Dancer adds singing to his artistry

Judas, a dancer adding music to his resume, sings to the crowd. Photos submitted

By Tom Victoria

James doesn’t want to betray his creative urges, so the dancer is adding singing to his repertoire.

The performer known as Judas explained his new pursuit.

“I feel a lot of my life has been wanting to do something instead of doing what we should do, what our parents want us to do, what society wants us to do, and then eventually breaking through and doing what I want to do,” he said. “And one of those things is music. I've always loved to sing since I was a little kid.”

James, 29, gave his first vocal performance in June.

“I did book to perform my debut at Electroluxx, which is the biggest and best Pride party in San Francisco,” he said. “It was a crazy, crazy week because the final vocals were recorded on a Sunday in Mexico City. I landed in San Francisco Tuesday evening. I was trying to coordinate backup dancers, visuals. I worked with an amazing VJ. I was on the main stage and there was like a huge TV wall type of thing behind me, outfit, everything. It all came together. We had rehearsals up until the last minute. I did my show and it was amazing.”

James, a native of Canada, scrambled to devise a good show.

“It was slim pickings based on my time frame, so I didn't have so much time to plan out who exactly do I want and their vibe and their energy,” he said. “I put an ad on Craigslist. I posted in some Facebook groups. I do know a lot of people in San Francisco, so I messaged some that I knew in the dance community. It's always people you know; that's what came through for me. There were people that reached out to me from those postings and I based off of energy. I didn't have time to see all of them, submit a dance video or something like that.”

James ended with a pair of dancers from a referral.

“The two I ended up getting were referred from a friend,” he said. “I basically just saw their pictures. But right away, I was like, these are perfect. They're gonna work. And it was beyond what I could have expected. They were so talented. They came up with the choreography. I was watching them and I'm like, oh, my God, they're so good. The choreography can be super simple, but no, they're sliding. They're laying on the ground switching sides behind me. And then just people I would genuinely want to be friends with. They were so sweet. I'm blessed or I got super lucky.”

James savored the experience of singing before an audience.

“It was amazing,” he said. “Leading up to it, I was super stressed about all the logistics and will everything come together. But the performance itself, I had no nerves about it. I was like, I'm gonna kill it. I did it because it's a dream come true to be on a stage singing and dancing to my own music. Wanted to do that my entire life. And I did it. But during the performance, I was so focused. I was maybe 10 percent enjoying the moment, 90 percent delivering, what's the next line that's coming?”

The crowd was receptive to James’ performance.

“The crowd’s cheering,” he said. “And then I was backstage and deeply exhausted. As soon as it was over, drained. It was a shortened version of the song, too, for the schedule they had. It was two minutes, two minutes and a half. So there's definitely a stamina to build when I'm on tour or performing multiple songs, because I was dead.”

Whether singing or dancing, performing attire has always been important to James.

“It's definitely different every single time,” he said. “My trick is Amazon. I love a theme. I love a challenge, too. Even if the organizer is like, wear whatever you want, I'm like, what's the vibe? I'll try to think of some ideas that lay into it. I'll have some initial ideas and then I'll spend quite a while piece by piece putting the look together, shoes, bottoms, tops, what's on my hands, am I wearing gloves? Do I have sunglasses on, jewelry, etc. Usually, I always order two options of everything and then I'll try the outfits. I'll mix and match them and then I'll pick my best combo.”

James opted for pink at his first singing performance.

“What about leather pants? I've never worn pants performing,” he recalled thinking. “That went off in its own direction and I ended up wearing pants and shoes first. First time, I wasn't in high heels, either. I guess the pop persona is different from the go-go dancer persona. I ended up in pants and it was more of a rock star look. It was super cool. I'm really happy with how the look turned out. The look is a great representation of Judas.”

James enjoys every aspect of his costumes including the shoes.

“I love heels,” he said. “I dance in heels. They make me feel like a badass. And for me, they've always been pretty easy and natural to walk and dance in. My theory is that as a little kid, whenever I got out of the shower, I'd walk on my tippy toes so dust wouldn't get on my feet. They'd stay clean. So I think that's what helped.”

James plans to continue incorporating dance moves into his singing performances.

“They'll never be just pure singing,” he said. “I've got to give more than that. I'm really good at freestyle. I love naturally hitting the beats and going with the song and going with the flow. And then, there's a few moments where in sync with the dancers, I'll hit a few beats of planned choreography.”

James described his musical style.

