Thomas Newman Powell lives, works, and plays in the Green Sea/Tabor City area, but the small-town kid aspires to go far beyond small-town life.
Powell was born and raised in Loris and is a Green Sea Floyds High School alumnus. At 26 years old, Powell has quite a few accomplishments under his belt, and he is on his way to making himself a household name.
It all started when he landed his first book deal at the tender age of 18. Warrior: Songs of a Fighter consists of poetry he composed about his home life, his parents’ divorce, and bullying he endured through his early teenage years. Soon after the release of his first book, Powell hit the recording studio with Silver Suns Productions producer, AJ Case, to record a song he composed with his mother titled “Post My Bail.”
While the song only received minor airplay in North Carolina, it caught the attention of Rapper Rxflo. In 2019, the rapper contacted him, and together the two wrote a rap/pop song featured in RXflo’s debut album, The Eulogy. “Where Were You” served as the album’s lead single, and gained popularity on rap stations in the Myrtle Beach area and on Sirius Radio.
Throughout the years, Powell has appeared on Myrtle Beach’s morning talk show, Carolina & Co., promoting his books and music. In 2020, he landed another book deal, and “Made for More: Mental Health Edition” topped four categories on Amazon. The book opened doors for Powell, and now in 2021, the entertainment business is calling his name.
Amazon Prime will be releasing a reality show titled “Myrtle Me Jay” later on in the year, and Powell has signed on to be a lead cast member on the second season of the show. The second season will also feature web reality star Jay Moore, and TLC’s Myrtle Manor cast member Mollie “Sparkling” Lopez.
“The show goes in depth about personal struggles with each cast member,” says Powell. “It deals with a lot of love, loss, and friendship.”
This will be the first series of its kind to feature someone from the Tabor City/Loris area. The group is currently still filming, but a release date is being discussed for the late fall. When asked about what this all means to him, Powell said, “I think people should be who they are. Unapologetically always.”
For updates about the official release date, you can follow Thomas Newman Powell on Facebook, or check out the show’s page under Myrtle Me Jay.
