James VIII

James VIII
Contestant
Season	Season 15
Age	24
Audition city	Denver
Contestant #	47818
Placed	Top 24
Personal
Hometown	Provo, Utah
Gender	Male

James Gray Dawson VIII (born November 6, 1991), known professionally by his stage name James VIII, was a contestant on Season 15 of American Idol.

Audition

James auditioned in Denver, alongside his friend, Amber Lynn. He sang "Sun Comes Up" by John Legend. All three judges voted "yes", sending him to the next round.

Hollywood Round

James's first round a cappella and second round group performances were both not televised. (Although during a 'bad choreography' montage, his group was visible—also containing Josiah Siska, Amber Lynn, and Olivia Rox. Everyone advanced, with the exception of Josiah.) However, he was shown during the third part of Hollywood Week, singing "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak for his Solo Round performance. Afterwards, he was subsequently placed into a room, where everyone within made it through to the Showcase Round. For his final solo performance, James sang "Change the World" by Eric Clapton–originally by Wynonna Judd. (This was also untelevised, but viewable online via Vevo.) At the Final Judgment, the judges told him that he did enough to become a Top 24 semifinalist.

Top 24

James performed during the Group 1 semifinals. He sang "Love Lockdown" by Kanye West for his solo performance. For his Idol alumni duet, he and Season 13 winner Caleb Johnson sang "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones (feat. Merry Clayton), which Caleb sang (as a duet with runner-up, Jena Irene) on Top 7 night during his season. Due to the absence of a public vote, the judges alone deliberated and opted not to select James as one of the seven contestants to advance to the next round, thereby eliminating him from the competition.

List of Performances

Stage	Song	Artist	Result
Audition	"Unaware" (acc. Amber Lynn)	Allen Stone	Advanced
	"Sun Comes Up"	John Legend
Hollywood	Not Shown On Television		Advanced
			Advanced
	"Wicked Game"	Chris Isaak	Advanced
Showcase	"Change the World" (Vevo)*	Eric Clapton	Top 24
Top 24	"Love Lockdown"	Kanye West	Eliminated
	"Gimme Shelter" (w/ Caleb Johnson)	The Rolling Stones (feat. Merry Clayton)

Trivia

• James initially travelled to the Denver auditions, intending to accompany Amber Lynn. But according to their chat beforehand with Ryan Seacrest, she persuaded him to audition with her. This is similar, but not akin to, the auditions of Colton Dixon (in Season 11); Laine Hardy (in Season 17); and KAYKO (from Season 22)—as each of them had not registered, but were seen on camera as being coerced by the judges during the auditions of those they accompanied: Schyler Dixon, Ashton Gill, and Abby Blake, respectively.
• After Amber Lynn's audition (of Allen Stone's "Unaware") concluded, Harry Connick, Jr. criticized James (who accompanied Amber on guitar) for rushing ahead of her vocal phrasing.
• James switched from roman numerals to ordinal numerals in representing his lineage via his stage name, post-Idol: James the 8th.
• One member of the entourage who travelled in support of James was future Season 17 semifinalist Ashley Hess, whom eventually emerged as his (now ex-)girlfriend. They dated prior to her becoming an American Idol contestant in 2019.
• James was a member of America's Got Talent contestant Alex Boyé's orchestra during season 10. Their act made it to the Judge Cuts round, where they were simultaneously eliminated along with future Season 15 (and fellow Group 1) contestant, Jenna Renae.

Quick Links

1. James VIII on Spotify (or the 8th/Eighth)
2. James VIII on Instagram
3. James VIII on Facebook