“Definitely pop,” he said. “Leaning towards hyper pop club music, party music. My influences are Lady Gaga, Doja Cat, Kim Petras, Azealia Banks. Definitely the vision is queer pop star. That's what I'm going after. Through the writing process, I've just written whatever's come to me and it's gone in every direction. I wrote some country songs, some slower ballads. I have the pop party songs, some rap in there as well.”

James wants to tie his music to where he wants to perform.

“The first few songs I'm recording are gonna be pop party songs because my vision is really to debut in clubs and big parties,” he said. “When I get to a point where I'm recording a full album, there'll be some slower songs, some more romantic music.”

James wants to follow suit on such performers as Troy Sivan.

“I say I'm sexier,” he said. “That's my tagline. But I love his music. That's another thing is seeing inspirations that make you feel like you can do it and queer artists succeeding. The biggest one for me is actually Lil Nas X, who's this openly queer black rapper, pop singer topping the charts, which I didn't even think was possible. And then he came out and did it and I was like, society is progressing. It's really cool. The arts always lead the way in terms of progress and change, so it's exciting to see.”

James said the last decade has been especially formative for him.

“I think not only of what's realistic in terms of a career, but also in terms of internal self-doubt,” he said. “Am I good enough? There's this category over here: superstar singers and pop stars, whatever, and I'm over here. I'd say in my 20s, I've been growing the best I can and breaking out of these shells and these molds.”

James learned to make the most of his time a couple of years ago.

“At the end of 2023, I got super, super sick,” he said. “I burnt out and I took it as a lesson from the universe. You get slapped with the lesson and if you don't listen, you're gonna get slapped harder next time. So I took care of myself, I rested, I meditated, I learned my lessons. One was I'm gonna do whatever I want and live my life and do more creative things. I've always wanted to travel the world. So at the start of 2024, I got rid of my apartment and I've been a nomad since then traveling the world.”

James expressed himself in new ways.

“I started writing poetry,” he said. “I did drag. I started dancing at events which was so much fun. I love performing and being on stage and music is the big one. It's the most barriers I've had to break through. I started writing last year, but really last year was travel, rest, joy, self-care. This year, my number one goal is music.”

James explained why he selected the name Judas.

“When I booked my first dancing gig, they were like, what's your stage name? And I was like, stage name? I scrambled with a bunch of friends,” he said. “I was texting a bunch of name ideas back and forth and landed on Judas. My real name is James. I love a J. I like something controversial and edgy. The more I have it, the more I love it. It's very unique. Nobody else has it or is using it. People keep telling me these Judas tidbits and facts. It makes me like him even more. Like the way he betrayed Jesus. He told the Romans that whoever I kiss at the dinner table is the one you need to arrest and get. It's like the kiss of death. It's a little queer.”

James’ fitness level is evident in his social media posts.

“I'd say I'm blessed to be naturally fit,” he said. “Probably also I played every single sport growing up. I love sports. I hate the gym, but I love games, having fun. I'm Canadian, so I grew up with hockey, soccer, swimming, skiing, played football, a little bit rugby, et cetera, et cetera.”

James’ natural inclination to dance drew him some attention.

“I love dancing,” he said. “Through Electroluxx as well in San Francisco. I lived there for three years before becoming a nomad. Love that city and Electroluxx. It's this huge event. It goes to 4 a.m. where most places close earlier. I always have such an amazing time. The energy is so positive. One of the events, I was dancing. I always stay till the end. I'm dancing up top at 4 a.m. This guy dancing beside me, I'm like, this is amazing. How are you? Blah, blah, blah. And he's like, oh, I'm actually the founder of Electroluxx. I was blown away because I assumed the founder would be much older to organize this super impressive event.”

James stayed in touch with the event founder.

“His name is Elliot and we connected,” he said. “I would keep seeing him at future Electroluxxs, and we'd say, hi. I messaged him one summer, and I was like, I want to be a part of Electroluxx. It's magical. He's like, what do you want to do? And I was like, I want to dance. They had a smaller event for Electroluxx Folsom. He was like, we'll give you a shot. We'll see how it goes. And I did it. I came up with my stage name Judas. At the end, they were like, your energy was amazing. We'd love to have you back and work with you again anytime.”

James stands out with his dancing and attire.

