Happy Birthday, Luke James!

R&B is having a lost year, but it's not because of a lack of talent. Luke James still exists. The New Orleans-bred singer turns 31 years old today (June 13).

After leaving his boy band Upskale, James got some attention from lining up with some of the genre's biggest artists. He's penned songs for Justin Bieber, Chris Brown ("Crawl"), Britney Spears and Keri Hilson. Perhaps his biggest look was the one he got from Beyonce. James was a model in her "Run the World (Girls)" video and in 2013, he was the opener for the North American leg of her Mrs. Carter World Tour.

This is why it's so surprising that James is often overlooked among the bevy of talented R&B singers. Not only does he have a good songwriting resume, but he also has one the better singing voices in the R&B game.

The "I.O.U." singer achieved a decent following with the mixtapes #Luke and Whispers in the Dark. His self-titled studio album was one of the many albums from 2014 that was critically praised without doing much damage commercially. "I Want You" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 2013, but it understandably lost to Usher's "Climax."

Outside of the music, James is finding romance with pop singer Jessie J who is a strong vocalist herself. "I am so in love with him," she said.

There's no question Luke James is going to have an enjoyable birthday today.