Harrell Holmes Jr. is a graduate from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), he’s a Motown Scholarship & Stevie Wonder Scholarship Winner and has appeared on Star Search, American Idol, and The Watching (film). But all of these accomplishments pale in comparison to his recent achievement of becoming a Temptation.
At six years old, Harrell Holmes Jr. saw The Temptations miniseries for the first time and was “mesmerized.” He even started his own band called The Little Temptations. Years later he would get a text message (more on that later) finding out he would be playing Melvin Franklin on tour in the musical ‘Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations.’
We sat down with Harrell Holmes Jr. to talk about his journey and what it means to bring The Temptations to new audiences.
Afros In Tha City: The temptations have been part of your life for a long time. Tell me about your journey with this group, their music, and their story?
Harrell Holmes Jr.: How I started singing and performing was after seeing The Temptations movie on VHS around 1998. I was blown away and mesmerized for some crazy reason. These guys and their suits, the dancing, and the music was incredible to me. And so I remember going to my mom a few months later and saying, ‘mom I wanna sing in my school talent show, I wanna sing Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.’ And she was like ‘what?’
That was my first time performing, and from there I started my own group called the Little Temptations with my friends. We performed all over Michigan for our schools and different school districts. So I never really left the stage ever since.
At that point, did you know this is what you wanted to do professionally?
I was kind of just a naive kid who really thought he could be a Temptation. Even at the age of 11, I did Star Search and I sang ‘Get Ready’ by The Temptations. I did American Idol when I was 16 and I sang ‘Ain’t Too Proud to Beg’ again. I always just kinda had this crazy dream that I really was a Temptation. But you know, as you get older, you come to reality a little bit.
I definitely was enjoying music in LA and acting and all the things, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would actually be portraying a Temptation.
Fast forward to 2018, my friend surprised me for my birthday and said ‘I’m gonna take you to see something.’ So I show up to this theatre in LA and I see ‘Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations,’ and I was like, ‘What?! There’s a musical about The Temptations and I didn’t know about it?’ So first I was upset that I didn’t know about it and then I was like ‘please represent my boys the right way.’
As soon as they walked out I was blown away. I looked at my friend and I said ‘I don’t know how, but I have to be a part of this. I’m gonna get this show if it ever goes on tour.’ And here I am.
When you got the call saying you have the role of Melvin, what did that moment feel like for you?
I actually got a text, which was crazy. I imagined it being a glorious email, but I actually got a text at like seven in the morning and I thought I was dreaming. But it was real and I just screamed and cried.
Harrell Holmes Jr., Jalen Harris, Elijah Ahmad Lewis, E. Clayton Cornelious, MichaelAndreaus from the National Touring Company of Ain’t Too Proud Credit: © 2023 Emilio Madrid
On your instagram, you posted something about doing your 500th show a couple months ago --
Yeah, we’re at 600 now.
Oh my god! So after 600 shows, does it still feel special? Is there something that makes a show stand out?
Sometimes I’ll go into the lobby like 45 minutes before the show and just make conversation with people, and they don’t know I’m in the show. One of the ways I remain grateful and humble is the excitement of people. They’ll talk to me and say ‘man, we’ve waited two years’ or ‘we’ve driven three hours to come and see this show.’ It just really makes me appreciate that every night there’s a person who’s never seen this — it’s a whole new crowd, so you definitely want to give the very best performance you can. Although you might be tired or it can feel redundant at times, you have to just give your best performance because it could be a life changing experience for someone.
Like I literally remember being in the crowd, watching the show, and being so inspired, and now I’m on this stage and I get to do that for someone else.
You’ve been touring across the US since 2021, how do you feel about bringing the show to a brand new audience in Canada?
I’m so excited! I’ve only been to Canada once as a kid but I never got a chance to really be there and take in the country. So I’m super excited to come and bring the story to a new audience.
It’s not just an American story, but a human story. I feel like we can all relate to the idea of not knowing what’s next. You know, these were young men trying to figure out their lives, trying to navigate family life as well as having their own feelings about being under a Motown umbrella. They had to put out certain songs, but they also wanted to talk about what was going on at the time. In the 60’s there was a lot of turmoil and segregation and assassinations and things. So, you know, navigating those things, but also dealing with their own demons like substance abuse and domestic violence. And at the end of the day, they were able to create this beautiful music that has lasted almost 60 years. It has ultimately brought us together. So the fact that we're going to have a hand in that and in bringing people together is amazing. I look forward to doing it in Calgary. I'm so excited.
You can catch ‘Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations’ along with its Tony Award-winning choreography in Calgary between September 19 and 24. Get tickets here
Feature image: (L – R)- Michael Andreaus, Jalen Harris, Harrell Holmes Jr., Elijah Ahmad Lewis, E. Clayton Cornelious from the National Touring Company of Ain’t Too Proud. Credit Emilio Madrid