2013–2017: Career beginnings and Chaos and the Calm Bay released his debut
extended play,
The Dark of the Morning, on 18 July 2013. His second EP,
Let It Go, was released on 12 May 2014. The
Let It Go EP debuted in the top 10 iTunes album chart and the lead single, titled "
Let It Go", peaked at number 10 in the UK charts. Bay has performed live on the
Burberry runway and has also recorded a Burberry Acoustic session. He toured with
Hozier in 2014. Bay recorded his entire debut studio album
Chaos and the Calm at
Blackbird Studio in
Nashville, with producer
Jacquire King. It debuted at number one in the UK charts and has been certified X2 platinum. His single "
Hold Back the River" peaked at number 2 in the UK charts and was certified X3 platinum. In January 2015, Bay released his fourth
EP,
Other Sides. He performed on the Pyramid Stage at
Glastonbury Festival in June 2015. At the
2016 Brit Awards in London on 24 February, he received the award for Best British Male Solo Artist, and also performed "
Love Yourself" with
Justin Bieber at the ceremony. It peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and 21 on the US Billboard 200. The album has notable pop and R&B influences, and was noted for its "hip hop style spoken-word skits" during intervals. The lead single, "
Wild Love", was released on 8 February 2018, and peaked at 39 on the UK Singles Chart and 17 on the US Adults Top 40. Bay released a duet version of the album's third single, "
Us", performed on
The Voice with
Alicia Keys in May 2018. Bay released a single, "
Peer Pressure", on 22 February 2019, featuring artist
Julia Michaels. On 10 May 2019, he released his third
EP,
Oh My Messy Mind, the first record of his to be immediately released on
streaming. On the same day, the single "
Bad" was released.
2020–present: Leap In the spring of 2020, Bay began making his third studio album in Nashville at the historic
RCA Studio A alongside producer
Dave Cobb, and collaborated with Brandon Flowers of
the Killers during recording. He released the single "Chew On My Heart" in July 2020. Later that month, he streamed a live performance in support of the #SaveOurVenues campaign, to support efforts against the economic threat posed to grassroots venues during the
COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2022, Republic Records relaunched
Mercury Records with a new roster that includes James Bay. He released his third album,
Leap, on 8 July 2022. ==Equipment==