James Baley Explained
James Baley is a Canadian singer and dancer from Toronto, Ontario, whose debut album A Story was released in 2021.[1]
A longtime figure in Toronto's ballroom culture scene,[2] Baley first became known as a musician when he contributed vocals to Azari's 2018 single "Gotasoul",[3] which was a Juno Award nominee for Dance Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2019.[4] In 2020 he was a featured vocalist on "Champagne", a single from July Talk's Juno-winning album Pray for It,[5] and has also been a guest vocalist with U.S. Girls, Zaki Ibrahim and Badge Époque Ensemble.[6]
He released A Story in 2021,[7] 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.[8]
In 2022, Baley and filmmaker Kyisha Williams created a performance video for the ballroom competition series .[9]
He is out as gay.[6]
Notes and References
- Robert Rowat, "From brimstone to ballroom, musician James Baley prevails to tell a powerful story". CBC Music, March 2, 2022.
- https://www.cbc.ca/music/cots-meditation-on-loneliness-and-4-more-songs-you-need-to-hear-this-week-1.6143868 "Cots' meditation on loneliness, and 4 more songs you need to hear this week"
- Carrie Battan, "Azari's 'Gotasoul,' a Song That Unites the Church and the Club". The New Yorker, September 19, 2018.
- https://www.cbc.ca/music/junos/news/shawn-mendes-and-the-weeknd-lead-the-2019-juno-nominations-1.4992669 "Shawn Mendes and the Weeknd lead the 2019 Juno nominations"
- Steve Horowitz, "July Talk Transform on 'Pray for It'". Pop Matters, July 31, 2020.
- Liisa Ladouceur, "James Baley fuses Gospel vocals with house music". Words and Music, October 7, 2021.
- Richard Trapunski, "Toronto's best music 2021: albums, concerts and so many songs to stream" . Now, December 9, 2021.
- https://nowtoronto.com/culture/the-best-things-to-do-in-toronto-this-weekend-october-22-24 "The best things to do in Toronto this weekend: October 22-24"
- [S. Bear Bergman]
