Mitch James (born 26 June 1995) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and guitarist from

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. He is best known for his songs "Bright Blue Skies", "Sunday Morning", "No Fixed Abode", "Move On" and "21" which have featured in the

Official New Zealand Music Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

s. His self-titled first album debuted at No. 2 on the New Zealand chart, No. 1 on the NZ Artist Album Chart and has since been certified Platinum by

Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...

Life and career

Early life

Mitch James was raised in

, New Zealand, where he attended

Saint Kentigern College Saint Kentigern College is a private co-educational Presbyterian secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. The school is operated by the Saint Kentigern Trust Board. Established in 1953, the college is semi co-educational, with a single-gender ...

. James taught himself how to play the guitar at the age of 14 by studying YouTube tutorial videos. James has stated that school "wasn't fun" for him and that music became something of a refuge. At age 16 James found inspiration in the likes of

Ben Howard Benjamin John Howard (born 24 April 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer. His self-released debut extended play (EP) ''Games in the Dark'' (2008) was followed by two more EPs, '' These Waters'' (2009) and '' Old Pine'' ...

and

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

. At age 17 James finished school and travelled to London on a one-way airfare in pursuit of a break into the music industry.

2015–2016: Breakthrough and early releases

In 2015, while in Europe, James began recording and editing cover videos on his phone and sharing them on Facebook and YouTube. In 2016, New Zealand musician Maala spotted one of the videos and shared it with A&r staff at Sony Music New Zealand. James returned to New Zealand and signed with the label shortly after. On 1 December 2016 James released his first single "No Fixed Abode" along with its accompanying music video. On 9 December 2016 James released his second single "Move On. In March 2017, James completed ''The Humble Roadie Tour'', a ten date national tour of New Zealand. James and his crew travelled the entire length of the tour in a custom Kombi van. James indicated he intended to release his debut album in October/November 2017.

2018–2023: Debut album and ''Patience''

In May 2018, James released "21", the first single off his debut self-titled album, which was scheduled to be released in September 2018. 21 peaked at #2 on the NZ Singles chart. By October, "21" was certified Gold by RMNZ. 21 was then nominated for "Single of the Year" at the

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

. James then went on to release his self-titled debut album "Mitch James" on 14 September 2018. The album was produced by Ji Fraser and Eli Paewai of Six60. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Overall NZ Music Chart, and No. 1 on the NZ Albums Chart. The album has garnered over 100,000,000 streams as of 1 September 2019 and has since been certified Platinum in New Zealand. James embarked on his first major headline tour of New Zealand shortly after release. James was nominated and won MTV Europe Music Award for Best New Zealand Act in October. In March 2018, James opened for

on his

÷ Tour The ÷ Tour (pronounced the "Divide Tour") was the third world concert tour by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, in support of his third studio album, '' ÷'' (2017) (pronounced "divide"). Comprising 260 shows, it officially began on 16 Marc ...

for all three Dunedin dates. In Summer 2019–2020 James opened for

Six60 Six60 is a New Zealand pop rock band formed in Dunedin, Otago in 2008. The band consists of Matiu Walters (lead vocals, guitar), Ji Fraser (lead guitar), Chris Mac (drums, bass guitar), and Marlon Gerbes (guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser). Th ...

on their world tour.

2024: Massive Records

In April 2024, James released "Bird in a Hurricane". This is his first single on Six60's label Massive.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Awards and nominations

Tours

* Humble Roadie Tour (2017) *NZ and Australia Album Tour (2018) *÷ Tour with Ed Sheeran (2018) *Bright Blue Skies UK and NZ Tour (2019) *Drax Project and Mitch James Tour (2021) *Bridges World Tour w/ Calum Scott (2022) *The Long Road Home World Tour (2023)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Mitch Living people 1995 births Musicians from Auckland New Zealand male singer-songwriters New Zealand singer-songwriters People educated at Saint Kentigern College 21st-century New Zealand male singers Sony Music New Zealand artists