[5] James had a bad reaction to his pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine when he was an infant, and his family feared brain damage.

[10] During the American Idol hometown visits, James returned to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries and presented an autographed guitar to his surgeon, Dr. Cory Collinge.

James cites blues guitarist Doyle Bramhall II as a major musical influence and whom he would most like to perform with in his Idol Q&A.

[14] USA Today music critic Brian Mansfield suggested that James was "the best guitar player the show [American Idol] has seen.

His four-song set included "I Got Mine" by The Black Keys, "Don't" by Shania Twain, "It's All Over Now" by Bobby Womack, and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" by Bryan Adams alongside fellow contestant Michael Lynche.

[18] On August 17, 2010, it was announced that James had signed with Sony Music Nashville and his debut album would be released on BNA Records/19 in 2011.

I flew to NEW YORK to see him 'live' with the American Idol Tour and I was blown away with his voice, guitar playing and stage presence...and so were the thousands of fans in the amphitheatre.

"[21] James collaborated with some of country music's notable songwriters including Aimee Mayo,[22] Alabama's Randy Owen, Sugarland's Kristian Bush, and Delbert McClinton,[23] James first single, "Let's Don't Call It a Night", was released on August 15, 2011, and sold 5,000 copies in its debut week.

Rainey Wetnight of Blues Blast Magazine called the album "outstanding" and highlighted the track "Bulletproof", which features Delbert McClinton.

She praised James for his vocals and guitar playing, while writing, "Every note and lyric is in service to the song, the album, and the listener.

"[32] Mark Franklin of the York Dispatch considered Strip It Down to be a more authentic representation of James as an artist than his previous album,[33] calling it "bluesier [and] much more rocking".

[37] In 2005, James married Kellie Marie whom he met when he was nineteen at Leaning Tree Church in Mineral Wells, Texas.