James Collins (songwriter)
Encyclopedia
James Collins is a Canadian
songwriter
, actor
and singer.
-based songwriter Dave Pickell over 20 Top 40 hits in Canada.
As a singer, James has had three Top 40 hits - "Do You Mind If We Talk About Bill", which peaked at number 31 on the Canadian national BDS
Hot Adult Contemporary chart and "Missing You At Christmas (That's All)", peaking at number 17 on the Canadian national BDS AC chart. Two years earlier, the original version of "Missing You At Christmas (That's All)" peaked Top 30, nationally. James' vulnerable, heart felt ballad, "Good Enough (To Love)" also peaked at number two on Quebec's provincial A'disq Le Palmares Top 25 Pop Adult chart. "Good Enough (To Love)" sat at the number two position for four weeks, behind the hit "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter
.
In 2003, he and Pickell co-wrote American Idol
contestant, Vanessa Olivarez
's, first single "The One" which reached number ten on the Nielsen SoundScan Canadian Singles Sales chart.
Soon after, James would have even more success with American Idol Season 3 Finalist, Jon Peter Lewis.
Jon and James co-wrote a Canadian Christmas hit entitled "It's Christmas." The song peaked at # 13 on the national Pop Adult chart (BDS) and was featured on the Canadian gold selling "Now Christmas 2." "It's Christmas" was also recently featured on a Christmas compilation released in Germany.
In 2006, Sony-BMG picked up James' Christmas song, Missing You At Christmas (That's All) as well as the Christmas song he wrote with Melissa Manchester
(sung by Melissa Manchester), My Christmas Song For You and placed both tracks on their Platinum Christmas 3 compilation (featuring: Carly Simon
, Bruce Springstein, Harry Connick Jr., Tony Bennett
, Cyndi Lauper
...etc).
James scored a # 1 Socan award (with Dave Pickell) for their tongue-in-cheek true story song, "Cyndi Lauper Said No." The song reached # 1 on Quebec's Top 25 Pop/Rock chart for 5 weeks in 2009. It's the first time an indie reached #1 on this chart.
As an actor, James can be seen playing principal roles in TV series, such as, Falling Skies," "Flashpoint," "Rookie Blue," Doc
, Queer as Folk and the hit Canadian TV series This Is Wonderland
.
James can also be seen playing, Ralph, the town bully
in the Canadian feature film Lakefront and soon, he appears in the supporting role of Gary, the hotel manager, in the upcoming zombie flick, Queen Of The Zombie Punks. James played the farmer father character in Nickelback
's worldwide number one rock video Too Bad.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and singer.
Life and career
As a songwriter, James has co-written, with VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
-based songwriter Dave Pickell over 20 Top 40 hits in Canada.
As a singer, James has had three Top 40 hits - "Do You Mind If We Talk About Bill", which peaked at number 31 on the Canadian national BDS
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, better known as BDS, is a service that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs based on the number of spins and detections...
Hot Adult Contemporary chart and "Missing You At Christmas (That's All)", peaking at number 17 on the Canadian national BDS AC chart. Two years earlier, the original version of "Missing You At Christmas (That's All)" peaked Top 30, nationally. James' vulnerable, heart felt ballad, "Good Enough (To Love)" also peaked at number two on Quebec's provincial A'disq Le Palmares Top 25 Pop Adult chart. "Good Enough (To Love)" sat at the number two position for four weeks, behind the hit "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter
Daniel Powter
Daniel Richard Powter is a Canadian recording artist. He is known for his hit "Bad Day", which spent five weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. Powter became the only act to register the #1 hit of the year but chart no other Hot 100 hit.- Life and career :Powter grew up in Vernon, in the...
.
In 2003, he and Pickell co-wrote American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
contestant, Vanessa Olivarez
Vanessa Olivarez
Vanessa Denae Olivarez is an American singer and songwriter who is the vocalist/songwriter/autoharpist for the alt country band Granville Automatic, who has written songs for country superstars Sugarland, and appeared on the second season of the television series American Idol...
's, first single "The One" which reached number ten on the Nielsen SoundScan Canadian Singles Sales chart.
Soon after, James would have even more success with American Idol Season 3 Finalist, Jon Peter Lewis.
Jon and James co-wrote a Canadian Christmas hit entitled "It's Christmas." The song peaked at # 13 on the national Pop Adult chart (BDS) and was featured on the Canadian gold selling "Now Christmas 2." "It's Christmas" was also recently featured on a Christmas compilation released in Germany.
In 2006, Sony-BMG picked up James' Christmas song, Missing You At Christmas (That's All) as well as the Christmas song he wrote with Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
(sung by Melissa Manchester), My Christmas Song For You and placed both tracks on their Platinum Christmas 3 compilation (featuring: Carly Simon
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
, Bruce Springstein, Harry Connick Jr., Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
...etc).
James scored a # 1 Socan award (with Dave Pickell) for their tongue-in-cheek true story song, "Cyndi Lauper Said No." The song reached # 1 on Quebec's Top 25 Pop/Rock chart for 5 weeks in 2009. It's the first time an indie reached #1 on this chart.
As an actor, James can be seen playing principal roles in TV series, such as, Falling Skies," "Flashpoint," "Rookie Blue," Doc
Doc (TV series)
Doc is a medical drama/family drama with strong Christian undertones starring Billy Ray Cyrus as Dr. Clint "Doc" Cassidy, a Montana doctor who takes a job in a New York City medical clinic. It ran from March 11, 2001 to November 28, 2004 on PAX...
, Queer as Folk and the hit Canadian TV series This Is Wonderland
This Is Wonderland
This Is Wonderland was a Canadian television series which aired on CBC Television. The series is a legal drama with comedic elements, or a comedy-drama. It was created by playwright George F...
.
James can also be seen playing, Ralph, the town bully
Town bully
The town bully is a stereotypical character, especially from the mythology of the American Wild West. The town bully generally oppresses meeker residents of the town. This character is often featured in movies, sometimes as a greaser or a gangster. In 1980s films, he may be a bad-tempered preppy...
in the Canadian feature film Lakefront and soon, he appears in the supporting role of Gary, the hotel manager, in the upcoming zombie flick, Queen Of The Zombie Punks. James played the farmer father character in Nickelback
Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
's worldwide number one rock video Too Bad.