American Idol alum and Music Mafia Radio’s 2023 Male Artist of the Year Judd Harris delivers a retro, horn-infused, New Orleans R&B anthem aimed at winning back a lover after a few too many bone-headed decisions drove them away. Fans of artists like Fats Domino and Professor Longhair will recognize Harris’ Big Easy roots, and his distinctive soulful vocals lend a modern touch as “Since You’ve Been Gone” takes listeners on a streetcar ride back to the 1950s.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Judd about the latest music, the trend of AI in creativity, dream collabs, and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

This AI thing is getting way out of control. I have students using ChatGPT to write death metal songs about country music…and country songs about being sad. You can feed some Ais a text prompt and create a Hollywood-quality short film. How do you feel about this new wave of technological innovation?

I think AI is coming whether we like it or not. It may well be the next evolution of the music industry, but it remains problematic in its current state. If the labels can use their leverage to force the creators of these AI tools to build in some mechanism for tracing the work back to what it’s based on, then it could go the way of sampling. And I can definitely imagine a future where artists receive royalties from a partially or wholly AI created song based on their original song, voice, or instrumentation being fed into an AI tool. Anything less feels like theft to me.

I know it’s hard…but what’s your favorite song and/or favorite artist of all time? If not favorite, in your top 3?

This is always an impossible question to answer! I would say that Prince has been with me from the beginning. Purple Rain was one of the first three albums I ever bought and I’ve been a fan ever since. I don’t think you can point to any other artist who was as prolific, virtuosic, unique, groundbreaking, hitmaking, business savvy, and just plain electric on stage as his Royal Badness. We lost him way too soon!

Were you trying to accomplish anything specific or different with this project? What’s the back story?

After a friend died suddenly in his 30s, my wife and I decided to make a big change, moving from New York City to the Caribbean. My first EP, The Beach EP, was the story of that move.

Now I’m taking listeners back to my roots on my second EP, Hey Now, which I wrote as a love letter to my hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. Growing up in the Big Easy, there’s an entire canon of music that’s just part of the culture of the city, and I wrote a Mardi Gras party anthem (“NOLA”), a playful vocal jazz ditty (“Bacon Egg & Cheese”) and a 50s-style New Orleans R&B romp (“Since You’ve Been Gone”) as new entries into that canon. If these songs open the door to the music and culture of the city or inspire anyone to visit, I would be thrilled.

What drives you to create? What keeps you going, especially on the bad days?

For me, writing and performing is mostly an expression of love and joy—I’m a natural optimist. I admire artists like Bill Withers and Louis Armstrong—even with all the cynicism in the world, they were able to hold a mirror to the positive parts of humanity with their music.

For a long time, I was trying to *be* my favorite artists or live up to some ideal of “cool.” As it turns out, that’s just not a recipe for authenticity. My days of fronting a funk rock band in leather pants may be behind me, but the music I’m making now feels genuine to me. And who knows, maybe that’s what “cool” really is?

And the bad days? Well, I often tell people that if I could give up making music, I would. It’s hard! The odds are long and the tasks can be quite thankless, but I truly believe it’s the reason I was put on this planet and, not for nothing, I also happen to love it.

If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? Please plug them with a link so readers can check them out.

One of the most inspiring songwriters I know is Martin Sexton. He’s one of my heroes and it would be a dream come true to collaborate with him. Listen to his song “Glory Bound“ and if you aren’t a fan after those 4 minutes and 24 seconds, you may need to consult an audiologist. (Just kidding, sort of.)

Where is the best place to stay connected with You?

You can connect with me all over social media and the web by going to:
https://juddharris.com/links

I appreciate Your time. Want to say anything else before we sign off?

Yes! I’ve spent the last 6 months building up my presence on TikTok Live. Normally I’m on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night 9 ET / 6 PT. I do my original music, acoustic covers and tons of audience requests. All you have to do is download the app and look me up (@juddharrismusic). Here’s hoping it won’t get banned…