Aiden James (born August 9, 1982) is an American

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. He has released two albums and seven singles to date. James has toured the United States"Aiden James: Philly's finest"
''

Bay Area Reporter The ''Bay Area Reporter'' is a free weekly LGBT newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the largest-circulation LGBT newspapers in the United States, and the country's oldest continuously published ne ...

'', September 26, 2013. primarily as a solo performer and as an opening act for Matt Morris,

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1997 Grammy Award-winning song "Sunny Came Home". Early life Colvin was born Shawna Lee Colvin in Vermillion, South Dakota, and ...

and Andy Bell.

Early life

He was born on August 9, 1982, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He grew up in the foster care system and does not know his mother and father. He started playing the piano at age 4, and started to sing at age 6. He started performing in children's choirs and small theatre productions. He has told the press that his first musical memory was trying to play

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's first number one success as a songwriter came in 1984 with " What About Me?", which was recorded by Kenny Rogers ...

's "

Right Here Waiting "Right Here Waiting" is a song by American singer and songwriter Richard Marx. It was released on June 29, 1989, as the second single from his second album, '' Repeat Offender'' (1989). The song was a global hit, topping charts in many countries ...

" on a toy keyboard at the age of four or five."Queer Bait"
''

Philadelphia City Paper ''Philadelphia City Paper'' was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The independently owned paper was free and published every Thursday in print and daily online at citypaper.net. Staff reporters focused on labor issues ...

'', July 31, 2012.

Career

In 2008, James released his debut album ''On the Run''."Aiden James Gives Us His “Best Shot”"
''

NewNowNext Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...

'', December 12, 2011. His video for the album's title track received airplay on both

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

, expanding his audience beyond Philadelphia. Over the next few years, he supported the album by touring extensively, including an appearance at the

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music and dance festival currently held at the Fairgrounds in Goshen, Connecticut History The first festival was a two-day event in 1988, held at a ski slope. In 1991, the festiv ...

in 2010, a live performance on

SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

, and a tour with singer-songwriter Christopher Dallman which included performances in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, New York City,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, San Francisco, Los Angeles and

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. In 2011, he released the single "Best Shot" to

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

as an advance preview of his forthcoming album ''Trouble with This''. The album, supported largely through

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

, followed in 2012, and was supported by a video for the single "Hurry Hurry". A

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

remix of "Hurry Hurry" by Radboy was also released. Later in 2012, he also released a non-album cover of

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

's song "

I Wanna Dance With Somebody "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston, the leading single from her second studio album, '' Whitney''. The song was aimed to bring Houston a more accessible pop sound after having hits ...

". In 2013, his live performances included a show with Matt Morris in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Colorado, performances at the Viva la Vida Festival in

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

, California, and the

Folsom Street Fair Folsom Street Fair (FSF) is an annual Kink (sexuality), kink, leather subculture, and Paraphilia, alternative sexuality street fair, held in September that concludes San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week". The Folsom Street Fair, sometimes refe ...

in San Francisco, and a headlining spot at

Pride Northwest Pride Northwest, Inc. is a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States founded in 1994 which organizes the annual Portland Pride Festival. Portland LGBT Pride Festival and Parade Portland's Waterfront Pride Festival and Parad ...

, Oregon. In 2014, James released the single "Last Reminder", which was cowritten with

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia * St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Man ...

, and performed at the

Castro Street Fair The 'Castro Street Fair'' is a San Francisco LGBT street festival and fair usually held on the first Sunday in October in the The Castro, Castro neighborhood, the main gay neighborhood and social center in the city. The fair features multiples st ...

in San Francisco. In 2015, he was invited to be one of the last artists to play a show at

The Living Room The Living Room was a music venue on Metropolitan Avenue in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, which was originally established on Stanton Street of the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City in 1988. The Living Room was co-owned ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

before that venue's closure."Brooklyn Venue The Living Room to Close at the End of December"
''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'', December 17, 2015. On September 18, 2017, James released the pop single "Colorblind".

Personal life

James, who is

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

and openly gay, supports organizations including PAWS, a non-profit organization based in

dedicated to saving homeless, abandoned and unwanted animals.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Aiden 1982 births Living people American male singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters American male pop singers American pop pianists American male pianists American pop guitarists American LGBTQ singer-songwriters LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania American gay musicians 21st-century American guitarists Songwriters from Pennsylvania Guitarists from Philadelphia American male guitarists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American LGBTQ people Gay singer-songwriters