?The only person with a voice as strong as James Otto is Gretchen Wilson?, explains John Rich. ?The man?s voice is powerful, he?ll blow you away? says Jon Nicholson.
James arrived in Nashville in 1998, attending every writer's night he could find. "Those writers shaped me," he says. "By watching them, I figured out how they mesmerize a crowd with their words and the way they deliver a song. That changed me from being a club singer that does covers and tries to write on the weekend to someone who really strives to create their own art."
James became a member of the Mafia in 2001 and his debut album helped him find his way on tour with Shania Twain, who asked him to open shows on the U.S. leg of her 2003-2004 Up! tour.
Taken from the Muzik Mafia website: http://www.muzikmafia.com/artists_jamesotto.php
From Wikipedia:James Allen Otto (born July 29, 1973 at Fort Lewis in Washington) is an American country music artist who is a member of the MuzikMafia, a group of country musicians known for their "country music without prejudice". Otto began his career on Mercury Nashville Records in 2002, charting three minor singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and recording his debut album Days of Our Lives for the label before being dropped in 2004.
In late 2007, he signed to Warner Bros. Records. His second album, Sunset Man, was released in April 2008. It was produced by John Rich (of Big & Rich) and Jay DeMarcus (of Rascal Flatts), the latter of whom is Otto's brother-in-law. The lead-off single to Sunset Man, "Just Got Started Lovin' You", became Otto's first Number One hit, as well as the Number One country single of 2008 according to Billboard.