Gavin James to perform in Manila on Oct. 4

Gavin James, the Irish singer/songwriter who has opened for the likes of Ed Sheeran in Dublin and Sam Smith in the US, will be in Manila for his first-ever visit to Asia for a show at the New Frontier Theater on October 4.

James may not be the major superstar the likes of super famous headliners he has supported on tour yet, but brace yourself; he just might steal your heart away. With a “spell-binding voice and a knack for stadium-sized hooks” as one critic described him, Gavin’s music can easily get into your head and stay there. 

His current single, “Always,” has been described as a Coldplay-esque ballad that newfound fans simply adore. James says, “’Always is all about loss for me. It was about ending a relationship last year and then immediately regretting it, so it’s a pretty apologetic tune. However, the song can have a lot of different meanings and I’m excited for people to listen to it and make their mine up themselves about what it means to them.”

James has two albums under his belt so far, namely 2016’s “Bitter Pill” and last year’s “Only Ticket Home,” which he is currently touring. “My first album (was something) I wrote over several years, as I had never put anything out before. It was a lot of sad songs,” James shares. “The new one, ‘Only Ticket Home,’ has a lot more up-tempo songs.”

Far from being Ireland’s best kept secret these days, James’ fans include superstars as well. For one, Sheeran did not only have James play Croke Park (the Irish equivalent of Wembley Stadium) with him in 2015; in 2014, the chart-topper gave James a shout out on Twitter for his 10M followers to read, calling out record labels that “if you ignore Gavin James, you are losing out.”

James also found a fan in talk show host James Corden (of Carpool Karaoke fame), when his appearance on “The Late Show with James Corden” left the chat show host “blown away.” On Twitter, Corden also announced to his 10M followers, “...Sometimes a new artist comes along and their voice and talent stops you in your tracks,” and tagged James on the tweet.  

Perhaps what could also break his fanbase wide open was when K-pop idol Jimin from BTS recently did a live video singing to James’ song “Nervous” that earned about 3 million views, and another 300k+ videos upon being reposted by James. The singer’s thank you tweet of “Cheers to all the BTS fans for the love” was met with positive response from members of the BTS Army, some of whom noted they now ‘stan’ the singer and would also follow him and put his songs on their playlist.

In a serendipitous turn, James just recently released a collaboration of “Always” with female French singer named Philippine, a contestant on “The Voice France” in 2016. The two even performed a breathtaking duet with French lyrics live on France’s Hot Mix Radio.

Find out what’s so special about Gavin James and what his fans already know about him and his music when he plays for the first time in Asia with his Manila concert at the New Frontier Theater in Araneta Center on October 4. Tickets are available at www.tickenet.com.ph.