Williams at Australian Fashion Week in 2023
Tom Jay Williams
Birth nameThomas James Williams
Born (1992-05-14) May 14, 1992
OriginAdelaide, South Australia
GenresPop
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • model
Instrument(s)Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Drums
Years active2008-present
Formerly ofAt Sunset, Darling Brando

Tom Jay Williams (born 14 May 1992) is an Australian pop singer and songwriter who was the youngest finalist on the Australian Idol series[1] placing 10th on Season 6 in 2008 at 16 years old.[2][3] He subsequently signed to Sony Music Australia and released his debut single LOL in March 2010. His 2017 single 'Closure' led to a partnership with YouTube and reached number 2 on Japanese music charts.

2014–2016: At Sunset

In March 2014, Williams joined the band At Sunset[4] who were signed to Warner Music Australia the following year. At Sunset were best known as the winners of the Nova FM Fresh Discovery[5][6] and MTV (Australia and New Zealand) Brand New[7] competitions, catching the attention of Zendaya[8] and singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran who personally mentored the band in 2015.[9] During his time with At Sunset, Williams co-wrote the bands successful 2015 single 'Every Little Thing' with Nash Overstreet from American pop rock band Hot Chelle Rae,[10] the band were also interviewed by Ryan Seacrest[11] and were selected by KIIS Sydney to support Miley Cyrus on the iHeart Music festival prior to its cancellation.[12][13][14][15]

Williams and At Sunset also toured with Nickelodeon Slimefest alongside Boyce Avenue and The Veronicas[16] in September 2015, were the support act for American artists R5 and Jack & Jack in January 2016,[17][18] supported UK band The Vamps on the Wake Up World Tour at Allphones Arena in Sydney in January 2016[19] and were invited by Boyce Avenue to support them again at their arena show at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in The Philippines in February 2016.[20]

Williams and At Sunset were ambassadors for the Australian Football League team Port Adelaide Football Club[21]

2016–2018: "Closure" & "Figure It Out"

On 30 June 2016, At Sunset announced on their social media accounts that they were disbanding and Williams pursued a successful solo career with the release of his debut single 'Closure' in March 2017.[22] Written by Fredrik Häggstam, who co-wrote the song 'Paris' by American electronic music duo The Chainsmokers[23] and Gavin Jones who wrote for Little Mix on their 'DNA' album.[24] 'Closure' reached number 1 on the New Zealand and number 2 on the Japan streaming charts and was playlisted on the BBC.[25][26] Williams released his second single 'Figure It Out' in November 2017. He debuted the single live at the Music Matters Festival in Singapore in 2017[27][28][25] and was invited by YouTube's Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen to join him onstage in a live mentoring session where a world first partnership between YouTube and Williams was announced.[29][30][31] Williams also performed with William Singe and Wesley Stromberg on the 'Cool For Summer' Festival in April 2017[32] with Pnau drummer Commandeur[33] and was selected as a brand ambassador alongside Kelly Rowland for the launch of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in Australia in June 2017.[34][35]

2018–2021: Darling Brando

Williams is a founding member of Australian boyband Darling Brando, formed in 2018.[36] Darling Brando made their worldwide debut at the Music Matters Festival in Singapore in 2018[37] and signed to Sony Music Australia in August 2019.[38][39] They released their debut single 'Beat Up Guitar' in March 2019,[40][41] co-written by Swedish songwriter and producer Johan Gustafsson (The Pussycat Dolls, Icona Pop) alongside Joleen Belle (Kelly Clarkson, Selena Gomez)[42] and Sebastian Lundberg (Lupe Fiasco, Dami Im, Samantha Jade).[43] 'Beat Up Guitar' debuted at number 2 on the Shazam discovery charts and peaked at number 36 on the Spotify Australia Viral 50 chart.[44] Darling Brando were attempting a new world record of performing 100 shows in 30 days in early 2020[45][39] which earned them the title of 'Australia's Hardest Working Boy Band',[46] however had to cancel their attempt after only 80 shows left[47] as Australia was locked down during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Darling Brando released their second single 'Nightlights' in August 2020, co-written by Jimmy Robbins (Day + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban) as well as Nash Overstreet and Ryan Follese from American pop-rock band Hot Chelle Rae whom Williams has collaborated with throughout his music career. Darling Brando released their third single 'Wild Eyes' in October 2020 which was co-written by Norwegian singer Ruben and Swedish songwriter David Björk (Armin van Buuren, HRVY).[48] Williams departed Darling Brando in February 2021.[49]

Concert tours

Headlining

  • At Sunset 'Kiss Me' Tour Australia (2016) [50]
  • At Sunset 'Kiss Me' Tour Philippines (2016) [51]

Supporting (With At Sunset)

Supporting (solo career)

Joining

  • Nickelodeon 'SlimeFest' (2015)
  • Amplify Live Australian Tour (2017)

