Three-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated and BRIT Award-winning multi-platinum singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Bay shares a new single entitled “Easy Distraction” out now via Mercury Records/Universal Music Canada. He co-wrote the song with Brandon Flowers of The Killers, marking their first collaboration. The song sets the stage for the release of his anxiously awaited fourth full-length album, Changes All The Time, now landing on October 4, 2024.
“I found out from a mutual friend that Brandon was interested in writing with newer artists, so I jumped at the chance and went to work with him in Park City, Utah over in America.
It was an unbelievable experience and insight into writing with one of my heroes. I hope we get to do more!”
“Easy Distraction” represents another “bucket list” moment for Bay. He cites The Killers among his biggest inspirations. Together, he and Flowers penned a powerhouse track bound to resonate with both of their respective audiences.
An upbeat guitar riff drives the “Easy Distraction” over a shuffling drum groove punctuated by his gritty delivery and swooning backup harmonies. It builds towards a hummable guitar solo drenched in reverb and emotion as he pleads, “For every mistake, I’ll give you my hand. Just promise to hold it wherever we land.”
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It follows the recent fan favorite “Up All Night” with The Lumineers and Noah Kahan. The latter has already amassed over 22 million global streams and earned widespread acclaim. GRAMMY.com declared it ““the folk-pop collaboration that dreams are made of,” while HOLLER. raved, “‘Up All Night’ perfectly encapsulates the shared ability of James Bay, Noah Kahan and The Lumineers to wrap raw, vulnerable emotionality in an infectious, jubilant melody.” NME echoed this excitement, “The single comes as a huge anthem, and sees the trio powering through their personal woes to ensure that they make the most of life.” Guitar.com professed, “Up All Night arrives as a triumphant, foot-stomping tune – with a soaring guitar solo, to boot – sure to get any crowd going when Bay heads out on tour.”
Changes All The Time spotlights Bay’s elevated songcraft and dynamic vocals as well as his fret-burning guitar playing, highlighting his evolution from every angle. This time around, he crafted these eleven tracks under the watch of producer Gabe Simon [Noah Kahan, Koe Wetzel, Maren Morris] alongside co-writers such as Brandon Flowers of The Killers, Holly Humberstone, Dan Wilson of Semisonic, Natalie Hemby of The Highwomen, and Kevin Garrett.
“Making this album felt like my first taste of true musical freedom. With the help of my co-producer, Gabe Simon, I found the courage to make what I wanted to make in ways I never have before. That’s a very hard place to get to, I’m really excited to release this music,” says James.
Coming full circle, he just returned to Late Night With Seth Meyers on the tenth anniversary of his late-night television debut for the first performance of “Up all Night.” Watch BELOW.
Speaking of full circle moments, Kahan graciously welcomed Bay as a special guest during his sold out shows at Madison Square Garden and Fenway Park. James also joined Noah on-stage for their first night at MSG to perform “Stick Season”- which thrilled fans and media alike including Billboard & Variety.
Bay’s definitive breakthrough smash “Let It Go” first landed a decade ago in 2014. It cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, Top 3 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart, and Top 5 on the Year-End Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart. Thus far, it has tallied over 3 billion streams, claiming a spot among Spotify’s prestigious “Billions Club.” Not to mention, it achieved 6x-platinum status. Moreover, his total career streams are just shy of 9 billion.
Last year, he opened up for Bruce Springsteen at London’s own BST Hyde Park and joined his friends The Lumineers on tour.
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