Gavin James

Gavin Wigglesworth

Early life James was born in Dublin and grew up in a musical household. His father would play Cat Stevens, Sam Cooke and Bob Dylan, whilst his sister Emma sang and toured with a musical in Ireland.

James began playing music in a rock band at the age of 8 and writing his own songs. The rock band was short lived, after a falling out over an alleged "paranormal experience". However James continued to perform solo, playing numerous gigs for years and building his audience. By age 21 he had begun focusing on his songwriting and playing open mic nights. In 2013, James independently released the single "Say Hello", which won the Meteor Choice Award for Song of the Year. By 2015, James had signed deals with Sony in Europe and Capitol Records in the US.

Musical career In the spring of 2015, James appeared on US television's Shark Tank and released a four-track EP titled For You. Later that year, he was invited to open for chart-toppers Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith on their respective tours, and released singles including "Bitter Pill" from his full-length studio debut of the same name.

James released his debut album and homage to Alanis Morissette Bitter Pill on 20 November 2015 through Warner Ireland. It was awarded Platinum certificate for sales in Ireland. Subsequently, Bitter Pill has won the Choice Music Prize for Best Single released in 2015.

In May and November 2015, James appeared on James Corden's Late Late Show and Jimmy Kimmel in December 2015. In January 2016 James appeared on the BBC One Show, C'est A Vous and RTÉ and was included in Buzzfeed's and The Sun's 'Ones to Watch 2016' lists.

He has been supporting act for Kodaline, Tori Kelly, Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran on their tours.

Spotify selected Gavin James to be a 'Spotify Spotlight Artist of 2016,' and he has total streams of over 1.5 Billion. On 21 January 2016, James set off on his debut European headline tour, starting with three sold out back-to-back dates at the Olympia Theatre in Ireland. James travelled back to America to support Ben Rector on his US tour in March 2016. James' cover of David Bowie's "Changes" relaunched the new Virgin Radio UK at 11 am GMT on 30 March 2016, he later performed live and was interviewed for the show.

On 7 October 2016, James sold out Shepherd's Bush Empire in London and he headlined his first arena show at 3Arena on 9 December in Dublin and played to 15,000 fans. James also won the 'Breaking Artist' award at the 2016 Music Business Worldwide A&R Awards on 2 November.

James collaborated with Australian hip hop trio Bliss n Eso on the ARIA award-winning song "Moments" in 2017.

2015–present: Bitter Pill, Only Ticket Home, Boxes and The Sweetest Part Work began on James' debut album Bitter Pill in 2015. It was recorded in London and Los Angeles with producers Fraser T. Smith and Cam Blackwood. James said of the album: "I've always wanted to hear how my songs would sound properly produced, but I didn't want them to lose the edge they had live. We recorded the song Bitter Pill first and once we found the sound for that the rest was easy." Bitter Pill was released in Ireland on in November 2015 and was subsequently certified Platinum. It was later released worldwide in March 2016. Album track "22" was later used in the 10th episode of the 13th season of the American TV series House Hunters.

In October 2017, James released the lead single "Hearts on Fire" from his second album. In April 2018, he released the single "Always", which was a radio hit across Europe and Brazil. Third single "Glow" was released in September 2018, followed by the release of James' second studio album Only Ticket Home in October.

In October 2020, James released his album, "Boxes." It reached #1 on the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) charts.

In July 2022, James released his album "The Sweetest Part". It reached #1 on the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) charts.

Singles and EPs The Mark McCabe remix of "Nervous (The Ooh Song)" has been streamed over 170 million times to date and certified double platinum in Ireland, Sweden, Norway and Holland.

Winter Songs, a collection of Christmas songs recorded by James, was released in November 2016 and achieved over three million streams on Spotify as well as airplay across Europe and the US.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions IRE BEL(Fl) FRA NL SWI UK Bitter PillReleased: 12 March 2016 Label: Capitol, Sony, Warner, Good Soldier Songs Formats: CD, LP, download 5 33 170 17 28 52 Only Ticket HomeReleased: 26 October 2018 Label: Capitol Formats: CD, LP, download 2 — — 86 31 — BoxesReleased: 2 October 2020 Label: Capitol Formats: CD, LP, download 1 — — — — — The Sweetest PartReleased: 22 July 2022 Label: GS Allpoints Formats: CD, LP, download 1 — — — 47 — GoldrushReleased: 12 September 2025 Label: Sony Music Formats: CD, LP, download 1 — — — — —

Live albums Title Album details Peak chart positionsBEL(Fl)NED Live at WhelansReleased: 6 January 2015 Label: Good Soldier Songs Formats: CD, LP, download 70 35

Extended plays

Remixes 2015: For You (Remixes)

Singles

As lead artist TitleYearPeak positionsCertificationsAlbum IRE BEL(Wa) FRA NOR SWE UK "Say Hello" 2012 31 — — — — — — — — "The Book of Love" 2014 — 10 22(Ultratip) — 35 31 — — — NVPI: Platinum Bitter Pill"For You"2015 50 — — — — — — — — "Bitter Pill" 49 4(Ultratip) — — — — — — —"22" — 53(Ultratip) — — — — — — —"Nervous" 28 4(Ultratip) 47 10 5 20 5 17 79 BPI: Silver GLF: Platinum IFPI NOR: 3× Platinum NVPI: Platinum "Nervous (The Ooh Song)" 2016"I Don't Know Why" 2017 42 — — — — — — — —"City of Stars" — — — — — — — — — Non-Album Single"Hearts on Fire" 92 — — — — — — — — Only Ticket Home"Always" — GLF: Gold —"Faces" 2019 — 31(Ultratip) — — — — — — —"Boxes" 2020 48 — — — — — — — — "Better" (with Sam Feldt) 2022 — — — — — — — — — "Anyway" 2023 — — — — — — — — — "White Noise" — — — — — — — — — "Afterlife" 2024 — — — — — — — — — "I Do" — — — — — — — — — "Lovesick" — — — — — — — — — "Heavy" — — — — — — — — — "All My Life" — — — — — — — — — "Storm Warning"2025 — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist Title Year Peak positionsCertifications Album IRE NOR Off the Grid "Tired" 78 — 5 21 ARIA: Gold GLF: 2× Platinum IFPI NOR: 3× Platinum "Innocent" 2018 — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.

Other charted songs TitleYearPeak positionsAlbum IRE BEL(Fl) "Fairytale of New York"2016 77 — "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" — 21(Ultratip)"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.