Leon Bridges
Leon Bridges
Leon Bridges is an American gospel and soul singer and songwriter from Fort Worth, Texas. He is best known for his song "Coming Home", which received regular airplay and was also a Top 10 Most Viral Track on Spotify. Bridges's debut album, which is also titled Coming Home, was released on June 23, 2015 on Columbia Records...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionGospel Singer
Date of Birth13 July 1989
CityAtlanta, GA
CountryUnited States of America
I've just always been around great songwriters. To me, they were the standard.
I've always had a great work ethic, even when I was washing dishes.
I think I'll always live in Fort Worth. It's great that I can now go anywhere I want to play music, but I love coming back here. I can roll down the streets and just reminisce.
I'm not trying to compete with any other revival soul acts. It's just Leon Bridges, a kid from Fort Worth trying to be himself and give people hope. It's great music to dance to and just love.
I'm coming from a Ginuwine and Usher background: slow and smooth songs. And that's why I really connected to Sam Cooke, because he was just very smooth. It's not like the James Brown types, which is all great stuff, but he was totally set apart from those guys.
I'm very content to have great management and a great label. But for me, success started when my managers came to me and told me, 'Go ahead and quit your job.' I told them, 'As long as I don't have to wash dishes anymore, I'm good.'
When I started writing the music, I wanted everything to be consistent from the way I dressed to the way I presented myself online. I wanted everything to match what I was doing on stage.
People tell me they use my song 'Coming Home' at their weddings. My audience seems to range from young to old, and it's cool when you really get to connect with all different people.
The thought of me not having to clock in for a job anymore is something that I can't really put into words, aside from 'amazing' and 'awesome.'
My mother and my great-aunt told me stories, like how when my grandfather first met my grandmother at a party, he noticed her long legs and was like, 'Woo woo!' I like to incorporate those stories into my music. They just seem to fit.
When I first got into the music scene, I was inspired by different songwriters. I like to dress from the '50s and '60s. I like to paint a picture of that era through my music and clothes. I am inspired by a whole a lot of things, from doo-wop to gospel and soul music.
From the core, I'm a shy person, but when I'm on stage, I know how to put it aside. Of course, I'm not perfect, but I've definitely grown as far as being comfortable on stage.
I got tired of depending on other people, and I had this strong desire to make music of my own. I decided to start writing my own tunes and just see what could happen.
One time, when I was about eight, these guys started throwing water balloons at me. That really did ruin my summer.