No, we mean his microphone skills, which he’s managed to hone and refine in a very short period. James Cole has the presence of a singer twice his age (he’s just started college at Belmont University), and when he switches mid-song and drops a rap verse, he demonstrates his versatility and his fire. Cole, a graduate of Howard W. Blake School of the Arts in Tampa, has gotten a considerable jump-start on the competition: he’s been gigging and performing in public for years. He’s making a beeline for prime time – and he’s ready for the spotlight.
“Type of Guy” is only the latest in a line of impressive singles. “Just Because,” his sultry, dance-floor-ready debut, has been a streaming hit, racking up more than a hundred thousand streams on Spotify since its release last fall. Cole matched “Just Because” with a playful lyric video, and its online success compelled him to step up the production values for his next clip – and boy, did he ever. Shot, in part, on a beautiful beach, “Cali Queen” was as colorful and kinetic as any clip we’ve seen from a young singer this year. This independent artist showed, beyond a doubt, that he’s got what it takes to compete with the biggest pop stars.
The “Type of Guy” clip is even more impressive. In it, James Cole behaves like the main attraction he was born to be. He poses in an array of sharp costumes, flirts outrageously with the object of his desire, and, in the end, gets the girl (but, perhaps, not the girl he intended to get!) Whatever outfit he slips into – cowboy, football player, backpack-toting bookworm, club killer, or regular kid – he looks absolutely natural. It’s an appropriate visual metaphor for a young artist with infinite options ahead of him.