“I do crazy outfits each time,” he said. “Playing with that and performing and being on stage and getting comfortable with that, I feel has prepared me really well for the music stuff. I love being sexy looking like a badass bitch. I feel untouchable. I'm 100 percent me unapologetically. Anyone could love or hate me. Approve, disapprove. That's not my problem. I just feel the hatred and the bigotry and people who would a thousand percent disapprove with what I'm doing, what can they do but be angry and grumpy in their own corner? But I'm like, they can't touch me. I'm living my life. I'm surrounded with amazing people. I'm free. I'm expressing myself.”

James agrees with the idea that creativity flourishes in the LGBTQ+ community.

“I have the same theory,” he said. “A base of most creativity is going against the grain and going against the norm and stepping out somewhere where nobody else is stepping. As queer people, you have to wrestle with your identity and a big part of yourself that is going against the norm, going against what is acceptable in society. So those who come out and accept themselves have already gone through this major clash that is core to who they are. Once you've done that, continuing to create in ways that do not match society in the norm becomes easier.”

However, James said queer folks aren’t more creative than straight people.

“I wouldn't say any one person, gender, sexuality is more creative than the other,” he said. “But without having to come out of the closet, it's more difficult for straight people to embrace that creativity, to be brave enough to step against the norm. A lot of the toxic masculinity and judgment and hatred comes from individual shame and insecurity and all the weird creative alternative things that they would want to do that they don't let themselves do, that they don't accept within themselves that they feel guilty about. That makes them very fearful of being judged, of being found out and very angry at people who seem liberated and who are able to pursue the things that they can't pursue themselves.”

James’ passions have a common thread.

“Definitely performing in both,” he said. “That's where they're linked. Like being on stage — the creativity and the power and the fun of when I hit a beat when I'm dancing. You hit it and it's so fun and sexy and you look amazing. And the same thing with the first few party songs I'm working on; they have like super fun moments. I love dancing to lyrics and songs that have these hot, fun moments that I can hit with my dance moves. It's a combination of both of those with the dancing and the singing.”

For James, it’s about the art.

“There's so many songs that I love and I view as like legendary pieces of art that are so good and I really want to create my own irrelevant of any success or wherever it might lead,” he said. “The fact that I'll have a song that I've created and I can listen to and I'm like, ah, it's so good and I can dance to and I'm happy to listening over and over again. They're really very connected.”

James overcame some trepidation to become a performer.

“Yes, for sure,” he said. “It's about judgment from others, judgment of yourself, which is the biggest one and you project your internal judgment. If I think this of myself, well, here's what other people are going to think of me. I've danced so many times and you're just like in the rhythm and in the fun of it where nothing else matters. My first time on stage officially performing, I was so nervous, but I'd say more nerves than fear. Now every time I go on stage, I'm still a little nervous. I want to do well. I want to deliver. I want to give people an amazing show.”

But James is no longer afraid.

“The fears are almost nonexistent, which I'm very lucky for,” he said. “And singing, as a kid, I sang freely all the time, 24/7. Then whenever it came to sing live or sing at a school performance or something like that, I'd get so nervous and my voice is chopping up. That comes from feeling fears and self-doubt. Will I sound good enough? What are people gonna think? I've luckily been breaking out of that the last few years. From my first time in the studio in Mexico, easy peasy. I just sang freely. I had fun. I was so excited and shocked and blessed that, oh my god, I'm in a studio creating my own music with these amazing people. I'm really lucky that I have a connection with my producers. Feels like we're on the same energy.”

James said the key is acting on one’s passion.

“With all fears, you hopefully can grow out of them if you face them,” he said. “Like the first time you jump in the water, it's cold and you feel like you're gonna die. And then you walk away and you're like, I didn't die, I'm still alive. Okay, I could do it again.”

James also drew the attention of photographers.

“In San Francisco, I just connected with some photographers at some points,” he said. “They asked to do some photo shoots together. I had fun with it. You gotta just do things. What really built my confidence is even after the first shoot and they're pulling up the camera and going through some photos and I'm like, oh my god, that one looks so good.”

James said one can become acclimated to the camera.

“You build your confidence through there and also through accepting yourself,” he said. “I never used to smile in photos throughout my entire teens because I didn't like the face I was making. But at some point you have to be like, whether I'm smiling or serious or whatever facial expression it is, that's the face I've got, so let me stare at it and learn to embrace it. However I look, whatever the angle is, whatever the facial expression is, it's my face, and I should be happy with it.”

Song and dance impacted James as a youth.

