Multi-platinum selling singer and songwriter Parson James returns today with “Dirty Laundry,” a special collaboration with GRAMMY-winning artist, JoJo.The duet marks the first offering of new music from Parson James in 2021.
Speaking about the new song, Parson reveals, “I can’t believe this song is actually out in the world. It holds such a special place in my heart and it’s taken such beautiful shape over the last year. I originally wrote this about a guy I was seeing in quarantine. He struggled so much with his sexuality and accepting himself & felt ashamed and it really was affecting him deeply. I wanted so badly to let him know that he should feel safe around me, that there was zero judgement and that I knew how he felt and wanted to be someone he could fully be himself around. His washer/dryer had broken so he was bringing laundry to my house a lot so the idea of “dirty laundry” came from that. There’s no such thing as dirty laundry when you have your person.”
On having JoJo join him on the song, Parson explains, “It felt so natural after writing it to ask Jo to be on this record. We have such a deep and meaningful friendship where it’s exactly that. We know each other in and out and have experienced extreme hardships together. I wanted to normalize platonic love and show an example of a gay man and his best female friend fully having each other’s back. It’s something that isn’t seen enough in my opinion.”
Speaking about her involvement, JoJo unveils, “When Parson played me this record I immediately knew I wanted to lend my voice to it! He’s such a special human being and artist and we’d been talking about singing together for years. So I’m glad we were able to bring this song to life together.”
“Dirty Laundry” is the first bit of new music to come from Parson James this year, and serves as the follow up to his song “High Tide Low Tide.”
With his cathedral-size vocal range, confessional lyricism, sharp sense of soul, and pop ambition, South Carolina-born, multi-platinum-certified singer and songwriter Parson James transmutes trials and tribulations into inspiration. Now, with “Dirty Laundry” out in the world and more new music on the horizon, Parson James is ready to wear his heart on his sleeve yet again, as he embarks on this next chapter.
Parson’s personal journey could be worthy of a novel or screenplay in and of itself. As an openly gay, bi-racial son of the South, who experienced a rocky childhood marked by racism, homophobia, addiction, and domestic abuse, Parson James has frequently found himself drawn to trying to make sense of his past and how it has shaped his identity. Born to an African American father and Caucasian teen mom in poverty, the music of Otis Redding, Bill Withers, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley became something of a refuge throughout his childhood.
Following a whirlwind few years starting in 2015 when Parson James catapulted to the top of the charts and gained instant global fame having penned and sang on Kygo’s major hit “Stole The Show,” he simultaneously inked a major label deal, began releasing his own critically acclaimed solo music, landing on the cover of magazine’s and touring all over the world. “Stole The Show” went on to earn RIAA multi-platinum certification in North America and multi-platinum in 15 other countries, clocking more than a billion combined global streams.
Also, a staunch and outspoken advocate, he capitalized on the opportunity to give back within the LGBTQ+ community and became a board member for the LOVELOUD Foundation, and has been a regular contributor to organizations such as GLAAD, The Trevor Project and AmFAR.
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