Nathaniel James Speas, known as Nate James, (born 15 September 1979 in

Lakenheath Lakenheath is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It has a population of 4,691 according to the 2011 Census, and is situated close to the county boundaries of both Nor ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England) is an English singer-songwriter. James released his debut

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

album '' Set the Tone'' in 2005 which won him two

MOBO Modern Baseball (sometimes abbreviated as MoBo) was an American emo band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of Bren Lukens, Jake Ewald, Sean Huber, and Ian Farmer. The band formed in 2012 at Drexel University and released their first ...

Nominations for Best Newcomer and Best R&B Artist, featuring his revered first release "Set The Tone" He released on his Frofunk imprint via

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Labels around the world and became one of the most successful independent

recording artists globally. James has sold over 1,000,000 albums and he has had

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

hits in both Europe and Japan. He won the

Festivalbar The Festivalbar () was an Italian singing competition that took place in the most important Italian squares during summer, such as the Piazza del Duomo, Catania or Piazza Bra, Verona. The first edition took place in 1964 and was broadcast by ...

in 2006, which was an Italian summertime singing contest that took place in the most important Italian city squares such as the Piazza del Duomo in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. In 2007, James won the

Urban Music Awards The Urban Music Awards (UMA) are a hip-hop, R&B, dance, and soul music awards ceremony that was launched in the UK by Jordan Kensington in 2003 and is now held in multiple countries. The US version of the award ceremony, the Urban Music Awar ...

' Best Album (''Kingdom Falls'') and Best Neo-Soul Artist. In February 2008, James and his band performed on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

show '' Later... with Jools Holland''. Nate was a contestant on the

's prime time television show ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing reality competition television series. Created by John de Mol and Roel van Velzen, it premiered on BBC One on 24 March 2012. Based on the original Dutch singing competition '' The Voice of Holland'', and ...

'' in April 2013.

Biography

Early life and music career

James has joint UK/US

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

as he was born in 1979 on a U. S. Air Force base in England to an American father and English mother. As a recognised songwriter, he was signed by Universal Publishing in 2004, prior to him releasing any material as a performer. Unlike many young artists he did not sign away the

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

in his recordings in the fast pursuit of fame. He owns his own

music videos A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

and does his own A&R, James released on his own Frofunk imprint via various deals with Independent Labels around the world. In so doing James has become one of the most successful independent soul recording artists globally. James sold over 1,000,000 albums and enjoyed sizable airplay hits across mainland Europe and Japan. He made an appearance on

on 27 April 2013 with 2 of the judges turning their chairs.

''Set the Tone'' (2005–2007)

James released his debut album, ''Set The Tone'' in 2005 which is heavily influenced by soul artists such as

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

. It subsequently won James widespread critical acclaim and two

nominations for Best Newcomer and Best R&B Artist. His album, written mostly by James, covers a range of music influences; from the bassy R&B of ''Set The Tone'', the upbeat pop of ''Universal'', the retro soul of ''The Message'', the classic ballad sound of ''Justify Me'' to the rocky vibe in ''I'll Decline.'' There is also a duet with

Dawn Robinson Dawn Sherrese Robinson (born November 24, 1966) is an American singer and actress best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop group En Vogue, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. Following her departure from En Vogue, Rob ...

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the singl ...

. James has also worked with several noted co-writers that included David Brant (

Mis-Teeq Mis-Teeq were a British girl group, consisting of Sabrina Washington, Su-Elise Nash and Alesha Dixon. They were active from 1999 to 2005. Mis-Teeq had two top-ten albums and seven consecutive top-ten singles on the UK Singles Chart, as ...

Liberty X Liberty X (originally called Liberty) are a British girl group consisting of Michelle Heaton, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young. The group's best-known line-up also included Tony Lundon and Kevin Simm. The group was formed by the five finalists of ...