“It's one answer for both, which is fitting,” he said. “I was in grade 1 however old you are in grade 1, 7, 8, I'm not sure. There was a school talent show and these girls danced to SOS by Rihanna. And I had a pretty semi-sheltered Catholic childhood at that point. I don't think I really heard pop music. I listened to Phil Collins, James Blunt, things like that. But this was the first pop song I heard. I was enamored. Their dance moves were insane. The music was amazing. It was like the coolest thing I ever saw. And that's something, I'd love to sing SOS by Rihanna on stage with some amazing dancing. So it was a two-in-one.”

James wants to take his music as far as he can go.

“Queer pop star, king of the world,” he said. “Definitely the core is to create and perform. I'll be writing songs and singing and dancing until the day I die. But I'm very ambitious. I've always been ambitious and I'm finally going to let it take the front seat. So yes, as far as I can go with it, to be a world superstar, to go on tour, to perform all over the world, to work with other amazing artists, to create music videos.”

James savors the prospect of making such content.

“I love music videos,” he said. “I've always loved music videos and had ideas of what mine would be like if I shot my own. There's a few artists where they have an incredible song and they've matched it with an incredible music video. It's like a piece of perfection that they've created and I'm like, if I could do that one time, I'd be good. I'm very, very excited about all the possibilities and I want to make them incredible. I want to give an incredible performance on stage. I want to blow people's minds, create amazing songs, create insane music videos.”

James will always prioritize the art first, though.

“Anything I'm doing in my life today is not pursuing wealth, not pursuing a paycheck,” he said. “I'm just following my passions and I think that's the best way to live. It's the happiest way to live. Success follows you a lot more strongly when you're doing something you're deeply passionate about versus pursuing as much material wealth as you can. I will follow my passions till the day I die whatever they may be. I'm sure they'll change over time as well.”

James is just as involved in the business world as he is in the arts.

“I'm really only doing what I'm passionate about, so I'm very lucky with that,” he said. “I was always super into video games, but I ended up studying political science because that was a more professional career. Ended up dropping out of university, which to me took the same guts it took to ask to dance, because it was the wrong option. What other choice do I have in society if I don't have a degree? My parents will be disappointed, et cetera, et cetera. But it was just like swimming against the current. It was not a natural place for me.”

James started out with a traditional job.

“I ended up being a bank teller in Montreal, and that transitioned to my first operation role,” he said. “I became the Assistant to the Vice President of Commercial Tech Banking. Shout out to HR. When I had my first interview, I was just trying to get an entry-level role, but they were like, what do you really want to do? And I was like, I'm super organized. I want to work in corporate. I want to have a larger impact. I'd love to be an assistant. I wanted to work with an executive and learn from them instead of taking years and years to slowly get down that path.”

James worked with bank vice presidents.

“I worked with an incredible VP who I consider family and a crazy VP worked me to the bone,” he said. “But I learned a lot. We had tech companies as clients. We had video game companies as clients. I realized every industry has operations. I can pick my favorite industry. I also realized going from government to a massive corporation, my next step, I wanted to be in a startup and have even more impact.”

So James did just that.

“I joined a mobile game startup company in Montreal that was originally founded in San Francisco,” he said. “In their job posting, they were like, we want somebody who, as long as you keep delivering, we want to give you more responsibility. Which was like the golden ticket for me because I was ready. It was an operations manager role. I had one year as an assistant, so I was applying against people who were 10-year operation managers. So my resume easily would have been tossed aside, but they were working with a recruiting agency. The second I applied, I called them and I was like, I just applied, I would love this role. I'll do an incredible job. That got me my first interview which eventually led to me getting the role.”

The new role was another learning experience for James.

“They were a team of about 10 and they had no operations,” he said. “It was kind of a disaster, so it was trial by fire. But I got to do, which is how I learn. I built operations from scratch and scaled the company to over 100 during my time there. I eventually became chief of staff. I built all of operations under me. HR, legal, recruiting, the support team. I had a team directly under me, about 22 at its peak.”

James also was on the ground floor of another company.

“I also co-founded an analytics company,” he said. “We built our own analytics solution because we found what was on the market was not satisfactory to our needs. They wanted me to be chief of staff of both and I said no, are you kidding me? I'm not trying to kill myself.”

The company experienced a downturn, which impacted James.

“They started struggling in 2022,” he said. “I got laid off at the end of the year and I was traumatized. I'd never been laid off before. I was living in San Francisco and I was like, what do I do? I need a job tomorrow. And I was like, well, let me chill. Let me give myself some time for the intensity and the trauma of building this company and working crazy hours in the startup to fall off my back. I traveled with some friends.”

