James Baley is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

singer and dancer from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, whose debut album ''A Story'' was released in 2021. A longtime figure in Toronto's

ballroom culture The Ballroom Scene (also known as the Ballroom community, Ballroom culture, or just Ballroom) is an African-American and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture that originated in New York City. Beginning in the late 20th century, Black and Latino ...

scene, Baley first became known as a musician when he contributed vocals to Azari's 2018 single "Gotasoul", which was a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nominee for Dance Recording of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2019 The Juno Awards of 2019, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in London, Ontario during the weekend of 16–17 March 2019. The primary telecast ceremonies were held at Budweiser Gardens, preceded by numerous Juno Week events from ...

. In 2020 he was a featured vocalist on "Champagne", a single from

July Talk July Talk is a Canadian alternative rock band formed in 2012 in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of singers Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay, guitarist Ian Docherty, bassist Josh Warburton, and drummers Danny Miles and Dani Nash. July Talk relea ...

's Juno-winning album ''

Pray for It ''Pray for It'' is the third full-length album by Canadian indie rock band July Talk, released July 10, 2020 on Sleepless Records. The album won the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021, and Cosette Schulz's vide ...

'', and has also been a guest vocalist with

U.S. Girls U.S. Girls is a Toronto-based experimental pop project formed in 2007, consisting solely of American musician and record producer Meghan Remy.

Zaki Ibrahim Zaki Ibrahim is a South African-Canadian singer-songwriter. Her music blends R&B, soul and jazz.Badge Époque Ensemble Badge Époque Ensemble is a Canadian musical project led by Max Turnbull. They are most noted for their self-titled debut album, which was a longlisted nominee for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize. In addition to Turnbull, the band includes guitarist ...

.Liisa Ladouceur
"James Baley fuses Gospel vocals with house music"
'' Words and Music'', October 7, 2021. He released ''A Story'' in 2021, and promoted the album with an "immersive" live show at Toronto's Great Hall on October 22, which blended live music, ballroom performance and multimedia elements. In 2022, Baley and filmmaker Kyisha Williams created a performance video for the ballroom competition series '' CBX: Canadian Ballroom Extravaganza''.

S. Bear Bergman S. Bear Bergman (born September 22, 1974) is an American author, poet, playwright, and performance artist, theater artist. He is a trans man, and his gender identity is a main focus of his artwork. Biography Bergman was educated at Concord Acade ...

"Ocean Vuong, the 'Canadian Ballroom Extravaganza' and lots of trans feelings"
''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

'', March 31, 2022. He is out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baley, James 21st-century Black Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers 21st-century Canadian LGBT people Ball culture people Black Canadian dancers Black Canadian LGBT people Canadian gay musicians Canadian house musicians Canadian rhythm and blues singers Living people Singers from Toronto Year of birth missing (living people)