New Gap ad features Alabama musician, and an iconic pop star approves

You know you’ve crushed a Janet Jackson cover when Ms. Jackson (if you’re nasty) is into it.

The Gap’s new holiday ad campaign has nine “sing-fluencers” — vocalists popular on social media — performing a version of Jackson’s 1997 chart-topper “Together Again” whilst clad in Gap gear.

Among that nonet, north Alabama musician Lamont Landers, whose TikTok followers number over a half-million. Other singers in the Gap campaign include two gifted young nephews of pop star Bruno Mars, who go by the names of Nyah Music and Zyah Rhythm.

Jackson’s classic track was a sensual banger. The Gap version stripes it down to a stirring a capella ballad.

After the Gap shared a video of the “Together Again” cover on the San Francisco headquartered clothing retailer’s Instagram, Jackson’s account commented with a black heart.

Other celebs — including ‘80s pop icon Debbie Wilson, Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue model Camille Kostek — also expressed their fondness for the clip, in the form of likes or comments. As have notable influencers, like Sarah Nicole Landry and Aubrey Fisher, with millions of IG followers.

The Gap content was filmed over two days in Los Angeles a few months ago. Other singers include Hana Effron, Aneesa Strings, Paige Fish, PawPaw Rod, Amaria and Liamani.

Landers says, “Everybody was so cool, and we all meshed very well. We sang the commercial live, so what you hear and see is a live performance. There’s no Auto Tune or us in a studio doing it after the fact. It put the onus on us to really have it tight and sound good.

“I didn’t know what to expect going into it, but it was an overwhelmingly enjoyable experience. It was cool. To represent north Alabama and a nationwide campaign is very cool – and the money didn’t hurt at all.”

The vocal arrangement for the Gap ad was done by Patrick Lawrence Zappia, whose resume ranges from metal band Slipknot tor virtual-reality headset Meta Quest, and Alexander Lloyd Blake, who’s worked on films like “Wakanda Forever” and Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect.”

“It was almost like an impromptu high school choir,” Landers says. Back in the day, Landers sang choir at Decatur High School under choral director Dr. Carl Davis. “It felt like a throwback to that,” he says.

Landers deft, deep-soul vocals are endearingly juxtaposed to his bespectacled, baby-faced, pale-skinned and redhead appearance. As Kiss frontman Paul Stanley posted on X early this year, ” If you love R&B like I do you’ll LOVE him. No, he doesn’t look what you expect but just goes to show ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. LOVE him.”

Landers was on tour as the opening act for acclaimed soul-rock band Black Pumas, when his manager called him with the news he’d locked down the Gap gig. He says since the campaign launched November 1, he’s gained a couple thousand followers on Instagram, pushing him back over 300,000 there.

“More so than any kind of benefit I’ve reaped from it,” Landers says, “it’s been cool to see the positive response for the campaign. It’s always good to participate in something that’s successful and that people enjoy rather than, you know, the commercial come out and people are like, ‘Well, this sucks.’”

The Gap content is one of the most effective uses of music in advertising since the now-classic iPod ads featuring the likes of Jet and U2 and Volkswagen’s Super Bowl spot this year with Neil Diamond classic “I Am … I Said.”

“You gotta take every avenue these days,” Landers says. “It’s not a one-shot deal.”

That said, Landers is building a career via more traditional music biz paths too. Touring with Black Pumas “was like a dream,” Landers says. “We got to play these venues that were way above our pay grade.” The trek brought Landers and his band to stages like Brooklyn Paramount Theater and Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion. The last night of the tour, Black Pumas brought Landers onstage with them to sing on a cover of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” This year, Landers also played sets at Atlanta’s Shaky Knees Festival and Tennessee’s Pilgrimage Fest.

Landers is no stranger to the spotlight. In spring 2018, the Lamont Landers Band wowed on Fox TV’s “Showtime at The Apollo.” They did a hot version of Bill Withers funk-pop classic “Use Me” at Apollo Theater, the hallowed Harlem, N.Y. venue where legends like James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson broke through early in their careers.

The Apollo performance helped score Landers a slot on Tuscaloosa Amphitheater’s Bicentennial Bash, a daylong 2019 concert headlined by Grammy-winner Jason Isbell. That summer, Landers returned to TV. He appeared on top-rated NBC show “America’s Got Talent,” performing Al Green soul standard “Let’s Stay Together” in front of judges including Simon Cowell, the notoriously blunt “American Idol” heel, with whom Landers had a (staged) on-camera confrontation.

Next year should be Landers’ biggest yet. He’s signed a recording contract with a label founded by A-list Americana producer Dave Cobb, known for his work with Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Slash, Great Van Fleet, and Red Clay Strays. “I’m really excited about it,” Landers says. “The man’s got nine Grammys.”

Landers checks in for this phone interview from writing sessions in Muscle Shoals for his debut full-length album, targeted for a first-quarter 2025 release.

“I’ve got eight songs cut right now,” he says, and I gotta go back and hit some more. We’re gonna finish it by the end of the year.” He describes the sound as “contemporary southern soul and Americana-ish.”

Musicians on Landers’ upcoming album include drummer Derek Phillips (credits include Michael McDonald, Vanessa Williams), bassist Brian Allen (Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga), and keyboardist Philip Towns (Brent Cobb, Anderson East).

Cobb connected with Landers after The Roots drummer and “The Tonight Show” musician Questlove shared an Instagram clip of Landers nailing the lead vocal from “The Rubberband Man,” a 1976 hit by R&B group The Spinners.

“And because of that,” Landers says, “Dave Cobb reached out to me on Instagram. And lo and behold, a couple days later I was in Savannah, Georgia to meet with him, and we talked, and he wanted to sign me.”

Landers also has an EP in the can recorded with an indie-rock-meets-vintage-soul project called Player’s Club, with Brittany Howard/Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell. Muscle Shoals legend Spooner Oldham is on keyboards.

Landers says his contract with Low Country Sound includes a provision allowing him to release the Player’s Club recordings, which he plans to drop between his first and second albums for Cobb’s label. Landers previous recordings include a strong self-titled EP, recorded at local studio Clearwave and featuring alt-rock tinged single “Into the Fold.”

Thursday, Landers will perform in Nashville at East Iris Studios, headlining a 7 p.m. bill of north Alabama’s best new artists, including Camacho, Common Man and Local Brand. The show, a collaboration between the Huntsville Music Office, Huntsville commercial development MidCity (home of Orion Amphitheater), and major label Universal Music Group will stream live on volume.com.

All signs point to Landers being the next north Alabama musician to break big, following the footsteps of Jason Isbell, Alabama Shakes and Brittany Howard. He isn’t taking doing a touchdown dance just yet though.

“Something’s gonna happen next year regardless,” Landers says. “I’m just not sure which turn it’s gonna be, but I’m feeling very optimistic with the songs we’ve got and the songs that I’m currently writing. It’s just you just never know how people are gonna receive it. And that’s the scary thing. I can think everything’s good all day, but it’s up to the people to decide whether it’s good.”

A former Huntsville resident, during the pandemic Landers returned to his Decatur hometown, where he currently resides with his fiancé and young child. “Having something worth coming home to,” Landers says, “it’s so good, man. It’s the best.”