James was lured back to business opportunities before long.

“In the start of 2023, January, I was in Miami,” he said. “I've always wanted to start and run my own companies, especially video game companies, but I'm always like, no, when the time is right in a few years. While I was in Miami, I met a lot of founders and they were super interesting and inspiring. So I was like, what am I waiting for? I want to start a company. Let me do it. So at the start of 2023, I started my own video game company.”

James experienced ups and downs again.

“It was a very, very intense year,” he said. “An incredible year. I got into an incubator program in New York. I formed a partnership with Samsung. Ultimately, though, I crashed and burned at the end of the year. I did not take care of myself properly. Lessons were learned. But that unexpectedly led to me becoming a consultant. I was going to two networking events a day, every day, seven days a week for January, February, March of that year. And through that, I met a lot of founders, and a lot of founders are technical founders, so programmers, software developers, et cetera.”

James found his niche.

“Those that succeed and have a product that starts getting customers and generating revenue, they have no idea how to run a business or scale or build a team, team culture,” he said. “I love helping people and I love building things. So I was naturally meeting with them, giving them advice. At the end of the year, through all this, I realized I was a consultant. From the ashes of my as a founder, a solo founder, I started my consulting company.”

James developed the ideal situation.

“That's what led me to be privileged enough to become a nomad at the start of 2024 and start traveling the world,” he said. “It's my company. I can work from anywhere, I can work on my own time and I've been doing that ever since. I love being a consultant. I specifically do it for tech and gaming companies and startups. It's all the fulfilling work of startups without the pressure and fear of being directly the founder of it.”

James also works in the nonprofit sector.

“I joined StartOut,” he said. “They specifically help queer founders. They help them get exposure, resources, funding, mentorship. I'm on their programming board for their largest annual event. We just renamed it this year to StartOut Con in San Francisco. I'm also a mentor. I mentor queer founders who are starting new businesses and help them succeed.”

James has another project in the works as well.

“I'm in stealth mode right now with a brand new startup,” he said. “I've founded with two co-founders and it's a really, really exciting project. Without saying too much, we're looking at the healthcare industry and things like supplements and providing transparency to users. So if you're taking something, what's in it and is that good for you or is something that you think is supposed to be benefiting your health, but actually hurting it? Something along those lines.”

James intends to balance business with performing.

“I can balance it because I know how to delegate and because I've learned a lot of lessons,” he said. “I'm sure there's lots more to learn, but I'll continue learning. And consulting, I absolutely love it. It's going to be a constant for the rest of my life. It's very flexible. It can be 30 hours a week or two hours a week and I can scale that up and down as needed. But the vision is CEO pop star.”

James stays motivated by never losing sight of his goals.

“I do enjoy songwriting and everything I'm doing, creating these songs,” he said. “Recording in the studio takes a lot of time and energy to get to a final, incredible this is my top version of the song. And sometimes, you also just need breaks. You could dedicate eight hours, day after day working on the same song, but sometimes you also need to step away. You come back, and then things start clicking. It just goes back to your passion and how badly you want it, how important it is to you, how much of a dream it is. You feel something inside of you that's driven to create and write and sing. As long as I have that drive, I don't have an option.”

James offered advice to aspiring performers.

“Do it,” he said. “Are you going to do it in your next life? Make this one count. Any action you can take that will help build your confidence. You can start very small. For example, record yourself in your room singing and dancing, and then watch those recordings. Even if you cringe or you're very uncomfortable, you've got to just keep watching them until it doesn't bother you anymore and you're like, yeah, this is me. I'm having fun and I'm expressing myself and there's nothing wrong with that. And if it makes me happy, I'm going to keep doing it.”

James said the next step is to sing to an audience.

“Once you've conquered your bedroom, try friends, a bar, an open mic night, whatever it may be and really make sure that it's something you want to do,” he said. “Like anything in life, it's about the journey and it's going to take time and you're going to be building skills and you're going to be learning about the industry that you're interested in and eventually making contacts in that industry. Network is very important. Friends in that industry where you're building and creating side by side and learning from each other.”

James said a person will know if it’s the right path.

“If it's something you love, your passion is not going to die out and you don't care if you're on billboards after a week making millions of dollars,” he said. “If it's something you love, do it, enjoy it, make friends. Don't be afraid. Everything you do for the first time, it's going to feel like the end of the world and like you're going to die and then you're like, oh, it's not such a big deal. It's not so serious. Life is not so serious, so enjoy.”

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James’ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprettysob/