Washington, DC’s J. Holiday follows up his first Grammy Awards nomination - Best Contemporary R&B Album for his RIAA gold debut ‘Back Of My ‘Lac’ (on the Music Line Group/Capitol Records label), featuring the back-to-back hits “Bed” and “Suffocate” - with the announcement that he has completed his second album, aptly titled ‘Round 2′, scheduled to arrive in the physical and digital marketplace on February 24, 2009.

J. Holiday on amazon.com

J. Holiday on amazon.co.uk

Watch “Bed” video:

The first single pick from ‘Round 2′ has been chosen - “It’s Yours,” impacted Urban Mainstream radio on Monday, December 8th, the single is the #1 most added single at Urban Mainstream radio and will impact Rhythm radio on January 12th.

Among the A-list producers onboard for ‘Round 2′ are Jasper (who worked on Lloyd’s hits “You” and “All Around The World”) and the CoStars (whose credits include Teairra Marie’s “Make A Girl Feel”).

The video for “It’s Yours” will be shot by director Jonathan Mannion, who delivered the evocative and downright sexy video for “Bed” last year, and went on to shoot the video for “Suffocate” as well.

“Bed” (whose sales have topped 775,000) hit #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop Songs chart and #5 on the Hot 100, and the video spent 8 weeks at #1 on BET’s 106 & Park. “Suffocate” (over 480,000 sales) rose to #2 on the R&B chart and bulleted inside the Top 20 on the Hot 100.

‘Back Of My ‘Lac’ (released October 2007) had the distinction of debuting at #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. One year later, J. Holiday was nominated for his first American Music Award as Favorite Male Artist in the Soul/Rhythm & Blues category. He was also nominated for a BET Award as Best Male R&B Artist. Back Of My ‘Lac sales to-date are over 750,000 units.

J’s MySpace website, www.myspace.com/jholiday with over 18.2 million profile views, 370,000 friends, and 28.8 million total music plays, is the go-to destination for fans to explore pages of photos, music downloads, blog entries, and videos, as well as to post messages to the artist. In addition to full-length versions of “Bed” and “Suffocate,” the site features the full version of “It’s Yours,” which has already received over 133,000 plays.

22-year-old singer/songwriter J. Holiday’s fate took a turn when he hooked up with Corey Green and A&R veteran Anthony “T.A” Tate of Music Line Group (Ciara, Teairra Marie) which led straight to a deal at the Capitol Tower in Hollywood. A preachers’ son, raised up in the church by a hardworking mother, J. is a classic rhythm and blues storyteller in the tradition of Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Donny Hathaway, and Al Green. They were the foundations of J’s soul when he was a teenager negotiating the mean streets of DC.

But he was also caught up in the hip-hop rhymes of Jay-Z and OutKast. Add to that his fascination with ’90s R&B vocal groups Boyz II Men, H-Town, and Jodeci, and a portrait emerges of the artist as a young man. “I can say that I’ve lived that street life,” he testifies. “The streets are not anything to glamorize. I’m trying to let my people back home know that I’m with them. DC has a lot of talent and I’m just trying to show people that we are here.”

Singersroom.com sums up: “This gifted and ambitious DC vocalist’s only purpose is to bring good music back to R&B. His music is more than just a face or a name, his music is about passion, loyalty and real struggles. Not only is this preacher’s son true to himself, his music is sure to touch those who are looking for a fresh start, an honest voice and real R&B music. The J. Holiday movement has just begun and fans of all ages can expect positive messages, real love songs and real issues.”

J. Holiday Official Website
J. Holiday MySpace