Entertainment

James Bay May Be The Most Likable Rockstar Of All Time

by Stacey Leasca
reuters

James Bay may just be a number of musical legends reincarnated.

Though just 25 years old, his style, lyrics and sound are lightyears beyond his age. He may also be fairly new to the scene, but his music is already an instant classic.

Just take a look at his past sales. In 2014, James released his single, "Hold Back the River," which has been certified three times platinum in Australia, gold in the United States and platinum in several other countries around the globe.

His debut album, Chaos and the Calm, went two times platinum in the UK and gold around the world.

Elite Daily got the chance to sit down with the wildly successful artist at Coachella and get to know the man behind the hits. Suffice it to say, we were not disappointed.

"It's been great, first time ever at Coachella," James said humbly, immediately following his set. "I didn't think it was going to get to the point where everyone was falling out the sides of the tent."

Of his US performance, James added,

You know, in America, it's a big old place. To be an artist out here is different, a whole different ballgame. ...Out here, you have to do a lot of work to really get your heels dug in and really kind of exist as a prominent artists. I'm climbing that ladder. I didn't know it was to the point I could come to Coachella.

James' music has truly found worldwide mass appeal, perhaps, because it's just so relatable. Everyone has felt the things James is talking about; he just happens to be very good at putting it to sound. James said,

I'm trying to do with my own music, the things that I love about the music I love, which is, I'm just trying to make people feel something. I'm trying to move people, and I don't mean that in some overblown way. Music moves me in lots of different ways. It makes me feel happy and excited and strong, or it makes me feel sad and nostalgic and think about the past or hopeful. And a lot of that music, lyrically, comes from a very sort of honest or real, or sort of well-described or poetically-described place.

He added, "I'm trying to talk about very real, everyday things... Make something you may want to sing to or dance to."

While James may be loved around the world by both fans and critics alike, he also finds it comforting to know other artists also like his work, saying,

The competition in music remains, but the sort of day-to-day, at festivals particularly, you know, interaction between artists doesn't seem to exist as much, so when it's great, it's the greatest thing in the world. It's nice to know these people as real people.

In the end, it was easy to see why James is so beloved by all. After finishing our chat, we went outside to take a few photos. Following this, James stayed to greet fans and take as "many pictures as [she'd] like."

Following his performance at Coachella, James announced a new tour with dates all over the US and Canada. Check out his site for details.