James TW

James Taylor-Watts (born 27 October 1997),[1] 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.

James TW
Birth nameJames Taylor-Watts
Born (1997-10-27) 27 October 1997
Barford, Warwickshire, England
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, drums
Years active2014–present
LabelsIsland
Websitejamestw.com

Early life

Taylor-Watts was born in England, the son of Sarah and Richard Taylor-Watts.[2] He was named after James Taylor, one of his parents' favourite musicians.[3]

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 his YouTube channel at 12 years old.[3][4]

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.[5][6] In early 2015, Shawn Mendes, an artist discovered on social media, found Taylor-Watts on YouTube and praised him on Twitter. Mendes' label, Island Records, then noticed Taylor-Watts and he signed with them shortly thereafter.[7] 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. The song reached over 60 million Spotify streams[8][9] and peaked at No. 28 on Billboard's Adult Pop Songs chart.[10][11]

On 15 April 2016, Taylor-Watts released his debut EP titled First Impressions, featuring five original songs as well as a cover of "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia, which earned 17 million Spotify streams[9] and peaked at 15 on the Spotify Viral 50 chart.[12] Taylor-Watts was the sole opening act on the sold out Shawn Mendes World Tour.[4][9] On 9 September 2016, he released a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy".

2017–present: Chapters and Heartbeat Changes

On 23 January 2017, Taylor-Watts performed "When You Love Someone" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[13] He released the single "Ex" on 17 February 2017 while premiering the video via Billboard on the same day.[14] In February, he was named the opening act on the European leg of Shawn Mendes' Illuminate World Tour[15] with dates from April to June 2017.

Taylor-Watts released a new single called "You & Me" on 18 January 2019.[16] The song, alongside "When You Love Someone", "Say Love" and "Soldier", was included on his debut album Chapters, which was released the following April.[17]

Taylor-Watts announced in March 2021 that he would be releasing the single "Butterflies" on 19 March 2021.[18] In September, he released the EP Heartbeat Changes (Part 1),[19] 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.[20]

Discography

Albums
Title Details Peak chart positions
BEL
(FL)
[21]		 NLD
[22]		 NOR
[23]		 SWE
[24]
Chapters 113771833
Heartbeat Changes ————

Extended plays
Title Details
Just a Number
  • Released: 2014
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Digital download
First Impressions
  • Released: 15 April 2016
  • Label: Island
  • Format: Digital download

Singles
Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
 NLD
[22]		 NOR
[26]		 NZ
Hot
[27]		 SWE
[28]		 US
Adult
2015 "Black & Blue" —————— Non-album single
2016 "When You Love Someone" 5451——2428 First Impressions and Chapters
"Crazy" —————— Non-album singles
2017 "Ex" ——————
"Please Keep Loving Me"[33] ——————
2018 "Say Love" ——26—30—
  • GLF: Platinum[30]
  • IFPI NOR: 2× Platinum[31]
 Chapters
"Last Christmas" ———2238— Non-album single
"Soldier" —————— Chapters
2019 "You & Me" ————61—
2021 "Butterflies" —————— Heartbeat Changes
"Hopeless Romantics" —————[upper-alpha 1]—
2023 "Another Heart"[35] —————— Non-album single

Notes
  1. "Hopeless Romantics" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number 11 on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[34]

References
  1. Last.fm James LW biography
  2. "Warwick Schoolboy's rise to fame goes global". Leamington Courier. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  3. "About". jamestw.com. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  4. Foster, Allen. "Exclusive interview with James TW: Debut EP and tour with Shawn Mendes". AXS. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  5. Savvas-Cov, Christina (17 May 2014). "Teenager's amazing rise in the charts with song released during GCSE revision time". coventrytelegraph. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  6. "James Taylor-Watts hits the charts!". Warwick School. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  7. Adejobi, Alicia (19 August 2016). "Who is James TW? Meet the new Ed Sheeran supporting Shawn Mendes on his sold-out world tour". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  8. Robinson, Peter (1 December 2016). "Streams ahead: the artists who made it huge without radio support". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  9. "James TW Finds 'Sanctuary' in Paradise: Exclusive Video Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  10. "James TW – Chart history | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  11. "Adult Pop Music & Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  12. "James TW – Chart history | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  13. Cantor, Brian (18 January 2017). "James TW Confirmed For January 23 'Ellen DeGeneres Show'". Headline Planet. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  14. Hazel, Allison. "James TW Releases New Video for 'EX': Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  15. Masters, Cayla (22 February 2017). "Charlie Puth and James TW to join Shawn Mendes on 'Illuminate World Tour'". CelebMix. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  16. Allison. "James TW Releases New Video for 'You & Me': Exclusive". Top40charts.com. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  17. Pettican, Luke (18 June 2019). "Interview: Reading Through James TW's Debut 'Chapters'". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  18. TW, James (18 March 2021). "My new single Butterflies is coming out 19 March". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021.
  19. "James TW Releases Heartbeat Changes (part 1)". 18 September 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  20. "James TW Releases New Album "Heartbeat Changes": Streaming". Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  21. "Discografie James TW". Ultratop. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Single Top 100 James TW page". MegaCharts. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  23. "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 39, 2019". VG-lista. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  24. "Veckolista Album, vecka 22". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  25. TW, James (25 April 2019). "In total awe right now. Can't believe it. My first album is out. If you could see my smile from reading your comments! I love you guys". @JamesTWmusic. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  26. "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single uke 22, 2018". VG-lista. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  27. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  28. Peaks in Sweden:
  29. "British certifications – James TW". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 June 2023. Type James TW in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  30. "Sverigetopplistan – James TW" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  31. "Norwegian certifications – James TW" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  32. "American certifications – James TW". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  33. "Please Keep Loving Me – Single by James TW on Apple Music". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  34. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 30". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  35. "Another Heart - Single by James TW on Apple Music". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 12 May 2023.
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