James TW
Birth nameJames Taylor-Watts
Born (1997-10-27) 27 October 1997
Barford, Warwickshire, England
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, drums
Years active2014–present
LabelsIsland
Websitejamestw.com

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.

Early life

Taylor-Watts was born in England, the son of Sarah and Richard Taylor-Watts.[2] He was named after James Taylor, one of his parents' favourite musicians.[3]

Taylor-Watts' father, who played guitar in a wedding band as a hobby, once found a 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 Taylor-Watts play or cancel the gig. Taylor-Watts 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, Taylor-Watts started his YouTube channel at 12 years old.[3][4]

Career

2014–2016: Just a Number and First Impressions

In 2014, Taylor-Watts 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 Taylor-Watts on YouTube and praised him on Twitter. Mendes' label, Island Records, then noticed Taylor-Watts and he signed with them shortly thereafter.[7] On 30 October 2015, Taylor-Watts released his debut single "Black & Blue". On 19 February 2016, he 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, Taylor-Watts released his debut EP titled First Impressions, featuring five 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] Taylor-Watts 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: Chapters and Heartbeat Changes

On 23 January 2017, Taylor-Watts performed "When You Love Someone" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[13] He released the 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.

Taylor-Watts released a new single called "You & Me" on 18 January 2019.[16] The song, alongside "When You Love Someone", "Say Love" and "Soldier", was included on his debut album Chapters, which was released the following April.[17]

Taylor-Watts announced in March 2021 that he would be releasing the single "Butterflies" on 19 March 2021.[18] In September, he released the EP Heartbeat Changes (Part 1),[19] followed by his second full-length album Heartbeat Changes on 10 June 2022. The album comprises the songs from the EP plus seven new tracks.[20]

Discography

Albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
BEL
(FL)
[21]		 NLD
[22]		 NOR
[23]		 SWE
[24]
Chapters 113771833
Heartbeat Changes ————

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 Certifications Album
UK
 NLD
[22]		 NOR
[26]		 NZ
Hot
[27]		 SWE
[28]		 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"[33] ——————
2018 "Say Love" ——26—30—
  • GLF: Platinum[30]
  • IFPI NOR: 2× Platinum[31]
 Chapters
"Last Christmas" ———2238— Non-album single
"Soldier" —————— Chapters
2019 "You & Me" ————61—
2021 "Butterflies" —————— Heartbeat Changes
"Hopeless Romantics" —————[upper-alpha 1]—
2023 "Another Heart"[35] —————— Non-album single

Notes

  1. ↑ "Hopeless Romantics" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number 11 on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[34]

References

  1. ↑ Last.fm James LW biography
  2. ↑ "Warwick Schoolboy's rise to fame goes global". Leamington Courier. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  3. 1 2 "About". jamestw.com. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  4. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 "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. ↑ Pettican, Luke (18 June 2019). "Interview: Reading Through James TW's Debut 'Chapters'". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  18. ↑ TW, James (18 March 2021). "My new single Butterflies is coming out 19 March". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021.
  19. ↑ "James TW Releases Heartbeat Changes (part 1)". 18 September 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  20. ↑ "James TW Releases New Album "Heartbeat Changes": Streaming". Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  21. ↑ "Discografie James TW". Ultratop. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  22. 1 2 "Dutchcharts.nl – Single Top 100 James TW page". MegaCharts. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  23. ↑ "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 39, 2019". VG-lista. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  24. ↑ "Veckolista Album, vecka 22". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  25. ↑ 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.
  26. ↑ "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single uke 22, 2018". VG-lista. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  27. ↑ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  28. ↑ Peaks in Sweden:
  29. 1 2 3 "British certifications – James TW". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 June 2023. Type James TW in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  30. 1 2 "Sverigetopplistan – James TW" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  31. 1 2 3 4 "Norwegian certifications – James TW" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  32. 1 2 "American certifications – James TW". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  33. ↑ "Please Keep Loving Me – Single by James TW on Apple Music". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  34. ↑ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 30". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  35. ↑ "Another Heart - Single by James TW on Apple Music". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 12 May 2023.
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