Penthouse Records has had a long association with vocalists. Wayne Wonder, Garnet Silk, Marcia Griffiths, Beres Hammond, Romain Virgo and Da’Ville are some of the balladeers who have worked with producer Donovan Germain’s label.

Add D Major to the mix.

One of Germain’s latest protégés, he launched his debut album, It’s Major, at the Peppers nightclub in Kingston Wednesday evening.

Germain is executive producer of the 18-track album which has songs produced by Penthouse, Vikings Productions, Riffin Music and Juke Boxx.

“It took a while to get the album together but it’s worth the wait. It’s clean music with a diverse set of songs ranging from lovers rock to party songs,” D Major told Splash.

It’s Major is distributed by VP Records. It has songs like Losing my Mind, Weekend, No More Distance (featuring Busy Signal), She Likes It (featuring Lady Saw), and covers of John Lennon’s Woman, Bonnie Raitt’s I Can’t Make You Love Me, and Passenger’s Let Her Go.

Germain believes Jamaica’s music industry is not short on singers, but adds that there are not many opportunities for the vocalist compared to deejays and singjays.

‘There are singers out there but it’s just that the exposure is not there for them. They need equal opportunities on the radio just like the deejays,” Germain said.

Born Damian Codlin, D Major joined vocal group TOQ (Touch of Quality) shortly after leaving Calabar High School. He remained with them for five years before going solo.

He later hooked up with the Big Yard camp of impresario Robert Livingston. While there, he released a number of songs but his big break came in 2008 with the Mario C-produced ballad, Can’t Get Enough of Your Love.

Subsequent hits include Real Know Real, Party Like it’s Your Birthday (featuring Busy Signal), Real Friends (with Christopher Martin and Assassin), and That’s What Love’s About.