Jamie Scott James Christopher Needle (born 12 February 1984), known professionally as Jamie Scott, is an English singer, songwriter and producer. Career Songwriting As a writer and producer Scott has sold over 100 million albums, 50 million singles, has ...

Eg White Francis Anthony "Eg" White (born 22 November 1966) is a British musician, songwriter and producer. He started his career in the cowpunk band Yip Yip Coyote in the 1980s and then formed Brother Beyond with his brother, David White, in the late ...

(

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

Chasing Pavements "Chasing Pavements" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele Adkins for her debut studio album, '' 19'' (2008). Written by Adele with her producer Francis White, the song was released as the second single from the album on 14 Ja ...

) on ''Universal'',

David Sneddon David Sneddon (born 15 September 1978) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and music producer of contemporary pop music. He began his career performing on stage and television, singing lead roles in stage musicals in Glasgow. In 2002, ...

(

Hurts Hurts may refer to: * Pain, injury or suffering * Hurts (duo), British musical duo * Hurts (song), "Hurts" (song), by Emeli Sandé, 2016 * "Hurts", a song by Lany from ''LANY (album), LANY'', 2017 * "Hurts", a song by Mika from ''No Place in Heaven ...

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

) and

Jake Gosling Jake Nathan Gosling is an English record producer and songwriter. Best known for his production work for English singer Ed Sheeran, he has also been credited on releases for acts including Lady Gaga, The Libertines, James Bay, Shawn Mendes, A ...

(

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

Wiley (rapper) Richard Kylea Cowie Jr. (born 19 January 1979), better known by his stage name Wiley (formerly Wiley Kat), is a British grime MC, songwriter, DJ and record producer from Bow, London. Wiley is often labelled the " Godfather of Grime". In the ...

) on ''The Message'', Andreas S. Jensen (Writer of Armand Van Heldens: MyMyMy),

Peter-John Vettese Peter-John Vettese (born 15 August 1956), also known as Peter Vettese, is a Scottish keyboardist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. Vettese was the keyboardist for progressive rock band Jethro Tull for most of the 1980s. Early life Pet ...

(

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...

: Walking On Broken Glass), Jamie Hartman (

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. He came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Ido ...

's All Time Love) on ''Justify Me'' and Emily Friendship ( Sarah Connor's: You're the Kinda Man). James has sold out numerous live shows at the

Jazz Café The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue. The venue holds 450 people across both floors. ...

in London and at other venues across the UK. His headline gig at

Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was original ...

had to be rescheduled due to the

7 July 2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, also referred to as 7/7, were a series of four co-ordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamist terrorists that targeted commuters travelling on Transport in London, London's public transport during the ...

but went ahead in October 2005. Nate and his band also performed at Fruitstock 2005. He has had success in both Europe and Japan. He won the

in Italy in 2006. The Festivalbar is an Italian singing competition that takes place in the most important Italian squares during summer, such as the

Piazza del Duomo, Milan Piazza del Duomo ("Cathedral Square") is the main ''piazza'' (city square) of Milan, Italy. It is named after, and dominated by, Milan Cathedral (the ''Duomo''). The piazza marks the center of the city, both in a geographic sense and because o ...

''Kingdom Falls'' (2007–2008)

The recording of James' second album ''Kingdom Falls'' was entirely self-funded out of the profits from his debut album. The album features a live orchestra on many tracks and more studio-based production than that featured on his first album ''Set The Tone''. The album title track ''Kingdom Falls'' was influenced by James's experiences on a charity mission to

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

in 2006, where he witnessed a mix of joy and sadness, seeing the country and its many

orphans An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages, such as Swedis ...

recovering from the atrocities committed during the

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

of 1994. The album was mixed in Los Angeles by

grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

winning

Outkast Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...

collaborator Neal H Pogue and was released first in Japan and subsequently in the UK & Italy. In 2007 James won

Best Album (Kingdom Falls) and Best Neo-Soul Artist. In February 2008 James and his band performed two tracks from the album on the

show Later... with Jools Holland – ''Choke'' and ''Back To You''. In Spring 2008, James embarked on his first tour of North

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and played live shows in New York City, Toronto,

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, & Los Angeles. On 4 July 2008 James headlined the outdoor stage of the

Montreal Jazz Fest The Festival international de Jazz de Montréal is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 ar ...

