- published: 23 Mar 2015
- views: 92186619
James Michael Bay (born 4 September 1990) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. In 2014, he released his single "Hold Back the River", which has been certified platinum, before releasing his debut album Chaos and the Calm (2015). The album went to number one in the UK and number 15 in the US. In February 2015, Bay received the Brit Awards "Critics' Choice" award. In December 2015 he received three Grammy Award nominations, including for Best New Artist.
Bay was brought up in Hitchin, Hertfordshire and attended Hitchin Boys' School. Aged 11, Bay was inspired to play classical guitar after hearing Eric Clapton's "Layla". and he used a guitar he found in the cupboard in his house. When he moved to study in Brighton seven years later he gained a greater education from playing the city's open mic nights, on which he said, "That taught me a lot about writing and performing on my own and trying to hold my own".
Bay caught the attention of a Republic Records A&R after a fan uploaded a video to YouTube of him performing at an open mic in London, and within a week he was signed to the label. His first EP, The Dark of the Morning, was released in 2013. Within a year he was selling out his first UK headline tour.
James Bay - Let It Go
James Bay - Hold Back The River
James Bay - Scars
James Bay - Let It Go (Official Video)
James Bay - Hymn For The Weekend (Coldplay cover in the Live Lounge)
James Bay - Best Fake Smile
James Bay - If You Ever Want To Be In Love (Official Video)
Madison Watkins covers James Bay's ‘Let It Go’ | Judge Cuts 3 Full | America's Got Talent 2016
James Bay - Craving in the Live Lounge
James Bay x Ed Sheeran - Let It Go (Cambridge Corn Exchange)
From walking home and talking lows
Seeing chirps in evening clothes with you
From nervous touch and getting drunk
To staying up and waking up with you
Now we're slipping near the edge
Holding something we don't need
Oh, this delusion in our heads
Is gonna bring us to our knees
So come on, let it go
Just let it be
Why don't you be you
And I'll be me
Everything that's broke
Leave it to the breeze
Why don't you be you
And I'll be me
And I'll be me
From throwing clothes across the floor
To teeth and clothes and slamming door on you
If this is all we're living for
Why are we doing it, doing it, doing it anymore?
I used to recognize myself
It's funny how reflections change
When we're becoming something else
I think it's time to walk away
So come on, let it go
Just let it be
Why don't you be you
And I'll be me
Everything that's broke
Leave it to the breeze
Why don't you be you
And I'll be me
And I'll be me
Tryna fit your hand inside mine
When we know it just don't belong
There's no force on earth
Could make me feel so wrong
Tryna push this problem up the hill
When it's too heavy to hold
Think now is the time to let it slide
So come on, let it go
Just let it be
Why don't you be you
And I'll be me
Everything that's broke
Leave it to the breeze
Let the ashes fall
Forget about me
And I'll be me
So come on, let it go
Just let it be
Why don't you be you
And I'll be me
And I'll be me