James Taylor-Watts (born 27 October 1997), 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. He was named after

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

, one of his parents' favourite musicians. 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 hi
YouTube channel
at 12 years old.

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. In early 2015,

Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes ( , ; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian singer. He gained a following in 2013 when he posted song covers on the video-sharing platform Vine (software), Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manage ...

, an artist discovered on social media, found Taylor-Watts on YouTube and praised him on Twitter. Mendes' label,

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

, then noticed Taylor-Watts and he signed with them shortly thereafter. 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 Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

. The song reached over 60 million

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

streams and peaked at No. 28 on ''Billboard''s Adult Pop Songs chart. On 15 April 2016, Taylor-Watts released his debut EP titled ''First Impressions'', featuring five original songs as well as a cover of "

Torn Torn may refer to: Film and television * ''Torn'' (2013 American film), directed Jeremiah Birnbaum * ''Torn'' (2013 Nigerian film), directed by Moses Inwang * Torn (2021 film), an American documentary film * ''Torn'' (TV series), a 2007 Briti ...

" by

Natalie Imbruglia Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian and British singer and actress. Born and raised in New South Wales, Imbruglia became widely known in the early 1990s playing Beth Brennan in the soap opera ''Neighbours''. A ...

, which earned 17 million Spotify streams and peaked at 15 on the Spotify Viral 50 chart. Taylor-Watts was the sole opening act on the sold out Shawn Mendes World Tour. On 9 September 2016, he released a cover of

Gnarls Barkley Gnarls Barkley is an American soul music, soul duo composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse (musician), Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, ''St. Elsewhere (album), St. Elsewhere'', in 2006. It contai ...

's "

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

2017–present: ''Chapters'' and ''Heartbeat Changes''

On 23 January 2017, Taylor-Watts performed "When You Love Someone" on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

''. He released the single "Ex" on 17 February 2017 while premiering the video via ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' on the same day. In February, he was named the opening act on the European leg of Shawn Mendes'

Illuminate World Tour The Illuminate World Tour was the third concert tour by Canadian singer Shawn Mendes, in support of his second studio album ''Illuminate'' (2016). The tour began in SSE Hydro, Glasgow, April 27, 2017, and concluded in Tokyo at the Tokyo Internati ...

with dates from April to June 2017. Taylor-Watts released a new single called "You & Me" on 18 January 2019. The song, alongside "When You Love Someone", "Say Love" and "Soldier", was included on his debut album ''Chapters'', which was released the following April. Taylor-Watts announced in March 2021 that he would be releasing the single "Butterflies" on 19 March 2021. In September, he released the EP ''Heartbeat Changes (Part 1)'', 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.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:TW, James 1997 births Living people English male singer-songwriters People from Barford, Warwickshire 21st-century English male singers Island Records artists