2001–2005: The Unlikely Lad After guesting house on the underground
R&B track "Wilder" by
Stargate in 2001, which became a
nightclub favourite in London, James got his first taste of celebrity. In 2002, after
touring around the UK's bars,
pubs and clubs; evolving his sound and performance, James had garnered enough reputation to be hailed as "The British answer to
Justin Timberlake" by
The Face magazine, whilst
NME hailed him as "one to watch". Tyler James was signed to
Island Records in 2003 after they heard a demo
tape featuring his future debut single, "Why Do I Do?". The
reggae flavoured song made the 'A' playlist on
BBC Radio 2, and entered the
UK Singles Chart at No. 25. and in the spring of 2005, his second single "Foolish" was released, which reached No. 16 on the UK
chart. Later that year he toured with
McFly, but due to the disappointing chart performance of "Your Woman", James was dropped by
Island Records and his debut album was only released digitally at the time. The album was later released on CD on 2 July 2012, following his success on
The Voice. The album later peaked at number 34 on the
UK Album Downloads Chart in June 2012.
2012–: The Voice UK, A Place I Go and My Amy: The Life We Shared In 2012, James auditioned for
The Voice UK, appearing in the third of four 'Blind Audition' shows. With coaches
will.i.am,
Jessie J,
Tom Jones and
Danny O'Donoghue, James initially performed the track "
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by
Otis Redding. The performance was met with a positive reception from both Jessie J and will.i.am, though it was the latter who opted to have James on his team. During the show's 'Battle Rounds', James was pitted against 25-year-old
Heshima Thompson, winning the performance of "
Yeah 3x" by
Chris Brown and advancing to the live shows. During the first live show, James performed the
James Vincent McMorrow version of "
Higher Love" by
Stevie Winwood, and was saved by judge will.i.am. In the third live show, James performed
Terence Trent D'Arby's "
Sign Your Name". The performance saw James land in the bottom three alongside Joelle Moses and Frances Wood, though his place in the semi-final was awarded by coach will.i.am. In the semi-final, James performed
Queen's "
Bohemian Rhapsody" – and was voted into the final by the public over fellow contestant Jaz Ellington; joining
Bo Bruce,
Leanne Mitchell and
Vince Kidd from Team Danny, Team Tom and Team Jessie respectively. In the final, James performed three tracks: "
I'll Be There" (
The Jackson 5), "
OMG" (
Usher) with will.i.am and "Higher Love" (James Vincent McMorrow) for a second time. Alongside singer
Bo Bruce, James was announced as the series' runner-up behind
Leanne Mitchell.
Performances On Monday, 10 December 2012, Tyler achieved a lifelong ambition by featuring on the Ken Bruce show on Radio 2. The segment of the show is "
Tracks of My Years," where a guest chooses two tracks each day of the show that meant something to them It was confirmed in July 2012 that James had signed a new joint record deal with
Island Records and
Universal Music Group and had begun work on his second studio album. James then announced in August that the album's lead single, "
Single Tear", would be released in the United Kingdom on 7 October; with the album
A Place I Go following on 29 October. James confirmed he had worked with various producers and songwriters for
A Place I Go, including
The Voice coach
will.i.am,
Fraser T Smith and
Guy Chambers who wrote and produced "Single Tear". ==Personal life==