“It feels like I just got here yesterday,”
says Jason Walker from his Brooklyn
apartment. “I remember everything
that’s happened to me since the day I
arrived 16 years ago. It’s been a ride, I’ll
tell you.”
The ride he’s referring to has led
him not only to live out his passion as
a professional singer, but also to the
height of his current success with four
number-one hits on Billboard’s Dance
Chart and treks from Amsterdam to
Israel and back home to Pittsburgh.
Walker was born and raised in
Canonsburg. From the time he was 4
years old he can remember singing.
“I don’t know how or why, I just know
it felt good when I did it,” he recalls. “I
would imitate what I heard on the radio
and it was just natural. I loved all the
female singers like Whitney Houston,
Celine Dion, Patti LaBelle and Aretha
Franklin. I think because I sing in a
higher register and love soul music is
why I gravitated to those women.”
By the time Walker was in fourth
grade he was singing in the church choir
at St. Patrick’s.
“I sang there until high school under
the tutelage of Lucy Hosni,” he adds.
“She was the choir director and by far
one of my most important musical
influences. She gave me the foundation
I needed to know how to use my voice
and was the potting soil to help me
grow. I owe her so much.”
At age 16, Walker earned a spot
with an all-male singing group out of
Canonsburg called Suede.
“One of my best friends from high
school was in the group and we traveled
all over to sing and perform,” he says.
After graduating from Canon-Mac
High School, he attended Point Park
University to study musical theater, but
the group was so busy it was difficult to
balance it all. He had to make a choice.
The problem was Walker was also
offered his first solo record contract with
Motown not too long afterward.
“They heard me singing with Suede
and liked my sound,” he explains, “but
the contract was no good and I walked
away from it and school.”
About the same time, Suede disbanded
and Walker was left with an undecided
future. But then he went to Miami.
“Oh my,” he says. “Miami was the
hottest town. It had quite a diverse music
scene and it’s where I was introduced to
electronic music, or house music. I was
born!”
Over the next several years, Walker
began adapting his talent to fit the
electronic music he loved. He teamed up
with Pittsburgh’s DJ 7UP and they played
all the city’s hottest spots.
“That’s all I did from 1996 to 2002,” he
notes. “I tried to emulate what I learned
in Miami and we had a great time.”
Aiming to add another feather in
his cap, Walker decided to try out for a
singing competition he saw on television.
“I was watching ‘Showtime at the
Apollo’ one night and I said to myself,
‘I can do that! I can sing that kind of
music,’ he explains. “I love soul music so
much and I knew that’s what the Apollo
audience loved too. So I made an audition
tape, sent it in, and to my amazement,
they called.”
Walker went off to New York in 2000,
met Steve Harvey (the host of the show)
and prepared to entertain one of the
toughest audiences in the business.
“I was terrified,” he says. “There had
been technical and lighting problems
in the theater all day and the crowd was
getting antsy by the time we actually
started the show. They called me up and my
first thought was, ‘I can just leave. No one
will ever know.’ But Mr. Harvey put his arm
around me and said, ‘I’ve been where you
are before. Just do it.’ I thought to myself,
‘If I can just sing the first line of the song,
I’ll be OK.’ Sure enough, I made my way
through the whole song and the audience
was mine.”
He sang “Get Here” by Oleta Adams and
won the competition.
“It was the kick in the pants I needed
to get moving,” says Walker. “I came back
to Pittsburgh and spent two more years
working with DJ 7UP before finally making
the leap to move to New York City. It’s
where I needed to be to make the music I
wanted to make. After two years, I signed a
contract with famed DJ and producer Junior
Vasquez, who’s worked with Madonna
and Cyndi Lauper on some of their best
music. I made a lot of connections, which
later turned out to be helpful because
after Junior’s label went under, I was lucky
enough to get a call from Tony Moran,
another amazing DJ and producer who
called me personally and said he had music
for me.”
Did he ever. Over the last two years, their
first collaboration has produced four #1
singles, including “So Happy,” “I’m in Love
with You,” “Set Us Free,” and, “Say Yes.”
They are currently working on a full-length
album together with only two more songs to
complete.
“After all the ups and downs I’ve endured
working in this business, I feel so grateful
to have finally reached this level of success,”
notes Walker. “But I’m not done. I still have
so many things I’d like to achieve musically
and creatively. I’m just glad my music is out
there and can be enjoyed by so many people
around the world. It’s definitely an exciting
time and I couldn’t have done it without the
support of my family and friends, and my
wonderful mentor, Lucy, at St. Patrick’s.”
Walker’s next Pittsburgh performance
will be with his Prince tribute band, Darling
Nikki, at the Hard Rock Café in Station
Square, Saturday, Dec. 29.
To follow Jason Walker on social media,
visit his Facebook page at facebook.
com/thejasonwalker, or his website at
jasonwalkermusic.com. n
CANON-MAC
❘
WINTER 2018
13