JAMES BAY

When I was 15, if anything, I thought I was going to be a Delta bluesman, which is so ridiculous.

I spent two years playing open mic nights in Brighton, and I heard more and more people saying, 'You should give it a go in London.'

The Internet is the Wild West of the world, where anybody can throw anything down. Everything can be as relevant as the next thing; it doesn't matter who posts it. In that environment, the Critics' Choice is still very important.

My family quite innocently don't understand the ins and outs of it all, but they see things like the Burberry show and the Live Lounge, so they understand the gravity of those things, but they're proud - it's cool.

Growing up, when I was at live shows, I was always hoping someone would come out on stage and say, 'The guitarist is sick and couldn't make it... does anybody know how to play all the songs?' That was always my little dream. It was a massively inspiring thing to be in a space with live shows.

There should be an element of mystique between the fans and the artist. That bit between the stage and the audience. I think that's necessary.

I'm going to take each day and each thing and each gig as it comes at me.

As a singer-songwriter, a solo artist with a guitar, I can only write so many weepie little bedroom songs.

The thing about 'Hold Back The River' that I like is that it's a good starting place, and it was the perfect first single.

My songwriting process, and maybe loads of other people's, is just this sort of smashing together of emotions and stuff to make some music. It's kind of simple and really complex at the same time and, as you can see, incredibly hard to explain.

I like drawing people in the airport or on the bus or in venues. I like catching people in the moment. It's a similar inspiration for me in terms of songwriting.

Growing up in Hitchin was comfortable and easy enough. My parents had some great records - and some not-so-great ones - and that's where I got introduced to Motown and the Stones and Springsteen.

I like it when things crescendo to a huge moment like 'Hold Back the River.'

Up until the last minute, it was art and drawing for me. That was the first real and natural thing I thought I was good at and loved to do. But I developed a similar kind of love for music.

To drive though the streets of Manhattan to sign a record deal was like a movie. It was crazy - pretty hard to put into words.

I bought a guitar CD-ROM because we had a new computer, but I had no attention span for that. I spent about three hours on it desperate to be brilliant. Eventually, I got some proper lessons.

When I'm writing, I need to amplify my thoughts and feelings on just a conversation that I might have had with somebody - somebody close to me. It's often the case that the people closest to me are the people on my mind the most.

I'm still like an excited kid playing guitar in front of the bedroom mirror.

I used to dress up like Michael Jackson. I didn't have the glove, but I had a red jacket like in 'Thriller.'

I loved pop music as a little kid. Things like the Black Eyed Peas. If it had a catchy chorus, I was into it.

My songwriting process is painful. Songwriting is brilliant. It's a load of fun - when it works. It's really difficult as well.

Some of my songs are about the feeling you belong somewhere else. But there's also something grounding about coming from a small town.

There was a guitar that my uncle owned and never learnt to play. He sold it to my dad, and when I heard 'Layla', that was the tune that really grabbed me. I said to my dad, 'Wait, there's a guitar, right?'

It's bad to be labeled just another singer-songwriter.

I hope to have a long career, and I don't want to be defined by things that aren't the music.