ST. LOUIS — St. Louis is well known for its local music scene. Some bands play their own original music, and some prefer to pay tribute to popular groups.
One local band takes its tribute to a new level.
“I try to be as authentic as possible,” JAM lead singer and frontman Devory Newsome said.
Newsome began singing in church as a little kid. Now, he sings like Michael Jackson.
“I grew up on Michael Jackson’s music,” he said.
He’s also influenced by pop singer Bruno Mars. The two artists inspired Newsome to start up his band JAM, which stands for Jackson and Mars.
“The way that they perform live and the records that they make are so similar. And they’re both obviously superstars. It made sense for me to combine the two,” he explained.
He works to portray them in the best possible way.
“(We're) representing the material authentically in a way that would have made the original artist proud,” he explained to 5 On Your Side.
But it isn’t just the sound he wants to replicate. Newsome also does all the dance moves, including Jackson’s famous moonwalk.
“I’m trying to mimic the costumes, the look, the choreography, the vocals,” he said.
The efforts to combine all the elements on stage during a show can be exhausting.
“You just have to go, go, go," he said. "It’s easy to overextend yourself. I would go on record and say it is the most physically intensive show in, I’ll say the Midwest.”
He learned the hard way to pace himself onstage.
“After the first show we ever had. I remember the date. It was January 24th of 2020. The following night I ended up in the hospital because I had exhausted myself so much,” he said.
Newsome considers what he does as a way of acting because he isn’t as outgoing when he is not on stage.
“I’m relatively reclusive introvert,” he said.
What helps him get out in front of the audience is his love for performance and what he sees as a need in the St Louis music scene.
“Those two (Jackson and Mars) in particular, there’s a high demand for that type of music,” he said.
He’s seen how the music of Jackson and Mars can move people emotionally.
“We do ‘Man in the Mirror’ at the end of the night," he said. "And usually people are like drunk by then, but I’ve seen people cry when we’re doing that song. It's nice. You know they’re not crying because it sounds terrible."
Newsome said he enjoys connecting with the audience and giving them a good show.
“I want to give them the live music experience as it was intended to be,” he said.
If you would like to see a performance in person, click here to visit the band’s website.
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