Original Copy for Double Page Spread

Title of article: Hey Jude!

The big quote in the middle of the page: “This really is as good as it gets!”

Here he is- the UK’s latest success story! No one can deny that the past six months have been quite a roller coaster for 17-year-old Jude James, but how does he feel about the success that has been thrust upon him? Motion is about to find out…

Considering he is a teenager, Jude James is incredibly punctual. He has arrived fifteen minutes early to our interview this morning looking as fresh as ever. He’s walked over with a big smile on his face and the first thing he’s said is “Well, this is all very surreal!”

We’re sure it is. Seven months ago, no one had heard of Jude James, a music-loving 17-year-old from Surrey with a dream to one day become a successful musician. The man himself is still finding it very hard to come to terms with how his life has changed. “It’s completely mental. I used to play my guitar in my room and I never thought that I’d be famous. It’s really weird when people are screaming your name everywhere you go!”

Jude was 2011’s success story. After his Mum posted videos of him on YouTube singing covers of different songs, little did he realise that they would be spotted by a big record company. “I remember my Mum telling me that I’d had a call that day from a big label and they’d asked to meet up with me and hear some of my stuff. I was just like WHAT?!” We all know what happened after that, because since then, Jude has  reached number 1 in the charts with his debut single ‘Just Stop’ and is set to release his first album ‘Unknown Hero’ in the coming weeks.

The album is alternative rock but the songs vary in style and tempo and Jude said he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. “Variety is really important to me. I’ve bought albums in the past where all the songs sound identical and I didn’t want my album to be like that; I wanted the songs to be different so it would appeal to a real variety of people.”

He admits it was a strange experience recording the songs for the album in a real recording studio. “I’d never been in a recording studio before so it did feel quite odd – but in a really good way! It was pretty nerve-wracking but all the guys there were really cool so I settled in pretty quick.”

Jude penned all the songs on his album himself, a very risky tactic for someone so young and inexperienced in the music industry. “The album is really a reflection of myself. That was all I wanted it to be; I never wanted to pretend to be anyone else, I just wrote from my heart and I hope the people can see that”.

 It’s clear when listening to the album that the songs are based on real life experiences and Jude says that is what makes it genuine. “I get inspiration for lyrics from everywhere. I wrote one of the songs on the album when I was waiting for a bus because I’d just seen this couple having an argument on their doorstep and I just suddenly got this idea for a song. I think people can relate to the album because it’s about real-life”.

So, Jude has shot to fame, but has it changed him at all? “Absolutely not!” he laughs. “I’m still very much your average 17-year-old. I still go out with my friends and my Mum still cooks my dinner for me!”

We reckon he’s received more than his fair share of female attention, though. “Well, sort of” he grins, “I have had a couple of girls ask me out but at the moment my focus is on music, I’m not saying it hasn’t been fun though!”

In the next few months, Jude is beginning his UK tour and the tickets have been selling like crazy. “It’s really cool to think that all these people want to come and see you – I still can’t quite get my head around it! I really want to make the tour as good as it can be; I owe it to my fans because they have just been incredible over the last few months.”

It seems 2012 is going to be quite a year for Jude. He’s already up for 4 different music awards, including Best British Breakthrough, and we suspect this is only the beginning of his career. “I really can’t wait. There’s so much exciting stuff coming up for me this year and hopefully there’ll be more in the coming years. I thought my life was good before, but this really is as good as it gets!”

Tickets for Jude’s tour are on sale now from all ticket websites and his album ‘Unknown Hero’ is being released on May 21^st.

Looking at common double page spread conventions, I found that the paragraphs were usually very short and sentences were not overly long. I also found that the language and style of the article had to relate well to the target audience so it felt more personal and direct. Therefore, when creating my article, I made sure I kept to these conventions in order to make my article realistic and to make sure I met the needs of the target audience.