Born in New Orleans , Louisiana , and raised by a single mother , James was influenced by an eclectic array of music , particularly jazz and R & B . Jasaid his love for music started when he watched a contestant perform a cover version of " A Song for You " on Showtime at the Apollo . He said " I got chills . And I get that feeling all over again whenever I think mes about that performance . At the time , I ' d never said I wanted to be a singer ; I just knew I wanted to entertain . And I ' d never heard of Donny . But when my mother found her copy of one of his records , I knew then that I wanted to reach people that way .
As a child , James was inspired by several recording artists and musicians such as Marvin Gaye , Willie Nelson , Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes , Alabama , among others He credits his mother for introducing him to all kinds of music James attended St . Augustine High School with schoolmate , ( and future OFWGKTA member ) singer-songwriter Frank Ocean . While in high school , he joined a musical trio named Upskale with friends Quinten Spears ( known as Q ) and Tah for a brief period , which introduced him to his longtime manager , director , and choreographer Frank Gatson . After graduating high school , the trio split and James relocated to Los Angeles , California . Q and James later formed a duo called Luke & Q , where James performed under the name Luke The Singer .[ 3 ] Shortly after forming the group , the duo was able to be the opening act for R & B artist and actor Tyrese Gibson during one of his concerts . However , after the failure to garner both James and Q much recognition , they decided to both part ways .
After disbanding , James honed his skills as a songwriter , quickly hooked up with producer Dania , and began to craft hits for those in the pop , R & B and soul genres . He also worked alongside Tank . He then began to co-write hits , such as Chris Brown ' s " Crawl " for his third album , Graffiti . In addition to writing for Brown , he also wrote ( or co-wrote ) hits for pop artists such as Justin Bieber (" That Should Be Me "), Britney Spears (" Kill the Lights ") and Keri Hilson (" Do It ").
In 2005 , he appeared in Destiny ' s Child ' s Soldier video , with the members of the Upskale music trio . In 2011 , he was personally selected by R & B singer Beyoncé to appear as a model / actor in her " Run the World ( Girls )" music video . In December 2011 , he released his debut extended play ( EP ) album # Luke as a free digital download . His first single , " I Want You ", received universal acclaim from critics for its production and for James ' vocal performance . The single later earned him a nomination for Best New Artist at the 2012 Soul Train Music Awards . Upon release of his second free digital mixtape , Whispers in the Dark , in December 2012 , James began to garner buzz for his formal self-titled debut album , which is expected to be released from Def Jam in early 2014 . On January 8 , 2013 , the album ' s first single , " Make Love to Me ", was released to iTunes one month after the music video directed by his manager Frank Gatson . At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards , James was nominated for Best R & B Performance award for his 2012 single " I Want You " ( but he lost to Usher ' s " Climax "). On February 7 , 2013 , the song " I . O . U ." was released as the second single from his anticipated debut album . In 2013 , he was personally chosen by Beyoncé to be an opening act for her Mrs . Carter Show World Tour . In August 2013 he released a video for " Oh God " featuring Hit-Boy ; the music video was directed by Sarah McColgan . On December 4 , 2013 , he released another visual for " Strawberry Vapors ", the song was another release off the Whispers in the Dark album . On December 5 , 2014 , James received his second career Grammy Award nomination for Best R & B Song for " Options ."