Ryland James

Ryland James
Born
Ryland James Clark

1999
Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • pianist
Years active2014–present
Musical career
GenresPop
LabelsRepublic

Ryland James Clark (born 1999), known professionally as Ryland James, is a Canadian pop singer from Deseronto, Ontario,[1] whose self-titled debut EP was released in 2020.[2]

As a teenager, he was a competitor on the seventh and final season of The Next Star in 2014, finishing in fifth place.[3] Professionally, he uses his middle name as his stage surname, so as to avoid potential confusion with British singer and presenter Rylan Clark.[1]

He released his debut single "Good to You" in 2017, and followed up in 2019 with "Say Goodbye" and his breakthrough hit "In My Head".[4] Through 2019, he toured as an opening act for Alessia Cara on her The Pains of Growing Tour;[4] in February 2020, his fourth single "Shoulder to Cry On" was released.[5] His self-titled EP was released in August 2020, and was followed in December by the Christmas release A Little Christmas.[6]

James received two Juno Award nominations at the Juno Awards of 2021, for Pop Album of the Year and Breakthrough Artist of the Year.[7]

He came out as queer in February 2021.[8]

He sang the Canadian national anthem at the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.[9]

In 2023, he participated in an all-star recording of Serena Ryder's single "What I Wouldn't Do", which was released as a charity single to benefit Kids Help Phone's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health.[10]

  1. ^ a b Adam Prudhomme, "Deseronto singer Ryland James set to headline international tour". The Napanee Beaver, January 31. 2020.
  2. ^ Nadia Neophytou, "Ryland James Dives Into the Water With His Debut EP". American Songwriter, September 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "Ryland James tour includes stops in Burnstown, Ottawa and Waterloo". Arnprior Chronicle, January 30, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Kirsten Spruch, "Ryland James Keeps Lost Love Alive in Sweet 'In My Head' Video". Billboard, August 1, 2019.
  5. ^ Aynslee Darmon, "Ryland James Debuts New Music Video For Emotional Track ‘Shoulder To Cry On’". Entertainment Tonight Canada, February 28, 2020.
  6. ^ "Rising star Ryland James on his new EP ‘A Little Christmas’". Global News, December 23, 2020.
  7. ^ Jackson Weaver, "Junos 2021: The Weeknd gets 6 nominations; JP Saxe, Justin Bieber, Jessie Reyez score 5 each". CBC News, March 9, 2021.
  8. ^ Brent Furdyk, "Canadian Singer Ryland James Comes Out: ‘Today Is The Day’". Entertainment Tonight Canada, February 9, 2021.
  9. ^ "NBA to honor NBA 75th Anniversary Team at halftime of 2022 NBA All-Star Game in special ceremony". NBA.com.
  10. ^ Brent Furdyk, "Feel Out Loud: Alessia Cara, Serena Ryder & More Canadian Artists Collaborate On New Single Promoting Youth Mental Health Initiative". Entertainment Tonight Canada, March 2, 2023.