If you haven’t heard of James Bay yet, get ready for it; soon his name will be hard to escape. The singer-songwriter’s debut album, “Chaos and the Calm” comes out next week and is expected to debut at number one in the U.K. Why is he such a big deal? Here’s what you need to know. He’s following in some pretty big footsteps. His music is already getting the movie treatment. He’s in Taylor Swift’s inner circle.
He might not be getting radio play yet, but that didn’t stop him from already collecting the 2015 Critic’s Choice Award at The Brits last month. For newcomers, this is the award to win as it is widely known to predict future success. Adele won the first Critic’s Choice Award in 2008, and Sam Smith and Ellie Goulding are both past recipients, too.
Rumor has it, Bay will be singing the theme song for the next James Bond movie, “Spectre,” according to The Hollywood Reporter, once again linking him to Adele, and also Madonna.
Bay is friends with Swift and Swift’s guy bestie Ed Sheeran, but not because he pursued them: both musicians actually reached out to him. Swift first saw Bay when he was touring with Hozier and couldn’t resist telling him how much she’s a fan. And Sheeran spotted Bay at The Brits and broke away from reporters to tell him that he loves Bay’s song, “Hold Back The River.”
3 things to know about James Bay
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