Three-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated and BRIT Award-winning multi-platinum singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Bay presents his highly anticipated third full-length album, Leap, out nowvia Mercury/Republic Records.
On the release of the album Bay said: ”I am so happy Leap is finally out. It’s been a weird and winding road to get here over the past few years (as it has been for everyone), but all things considered it’s been a wonderful journey making this music. I got the opportunity to write more songs and was able to fully realize what this album was supposed to be. I can’t wait to take these songs around the world.”
The record includes the heartfelt and hypnotic new single “Save Your Love,” which highlights his dynamic vocals and was produced by FINNEAS.
Bay has already incited widespread critical applause on behalf of Leap.
To celebrate the arrival of Leap, he just uncovered a powerful Apple Music Home Session. His set consisted of his recent single “One Life,” a cover of Rolling Stones’ “Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Trouble,” and a knockout rendition of “Don’t Look Back in Anger” by Oasis.
Bay recently appeared on NBC’s The Today Show and The Late Late Show with James Corden where he delivered two unforgettable performances of the previous single “One Life.”
Next up, he hits the road across the country in support of the album. He recently revealed headline dates in major markets such as New York’s Irving Plaza on September 7th, Philadelphia’s Theatre of Living Arts on September 9th, Boston’s Paradise Rock Club on September 10th, and Washington, DC’s 9:30 Club on September 11th.
The shows are adding to his current run supporting The Lumineers on their 2022 Brightside World Tour where he will be joining them on nine dates including Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on September 1stand Chicago’s Wrigley Field on September 3rd. Check out the full confirmed itinerary below.
“One Life” set the stage for Leap as it has generated over 5 million global streams and counting, it received widespread acclaim. People praised it as “sweet,” and NME dubbed it “uplifting.”
For Leap, Bay worked with some of the most sought-after producers and songwriters in a mixture of in person and remote sessions in Nashville & London including Foy Vance [Ed Sheeran], Dave Cobb [Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton], Ian Fitchuk [Kacey Musgraves, Brett Eldredge], Joel Little [Lorde, Taylor Swift] & Finneas [Billie Eilish, The Knocks]. Check out the full tracklist below!
To announce the album and this next chapter, Bay shared a powerful letter on social media where he talked about his mental journey towards the making of this next body of work.
It arrived on the heels of “Give Me The Reason.” The latter has already gathered nearly 12 million global streams and right out of the gate, Rolling Stone detailed how the single captures “that feeling of being on the verge of letting go of someone, while looking for any excuse to give it another try.” NME dubbed it “bittersweet,” and mxdwn noted, “the song opens up with his iconic voice that ignites the listener.” “Give Me The Reason” was recorded at both Blackbird studios in Nashville and in London with producer Gabe Simon [Lana Del Rey, Maroon 5, Calum Scott] and co-written with Foy Vance and features Ian Fitchuk on drums.
James Bay
For as much as James Bay upholds traditions of timeless songcraft, the UK singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer also confidently challenges himself and popular music. He spikes a tried-and-true style with clever lyricism, honest confessions, and instrumental proficiency. On the heels of his platinum- certified 2015 debut Chaos and The Calm, he garnered GRAMMY® nods in the categories of “Best New Artist,” “Best Rock Album,” and “Best Rock Song” for the gold-selling single “Hold Back the River.” Meanwhile, “Let It Go” went triple-platinum. Nominated for dozens of awards, he took home two BRIT Awards, two Q Awards, and top honors at the Ivor Novello Awards and ECHO Awards. Tallying nearly 7.5 billion streams by 2022, he has performed on Saturday Night Live, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! and Late Night with Seth Meyers. He has notably dueted with numerous musical icons including Alicia Keys on The Voice, asked to join Mick Jagger while supporting The Rolling Stones at Twickenham Stadium in London, and joined Sheryl Crow on stage after performing his own set at Eric Clapton’s 2019 Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas, TX. In addition to selling out shows on four continents, Epiphone honored him with his own Limited-Edition James Bay Signature “1966” guitar. Following the success of 2018’s Electric Light, he deconstructed his sound to its bare essentials on the Oh My Messy Mind EP a year later hitting nearly 550 million global streams. It yielded the hit “Peer Pressure” [feat. Julia Michaels], generating nearly 350 million global streams, received critical acclaim from Time, Rolling Stone, and Billboard and the next year James opening up for Ed Sheeran on his 2019 record-breaking stadium run. In 2020, James released his new single “Chew On My Heart” which has already hit nearly 90 million streams, delivered a historic performance on the top of the London Eye for The Late Late Show with James Corden, performed on The Today Show, Mahogany Sessions and a full concert on YouTube in support of #SaveOurVenues. He also created his own virtual event to share his music to fans during the pandemic, James Bay – Live at Shakespeare’s Globe which was a full concert event livestreamed at the historic venue. Last year, he guested on Maisie Peter’s song “Funeral,” which was featured on Apple TV+ original series “Trying: Season 2” soundtrack.
To set the tone for the new year and his next chapter of music James recently finished a sold out “New Songs & New Stories” solo tour across the UK in support of Independent Venue Week. On the tour he returned to numerous independent music venues where he first got his start as an artist- performing with just a microphone & a guitar – and previewed new music from his upcoming album Leap due out July 8th.
