James Bay’s new single “Easy Distraction” is here. Bay co-wrote the song with Killers frontman Brandon Flowers, who he identifies as “one of my heroes.”
The latest preview of Bay’s forthcoming album Changes All The Time, “Easy Distraction” effortlessly merges Bay’s signature pop-rock sound with Flowers’ familiar new wave affections and arena-rock showmanship, moving from tense, punchy verses to an explosive sing-along chorus. “For every mistake, I’ll give you my hand,” Bay sings. “Just promise to hold it wherever we land.”
“The song is about realizing too late that someone means so much to you, but you still want to show them and let them know,” Bay says. “It’s exploring how, in the face of adversity we can still reach out, we can still connect.” Regarding the collaboration with Flowers, Bay adds, “I found out from a mutual friend that Brandon was interested in writing with newer artists, so I jumped at the chance and went to work with him in Park City, Utah over in America. It was an unbelievable experience and insight into writing with one of my heroes. I hope we get to do more!”
Changes All The Time, the fourth full-length album from Bay, is set for release Oct. 4, 2024 via Mercury Records. “Easy Distraction” is the album’s second single following its opening track “Up All Night,” which matched Bay with American folk-rock stars the Lumineers and Noah Kahan and has already accumulated more than 22 million global streams, adding to a career total of nearly 9 billion across his discography.
Bay is one of the UK’s biggest music success stories of the past decade. In addition to his formidable sales and streaming figures, the singer, songwriter, and producer has won two BRIT Awards and two Q Awards, been honored at the Ivor Novello Awards and ECHO Awards, and was nominated for multiple Grammys including Best New Artist in 2016. He has performed on myriad TV shows including Saturday Night Live and shared the stage with such artists as the Rolling Stones and Sheryl Crow.
