Scars (James Bay song)

"Scars"
James Bay standing in a doorway with a hat on.
Single by James Bay
from the album Chaos and the Calm
Released2014
Recorded2013–14
StudioBlackbird (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre
Length4:32
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)James Bay
Producer(s)Jacquire King
James Bay singles chronology
"Hold Back the River"
(2014) 		"Scars"
(2014) 		"If You Ever Want to Be in Love"
(2015)

"Scars" is a song by English singer-songwriter James Bay from his debut studio album Chaos and the Calm (2014). It was released exclusively to digital retailers on 8 January 2015 by Republic Records. The song is to be released in September as the third single from Bay's debut studio album Chaos and the Calm (2014). An audio video supporting the song was also uploaded on January 8, 2014 on YouTube. The song was written by Bay himself and produced by Jacquire King.

Background and release

The song was released on 8 January 2015. Prior to this, it was also immediately available buy pre-ordering his debut studio album Chaos and the Calm, which was released on December 15, 2014.

Critical reception

The song earned early acclaim from Aimee Curran of Baeble Music, whom praised Bay's "soulful, indie sound" and that "there's no reason why you wouldn't want it in your permanent music catalog."[1] On 13 January 2015, Spotify listed the song at number 4 on the Top 10 Most Viral Tracks in the UK.[2]

Music video

The music video was released on 28 August 2015 and directed by Benno Nelson and Nils d'Aulaire.[3][4]

Live performances

Bay has performed the song at the Bing Lounge on 4 June 2014, at the Beacons Festival on 21 August 2014 and recently at BBC Radio 1's Future Festival in January 2015.[5][6][7]

Track listing

  • Digital download[8]
  1. "Scars" – 4:32

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 40
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 71
New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ)[11] 4
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 48

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[13] Gold 7,500*
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Silver 200,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Worldwide[15] 8 January 2015 Digital download Republic
United Kingdom Virgin[16]

References

  1. ^ "JAMES BAY SHOWS 'SCARS' IN NEW SONG". baeblemusic.com. 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  2. ^ "Spotify's Top 10 most viral tracks". mercurynews.com. 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  3. ^ "Scars (BTS) (Vevo LIFT): Brought To You By McDonald's". VEVO. 15 September 2015.
  4. ^ "James Bay - Scars". YouTube.com. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  5. ^ James Bay - Scars (Bing Lounge). YouTube. 4 June 2014.
  6. ^ James Bay - Scars. The Amazing Sessions (Beacons Festival 2014). YouTube. 21 August 2014.
  7. ^ James Bay - Scars (Live at the Future Festival 2015). YouTube. 13 January 2015.
  8. ^ "Scars - James Bay". google.com.
  9. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography James Bay". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  11. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart - The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  13. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – James Bay – Scars". Radioscope. Retrieved 21 December 2024. Type Scars in the "Search:" field.
  14. ^ "British single certifications – James Bay – Scars". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Amazon.com: Scars: James Bay: MP3 Downloads". amazon.com.
  16. ^ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scars/dp/B00QLHCO9G/ref=pd_sim_dmt_dmusic_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1878R2FM8WBC7E05QGSY [dead link‍]