James William Marriott (born 7 July 1997) is an English musician, YouTuber and Twitch streamer. Born in Switzerland, Marriott grew up in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, and first became interested in music after attending an ABBA tribute concert as a child. After uploading videos of his instrumental acoustic music, he attracted attention after diversifying into caustic YouTube commentary videos and Twitch

livestreams Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

. A debut single, "Slow Down", was released in May 2020, followed by the extended plays (EPs) ''No Left Brain'' and ''Bitter Tongues''. He released his debut album ''Are We There Yet?'' in 2023, which charted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart. Marriott cites

Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...

and The Strokes as major influences, and his music is generally described as indie rock.

Life and career

Early life and social media

James William Marriott was born in Switzerland on 7 July 1997 and grew up in

. Marriott was interested in music from a young age and his father was a pianist. In 2008, he began attending

Bishop Wordsworth's School Bishop Wordsworth's School is a Church of England boys' grammar school in Salisbury, Wiltshire for boys aged 11 to 18. The school is regularly amongst the top-performing schools in England, and in 2010 was the school with the best results in the ...

and uploading animations online; by 2012, he had diversified into uploading videos of his instrumental acoustic work. He went on to study modern languages at University College London, spending six months of the course in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, Spain, to foster a trilingual proficiency in Spanish and Portuguese alongside his native language, English. While at university, Marriott attracted attention for his YouTube channel as a commentator on popular culture and music, for which he attracted over two million subscribers; in an interview with ''Dork'', he described his content during this period as "taking the piss out of other YouTubers' music". In 2020, during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marriott established a YouTube group, "the Eboys", with his peers ImAllexx,

WillNE William Jonathan Lenney (born 11 March 1996), better known as WillNE, is an English YouTuber and internet personality based in Newcastle. Lenney's content is noted for both his videos focusing around internet culture and his practical jokes, s ...

and Memeulous. They hosted a podcast of the same name, and Marriott later gained a following as a live streamer on Twitch.

''No Left Brain'', ''Bitter Tongues'' and ''Are We There Yet?''

Marriott released his first single, the yacht rock-inspired, "Slow Down", in May 2020, though he later expressed his disdain for the song and even called it "horrendous". He then released the single "Him", which appeared on his January 2021 extended play (EP) ''No Left Brain'', which was more guitar-based. In July 2021, Marriott released the single "Wake Up!", which ''

GoldenPlec ''GoldenPlec'' is an Irish music magazine and website. History Launched in 2003, ''GoldenPlec'' publishes music reviews, interviews, and news mainly related to the Irish independent music industry. It has been mentioned and noted on websites su ...

'' described as a combination of "angsty

alt-rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

" and indie rock, and in 2022 he released the single "Grapes", a take on developing into young adulthood, and then his second EP, ''Bitter Tongues''. The EP depicts his experiences with heartbreak,

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

, love, and his creative persona on social media. JamesMarriottAndLovejoy

In March 2023, Marriott announced his debut album '' Are We There Yet?'', joined Jake Bugg in his

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

performance for the Teenage Cancer Trust, and supported

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...

on tour. In May 2023, he performed at

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

's annual

Great Escape Festival The Great Escape Festival is a three-day music festival held in Brighton and Hove, England every year in May. It is operated by MAMA Festivals and showcases new music from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and roughly hosts ...

, and later that month, it was announced that he would support Lewis Capaldi in an acoustic set in June 2023, though Capaldi later cancelled the gig due to poor mental health. He then released the singles "So Long" and "Romanticise This", the latter a deeply personal track about

suicidal ideation Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, means having thoughts, ideas, or ruminations about the possibility of ending one's own life.World Health Organization, ''ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics'', ver. 09/2020MB26.A Suicidal ideatio ...

. Thereafter, Marriott performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August, at which he debuted "Don't Blame Me", which was released officially in October 2023. That month saw Marriott perform his first ever Australian tour dates; two shows in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and Melbourne. In November, he announced dates for a UK and European tour, and released '' Are We There Yet?'', whose name was taken from a regular utterance of his during family road trips and which narrates a hypothetical return to Spain. It charted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and was produced and written in close collaboration with

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and keyboardist Jono Suter of Marriott's live band, as well as Aleksi Kiiskinen. In February 2024, Marriott was announced to be playing at the annual Reading and Leeds Festivals on the BBC Radio 1 stage.

Artistry

Marriott initially "fell head over heels in love with music" after attending an ABBA tribute concert with family as a child. His early guitar work was inspired by Rodrigo y Gabriela, a flamenco and metal music duo. Marriott later deemed the guitar in his music as a "priority", and said he often sits down with an Epiphone Casino whenever emotions hit. In an August 2023 interview with ''Dork'', Marriott cited The Strokes, Bloc Party,

, and Kelly Clarkson as influences, the latter for her "in your fucking face" vocal production, and stated that many of his inspirations came from video games he played, describing his music as "somewhere between ''Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock'' and any ''FIFA'' soundtrack between '06 and '13". He also stated that he likes "having choruses that feel

Sam Fender Samuel Thomas Fender (born 25 April 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is known for his high tenor voice and thick Geordie accent, layered over music characterised by a roots-orientated rock approach. Fender's sound relies ...

-y", a name that '' Clash'''s Robbin Murray used to describe his lyricism. Marriott also cites Jacob Collier, as having "an interesting way of writing melodies" and wants crowds at his shows to feel like how he did when seeing

Delta Sleep Slow-wave sleep (SWS), often referred to as deep sleep, consists of stage three of non-rapid eye movement sleep. It usually lasts between 70 and 90 minutes and takes place during the first hours of the night. Initially, SWS consisted of both St ...

perform "The Detail". Marriott also noted that a

Dodie Dorothy Miranda Clark (born 11 April 1995), known mononymously as Dodie (stylised dodie), is an English singer, songwriter, author and YouTuber. Dodie began her career uploading original songs and covers to YouTube. She has over 210 videos, o ...

concert he attended "made imfall in love with having a string quartet over indie music". Speaking to the Official Charts Company, Marriott compared his song "Denial" to Biffy Clyro's "

Mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

" and The 1975's "

Sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...

." James Wilkinson of AllMusic wrote that Marriott produced "Foals- and Strokes-inspired indie rock."

Members

*James Marriott – vocals, guitar

Live members

*Jago Shakoori – drums (2021–present) *Matt Gavin – guitar (2021–present) *Jono Suter – guitar, keyboard (2021–present) *Samuel Horsley – bass guitar (2021–present)

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Tours

Headlining

* Bitter/UK Tour (2023) * Australia Tour (2023) * Are We There Yet? Tour (2024) * Summer ‘24 Tour (2024)

Supporting

– Inselaffe Tour (2023; three shows)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marriott, James Living people 1997 births English rock musicians 21st-century English male musicians 21st-century English singers English male singers English male singer-songwriters English-language YouTube channels Alumni of University College London British video bloggers British indie folk musicians British indie rock musicians English Twitch (service) streamers Commentary YouTubers Comedy YouTubers English comedy musicians English YouTubers English TikTokers Gaming YouTubers Minecraft YouTubers Musicians from Brighton and Hove Music YouTubers Video bloggers Vlogs-related YouTube channels YouTube vloggers YouTube channels launched in 2012 YouTubers from Buckinghamshire YouTubers from Brighton and Hove