Introduction
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
James was born in England, the son of Sarah Louise (née Taylor) Taylor-Watts and Richard Ian (né Watts) Taylor-Watts. He was named after James Taylor, one of his parents' favourite musicians. He attended Warwick School, the oldest private boys school in England.
James' father, who plays guitar in a wedding band as a hobby, once found 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 James play or cancel the gig. James 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, James started his YouTube channel at 12 years old.
Career
2014–2016: Just a Number and First Impressions
In 2014, James self-released the EP Just a Number, which rose to number 6 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart. In early 2015, Shawn Mendes, an artist discovered on social media, found James on YouTube and praised him on Twitter. Mendes' label, Island Records, then noticed James and he signed with them shortly thereafter. On 30 October 2015, James released his debut single "Black & Blue". On 19 February 2016 James released a music video for his single, "When You Love Someone", through Universal Music. The song reached over 60 million Spotify streams and peaked at No. 28 on Billboard's Adult Pop Songs chart.
On 15 April 2016 James released his debut EP titled First Impressions, featuring 5 original songs as well as a cover of Torn by Natalie Imbruglia, which earned 17 million Spotify streams and peaked at 15 on the Spotify Viral 50 chart. James was the sole opening act on the sold out Shawn Mendes World Tour. On 9 September 2016, he released a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy".
2017–present
On 23 January 2017 James TW performed "When You Love Someone" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. James released a new single "Ex" on 17 February 2017 while premiering the video via Billboard on the same day. In February, he was named the opening act on the European leg of Shawn Mendes' Illuminate World Tour with dates from April to June 2017.
James released a new single called "You & Me" on 18 January 2019 and continues building momentum towards his forthcoming debut album, Chapters, with the release of "You & Me" "You & Me is my favourite love song I've every released and is an anthem for whoever is that rock in your life," said James. He had previously released "Soldier" last November alongside the announcement of Chapters, which will also include the breakout single "When You Love Someone" (400 million streams), and "Say Love" (50 million streams).
Discography
Album
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL(FL) |
NLD |
NOR |
SWE | ||
| Chapters |
|
113 | 77 | 18 | 33 |
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Just a Number |
|
| First Impressions |
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK |
NLD |
NOR |
NZHot |
SWE |
US | |||
| 2015 | "Black & Blue" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| 2016 | "When You Love Someone" | 54 | 51 | — | — | 24 | 28 | First Impressions and Chapters |
| "Crazy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| 2017 | "Ex" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Please Keep Loving Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018 | "Say Love" | — | — | 26 | — | 30 | — | Chapters |
| "Last Christmas" | — | — | — | 22 | 38 | — | Non-album single | |
| "Soldier" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Chapters | |
| 2019 | "You & Me" | — | — | — | — | 61 | — | |