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2015 Nova FM Fresh Discovery Fresh Discovery At Sunset Won
2015 MTV Australia & New Zealand Brand New Brand New At Sunset Won
2016 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favourite Pop Sensation AU/NZ At Sunset Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Singh, Surej (16 November 2017). ""Music Matters 2017 artists Reese Lansangan, Tom Jay Williams, Ben&Ben share their stories with us"". Band Wagon. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  2. ↑ Knox, David (15 August 2008). "Show Watch Australian Idol 2008". TV Tonight. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  3. ↑ Knox, David (15 August 2008). "Show Watch: Australian Idol 2008". TV Tonight. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  4. ↑ Perri, Sophie (19 June 2015). "Hop on a tram with the boys from At Sunset, the Adelaide band that's almost reached a million Facebook fans". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "At Sunset crowned Nova's Fresh Discovery winner". The Music Network. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "NOVA'S FRESH DISCOVERY ANNOUNCES WINNER". Nova Entertainment. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "MTV Brand New Artist Spotlight: At Sunset". The Music Network. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "Australian Band Rises to Fame in the US". WPRI-TV. 19 May 2014. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  9. ↑ Antimo, Iannella (2 April 2015). "Ed Sheeran gives Adelaide boy band At Sunset the thumbs-up". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  10. ↑ Parker, Libby (17 May 2015). "AT SUNSET ARE SHINING BRIGHT FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA". The Upside News. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  11. ↑ "At Sunset win Nova's Fresh Discovery". Radio Today. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  12. ↑ Jones, Nicholas (28 August 2014). "Who's Going To Kyle Sandilands' Music Festival? Yeah, That's Right". Tone Deaf. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  13. ↑ Baroni, Nastassia (11 September 2014). "Miley-Headlined iHeartRadio Australia Music Festival Cancelled". Music Feeds. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  14. ↑ Martin, Chris (28 August 2014). "Miley Cyrus To Headline New Sydney Music Festival". The Brag. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  15. ↑ Decent, Tom (11 September 2014). "Australian iHeartRadio festival, to star Miley Cyrus, cancelled". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  16. ↑ "Foxtel Insider Nickelodeon Slimefest 2015". Foxtel. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  17. ↑ Stickler, Jon (22 October 2015). "R5 And Jack & Jack Announce January Australian And New Zealand Co-Headline Tour". Stereoboard. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  18. ↑ "Aussie trio, At Sunset announce new single, Kiss Me alongside National R5 & The Vamps Tour". Amnplify. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  19. ↑ Kelly, Nic. "The Vamps, Little Sea, Tyde Levi & more will play a Sydney arena show for $20 in January". Project U. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  20. ↑ Lo, Ricky (29 January 2016). "On the street where Boyce Avenue lives". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  21. ↑ "Ambassador profile: At Sunset". Port Adelaide FC. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  22. ↑ "Closure by Tom Jay Williams". Amazon Music. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  23. ↑ "Freddy Häggstam Discography". The Kennel. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  24. ↑ "Gavin Jones Discography". 365 Artists. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  25. 1 2 Fuamoli, Sosefina (13 September 2017). "Tom Jay Williams sets his sights on the global pop market as a new year of music approaches". The AU Review. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  26. ↑ Adams, Cameron (8 April 2017). "How Tom Jay Williams has used streaming to launch a global career". News.com.au. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  27. ↑ Choo, Gabriel (4 September 2017). "Apple Music partners Music Matters to create content for emerging artists". Yahoo Style. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  28. ↑ Singh, Surej (8 December 2020). "Music Matters 2017 artists Reese Lansangan, Tom Jay Williams, Ben&Ben share their stories with us". Bandwagon.Asia. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  29. ↑ Fuamoli, Sosefina (12 September 2017). "The Aussies shine bright in Singapore for Music Matters' third night at CHIJMES". The AU Review. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  30. ↑ Brandle, Lars (18 September 2017). "5 Takeaways From Music Matters 2017". Billboard. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  31. ↑ Brandle, Lars (15 September 2017). "YouTube Global Head of Music Lyor Cohen weighs in on streaming content quotas". The Industry Observer. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  32. ↑ "Cool For Summer Festival Powered By Amplify". Toorak Times. April 12, 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  33. ↑ "Commandeur teams up with Pnau & Zildjian". Aus Music Scene. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  34. ↑ "Coca-Cola embarks on its largest ever sampling campaign with Coca-Cola No Sugar". Coca-Cola. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  35. ↑ "Coca-Cola Unveils New Sampling Campaign & TVC For Its 'No Sugar' Offering". Bandt. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  36. ↑ Marr, Georgie (6 May 2020). "Darling Brando's Alex Reveals How Leonardo DiCaprio Helped Name The Band". Hit.com.au. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  37. ↑ Contarino, Michelle (24 September 2018). "Darling Brando talk about their debut in Singapore, songwriting and future plans". The AU Review. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  38. ↑ "Sony Music Artist Roster". Sony Music Australia. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  39. 1 2 "Darling Brando: Meet Australia's hardest working boy band". The Music Network. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  40. ↑ "Australia's Newest Band Darling Brando Release Debut Single 'Beat Up Guitar'". Sony Music News. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  41. ↑ "Australia's newest music sensation Darling Brando releases debut single". Manila Standard. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  42. ↑ "Joleen Belle Discography". Joleen Belle. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  43. ↑ "Sebastian Lundberg Discography". Genius.com. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  44. ↑ "Darling Brando: Meet Australia's hardest working boy band". The Music Network. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  45. ↑ Bain, Lucy (11 February 2020). "Darling Brando make Mildura stop on an Aussie mission". Sunraysia Daily. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  46. ↑ "Darling Brando: Meet Australia's hardest working boy band". The Music Network. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  47. ↑ "Australia's Newest Band Darling Brando Release Debut Single 'Beat Up Guitar'". One Music Philippines. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  48. ↑ Riordan, Ashley (20 October 2020). "Darling Brando Are The New It-Band You've Got To Listen To". Rave It Up. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  49. ↑ Kelly, Vivienne (24 February 2022). "Darling Brando splits from Sony Music as Tom Jay Williams announces departure". The Music Network. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  50. ↑ "At Sunset Announce National Kiss Me Headline Tour for March". Music Injection. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  51. ↑ ""At Sunset Announce National Kiss Me Headline Tour For March"". Music Injection. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  52. ↑ Stickler, Jon (22 October 2015). ""R5 And Jack & Jack Announce January Australian And New Zealand Co-Headline Tour"". Stereo Board. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  53. ↑ ""R5 + Jack & Jack"". The Weekend Edition. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
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