James TW

James Taylor-Watts, known professionally as James TW, was born on October 27, 1997, in England and is a British singer-songwriter. Named after his parents' favorite musician, he began performing at ten when he filled in for a drummer in his father's wedding band. By twelve, he started playing guitar and piano, launching his YouTube channel in 2010. In 2014, James TW self-released his debut EP Just a Number, which reached number 6 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart. His breakthrough came when Shawn Mendes discovered him on YouTube, leading to a record deal with Island Records in 2015. That year, he released his first single "Black & Blue" and followed it up with "When You Love Someone" in February 2016, which peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart and garnered over 60 million Spotify streams. His debut EP First Impressions was released in April 2016 and included a cover of Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn", which earned 17 million Spotify streams. James TW opened for Shawn Mendes on his world tour, further boosting his visibility. In January 2017, he performed "When You Love Someone" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and released the single "Ex". His debut album Chapters, featuring "You & Me", was released in April 2019. James TW continued with the EP Heartbeat Changes (Part 1) in September 2021, followed by his second full-length album Heartbeat Changes on June 10, 2022.