, performing to an audience of over 120,000 in the

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

city.

''Revival'' (2009)

In between writing sessions for his next album, James recorded a selection of

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s. These were released as ''Revival'' on 30 March 2009. The album was produced solely by the producer of James's ''Set The Tone'' album David Brant.

SugaSmak! (2010)

In 2010 James formed the group SugaSmak! which consisted of Nate as the lead vocalist (now dubbed 'SugaJack') and Matt Gooderson of indie outfit Infadels ('Clyma'). Boasting a new ElectroSoul sound, the duo's debut single ''We Are'' was released through the small London independent "Better Get Records" on 22 November 2010.

"Back Foot" (2012)

In 2012 Nate teamed up with Manchester duo HeavyFeet to record the hit single "Back Foot". The track was released through Champion Records on 25 March 2012.

''The Voice UK'' (2013)

In 2013 Nate James appeared on UK hit TV show ''

''. Performing "

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

", James turned

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind ...

and

Danny O'Donoghue Daniel John Mark Luke O'Donoghue (born 3 October 1980) is an Irish singer-songwriter best known for being the frontman of the Irish rock band The Script and as a coach on the first two series of the television singing talent show '' The Voice ...

's chairs. He chose

as his coach, although he did consider being on Team

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

. He was eliminated during The Battle Rounds.

''The Voice of Holland'' (2018)

In 2018, James appeared on the Netherlands hit TV show ''

The Voice of Holland ''The Voice of Holland'', also known by its acronym ''TVOH'', is a Dutch singing reality competition television series that became a global TV format franchise, created by media tycoon John de Mol Jr. and musician Roel van Velzen in the Net ...

'', where he performed " Issues" and turned all four chairs. He chose Waylon to be his coach.

Discography

Albums

EPs

*2007: ''Funkdefining EP''

Singles

As solo artist

With SugaSmack!

*"We Are" (2010)

With Heavyfeet

*"Back Foot" (2012)

Collaborations

*2005: Poker Pets featuring Nate James - "Lovin' You" No. 43 (UK) *2005: Natalie Williams featuring Nate James - "Conversation" *2006: Sway feat. Nate James "Still on My Own" *2006: Pe'z v Nate James – "Live for the Groove EP" Top 40 (JAP sales chart) *2007: Paolo Meneguzzi & Nate James 'Music' / 'Musica' Top 30 (Italia Airplay) *2012: HeavyFeet & Nate James – "Back Foot" *2024: John Galea & Nate James – "Old School Love"

Also features on

*2004: Shapeshifters "Lola's Theme" No. 1 (UK single) *"Funkdefining" is featured in the Hollywood movies '' Run, Fat Boy, Run'' and '' How to Lose Friends & Alienate People''

Accolades

*2005: MOBO AWARD Best Newcomer nominee *2005: MOBO AWARD Best R&B Artist nominee *2005: CHANNEL U Best of British nominee *2005: SCREEN NATION AWARDS Best Video nominee *2006: MOBO AWARD Best UK Male nominee *2006: BT DIGITAL MUSIC AWARDS Best Urban Artist *2006: FESTIVALBAR Best International Artist winner *2007: URBAN MUSIC AWARDS Best Album (Kingdom Falls) *2007: URBAN MUSIC AWARDS Best Neo-Soul Artist winner

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial MyspaceNate James Interview By Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' October 2009Full-length video of Paradiso concert
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Nate 1979 births Living people English people of African-American descent 21st-century Black British male singers 21st-century British male singers English soul singers English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters British contemporary R&B singers The Voice UK contestants People from Lakenheath