James Bay (born James Michael Bay on 4 September 1990) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. In February 2015, Bay received the Brit Awards "Critics' Choice" award. At the 2016 Brit Awards he received the award for Best British Male Solo Artist. Bay also received three nominations at the 2016 Grammy Awards, for Best New Artist, Best Rock Album, and Best Rock Song. Hailing from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, Bay gained a reputation thanks to stints at Communion's monthly night at Notting Hill Arts Club in London and a successful run of support slots with Tom Odell, John Newman and Kodaline. He issued his debut EP, The Dark of the Morning, in 2013, with a second extended player, Let It Go, and a third extended player, Hold Back the River, arriving the following year. In May 2018, Bay released his second studio album, Electric Light. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/James+Bay">Read more on Last.fm</a>. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.