James TW

James Taylor-Watts (born 27 October 1997),[1] better known as James TW, is an English singer-songwriter. His single "When You Love Someone" peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart.

James TW
Birth nameJames Taylor-Watts
Born (1997-10-27) 27 October 1997
Barford, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
InstrumentsVocals, Guitar
Years active2014–present
LabelsIsland
Associated actsShawn Mendes

Early life

James was born in England, the son of Sarah Louise (née Taylor) Taylor-Watts and Richard Ian (né Watts) Taylor-Watts.[2] He was named after James Taylor, one of his parents' favourite musicians.[3] He attended Warwick School, the oldest private boys school in England.

James' father, who plays guitar in a wedding band as a hobby, once found young James playing on the drum kit at home. Shortly thereafter, the band's drummer wasn't able to make it to a gig. So the band had a decision to make: either let 10 year-old James play or cancel the gig. James played that evening and has been performing on a regular basis ever since. He picked up guitar at 12 years old and started playing piano the following year. In 2010, James started his YouTube channel at 12 years old.[3][4]

Career

2014–2016: Just a Number and First Impressions

In 2014, James self-released the EP Just a Number, which rose to number 6 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart.[5][6] In early 2015, Shawn Mendes, an artist discovered on social media, found James on YouTube and praised him on Twitter. Mendes' label, Island Records, then noticed James and he signed with them shortly thereafter.[7] On 30 October 2015, James released his debut single "Black & Blue". On 19 February 2016 James released a music video for his single, "When You Love Someone", through Universal Music. The song reached over 60 million Spotify streams[8][9] and peaked at No. 28 on Billboard's Adult Pop Songs chart.[10][11]

On 15 April 2016 James released his debut EP titled First Impressions, featuring 5 original songs as well as a cover of Torn by Natalie Imbruglia, which earned 17 million Spotify streams[9] and peaked at 15 on the Spotify Viral 50 chart.[12] James was the sole opening act on the sold out Shawn Mendes World Tour.[4][9] On 9 September 2016, he released a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy".

2017–present

On 23 January 2017 James TW performed "When You Love Someone" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[13] James released a new single "Ex" on 17 February 2017 while premiering the video via Billboard on the same day.[14] In February, he was named the opening act on the European leg of Shawn Mendes' Illuminate World Tour[15] with dates from April to June 2017.

James released a new single called "You & Me" on 18 January 2019 and continues building momentum towards his forthcoming debut album, Chapters, with the release of "You & Me" "You & Me is my favourite love song I've every released and is an anthem for whoever is that rock in your life," said James. He had previously released "Soldier" last November alongside the announcement of Chapters, which will also include the breakout single "When You Love Someone" (400 million streams), and "Say Love" (50 million streams).[16]

Discography

Album
Title Details Peak chart positions
BEL
(FL)
[17]		 NLD
[18]		 NOR
[19]		 SWE
[20]
Chapters 113771833

Extended plays
Title Details
Just a Number
  • Released: 2014
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
First Impressions
  • Released: 15 April 2016
  • Label: Island
  • Format: Digital download

Singles
Year Title Peak chart positions Album
UK
 NLD
[18]		 NOR
[22]		 NZ
Hot
[23]		 SWE
[24]		 US
Adult
2015 "Black & Blue" —————— Non-album single
2016 "When You Love Someone" 5451——2428 First Impressions and Chapters
"Crazy" —————— Non-album singles
2017 "Ex" ——————
"Please Keep Loving Me"[25] ——————
2018 "Say Love" ——26—30— Chapters
"Last Christmas" ———2238— Non-album single
"Soldier" —————— Chapters
2019 "You & Me" ————61—

References
  1. Last.fm James LW biography
  2. "Warwick Schoolboy's rise to fame goes global". Leamington Courier. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  3. "About". jamestw.com. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  4. Foster, Allen. "Exclusive interview with James TW: Debut EP and tour with Shawn Mendes". AXS. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  5. Savvas-Cov, Christina (17 May 2014). "Teenager's amazing rise in the charts with song released during GCSE revision time". coventrytelegraph. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  6. "James Taylor-Watts hits the charts!". Warwick School. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  7. Adejobi, Alicia (19 August 2016). "Who is James TW? Meet the new Ed Sheeran supporting Shawn Mendes on his sold-out world tour". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  8. Robinson, Peter (1 December 2016). "Streams ahead: the artists who made it huge without radio support". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  9. "James TW Finds 'Sanctuary' in Paradise: Exclusive Video Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  10. "James TW – Chart history | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  11. "Adult Pop Music & Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  12. "James TW – Chart history | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  13. Cantor, Brian (18 January 2017). "James TW Confirmed For January 23 'Ellen DeGeneres Show'". Headline Planet. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  14. Hazel, Allison. "James TW Releases New Video for 'EX': Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  15. Masters, Cayla (22 February 2017). "Charlie Puth and James TW to join Shawn Mendes on 'Illuminate World Tour'". CelebMix. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  16. Allison. "James TW Releases New Video for 'You & Me': Exclusive". Top40charts.com. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  17. "Discografie James TW". Ultratop. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Single Top 100 James TW page". MegaCharts. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  19. "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 39, 2019". VG-lista. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  20. "Veckolista Album, vecka 22". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  21. TW, James (25 April 2019). "In total awe right now. Can't believe it. My first album is out. If you could see my smile from reading your comments! I love you guys". @JamesTWmusic. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  22. "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single uke 22, 2018". VG-lista. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  23. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  24. Peaks in Sweden:
  25. "Please Keep Loving Me – Single by James TW on Apple Music". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 25 August 2017.
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