Fresh off the world stage where he performed his hit single "The Caribbean Slide" live in front of approximately 10,000 people, and an estimated television audience of one million people, during the 2015 Miss World beauty pageant in Sanya, China, Julien "Julien Believe" Thompson is set to drop a new single on Monday.
Julien's single "Party Ambassadors" will feature Bennie Man, Fadda Fox from Barbados who sings "Ducking" and Ricardo Drue from Antigua who sings "Vagabond" and has been recorded in his signature Junkanoo pop sound -- an eclectic mix of island rhythms fused with pop music.
It's a single he says he is looking forward to releasing and giving the Bahamian people a good representation of his Bahamian sound.
"I'm very excited for it and can't wait for people to hear it," said Julien. "It's a more refined version of Junkanoo pop. With 'The Caribbean Slide' ... '242 Forward' we were just experimenting, trying to figure out exactly how we could make it work, and with this song now, it is right on the money."
Julien who has always believed in himself, says as far as he's concerned now with a global performance under his belt (he appeared three times on the Miss World stage) there's no where for him to go but up. And he's looking to expanding his band and taking his music outside The Bahamas.
"In the past it's just been about creating awareness locally, now that we have that we're going for the world. This year we're looking to represent the country internationally," he said. "But to date, the Miss World stage was the biggest audience I've ever had, and the biggest platform."
Taking to the beauty pageant stage he said was a proud moment for him. During one of his appearances he was clad in an aquamarine jacket in an ode to the Bahamian flag colors.
"It was a proud moment for me. I had my Bahamian jacket on for my country, because I felt it was a big deal not just for me as a musician, but for my people, and a chance to showcase to the world one part of our culture. The vibe was right. The energy was right. The atmosphere was right, but most of all, I felt really proud I could represent our country -- be the international face of music for The Bahamas."
Julien said the feeling he had while on that stage is hard to put into words, especially watching the audience take to their feet for his performance and jumping and screaming for him.
"You would have thought these people knew this song for a long time," he said. "They made me feel like they love me to death and they were happy to have me there. And it felt good as a Bahamian to be received and showcased to 1 million people."
Julien practiced with the delegates for about four days, after he arrived in Sanya; the delegates had rehearsed for two weeks before he arrived.
"We had to put in some time and energy to get it to what you saw [on television]," he said.
While he's always had a strong belief in himself, he said he hopes his performance cemented for Bahamians the fact that Bahamian artists are good enough and can be international in their craft.
"The one major thing that I want people to realize is that we're good enough, and coming from The Bahamas, not because the place is only 21 miles long, we can't be international. We need to support the arts, and embrace the musicians and creative people. No one can tell me I'm not good enough," he said. "No one can say that the sound from The Bahamas isn't good enough. No one can say that because I'm a Bahamian I'm not good enough. This is an indication, a prime example that no matter where in the world you're from, if you have a talent and you believe in it and you're prepared to put in that work and push yourself, and you have a strong team behind you, you can't lose. You will win. You must win, and that's how I feel right now."
Julien who also has hit singles such as "Live and Wine", "Believe" and "242 Forward" did not attain the level of success he is enjoying over night. The son of Christopher and Annette Thompson has been working at it ever since he started singing at the age of 13 to impress a girl -- although he says his mother told him he was singing since he was in the crib.
"When I started singing for the girl and she started freaking out, I said I could do this more often," he recalled. "There was this other fellow in my class who could sing, and he always got all the girls, and I knew he wasn't as handsome as me then, and they used to call me ugly in school ... so I was probably ugly then [but] I handsome now ... but they used to say I was ugly then so I figured if I did what he was doing I would be okay. I sang and it worked. And I just kept on singing and kept on singing and kept on singing."
The singer, songwriter and producer said he did not allow the naysayers to discourage him, but to rather motivate him.
When he released "The Caribbean Slide" he promoted it for all it was worth, taking it to all the schools and the gyms. Considering he was known as a balladeer, the earworm song took on a life of its own as people latched on to it.
For Julien music is his life and his everything.
"Music to me speaks to the masses of people. It's a way of communicating without being able to speak a certain language. And you can change lives through music, and inspire people through music -- and my goal is to do that through my music."
He encourages Bahamians to get behind artists such as himself.
"We really have to support our brothers and sisters, and empower them and encourage them, the same way we get behind these foreign people we don't even know," he said.
As Julien continues to soar, he says he can't take all the credit for what he's done, and that it's the team behind Julien Believe and the sponsors that have gotten him to where he is, and that without them he said he would not have been on the Miss World stage.

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