James Napier (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Jimmy Napes, is an English songwriter and record producer. He has won a number of awards including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, 3 Grammy Awards, and 2 Ivor Novello Awards. Napier is best known for his work with Sam Smith ("Stay with Me", "Writing's on the Wall", "Lay Me Down", "Too Good at Goodbyes", "Dancing with a Stranger"), Disclosure ("Latch", "You & Me", "White Noise", "Magnets"), Clean Bandit ("Rather Be")‚ Stormzy ("Crown"), and Taylor Swift ("Christmas Tree Farm"). Napier also has songwriting and producer credits with artists including Alicia Keys, Jess Glynne, Khalid, Normani, Kano, Dave, Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding, Mary J. Blige, Madonna, James Bay and more.[1]
Jimmy Napes | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James Napier |
| Born | 18 September 1984 London, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | Method |
Background
editThe son of John Napier, a British theatre designer, and Donna King, an American dancer and actress, Napes grew up in England.[2] He started to go to University College School in Hampstead when he was 11.
In 2010, he worked with Eliza Doolittle on her album of the same name. Since then he has written for (and co-written with) several other artists, including Disclosure, Sam Smith, Clean Bandit and Mary J. Blige.[3] In 2015, he earned a Grammy Award for Song of the Year for his work on Smith's "Stay with Me", co-written with Smith and Tourist.[4] In the same year, Napes also won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song for co-writing Clean Bandit's "Rather Be". Napes released his debut EP as a singer, The Making of Me, on Method Records in March 2015.[5] For co-writing "Writing's on the Wall" with Sam Smith, Napes won the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Napes has a son, born in 2015. Sam Smith is a godparent to Napes' son.[6]
Discography
editThis section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (October 2020) |
Extended plays
edit- The Making of Me (2015)
Songwriting and production credits
edit| Year | Artist | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Eliza | "So High" | Eliza Doolittle |
| 2012 | Disclosure | "Latch" feat. Sam Smith | Settle |
| 2013 | Disclosure | "Voices" feat. Sasha Keable | |
| "White Noise" feat. AlunaGeorge | |||
| "You & Me" feat. Eliza Doolittle | |||
| "Together" with Sam Smith and Nile Rodgers | |||
| Sam Smith | "Nirvana" | Nirvana EP | |
| "Lay Me Down" | |||
| Jessie Ware | "Imagine It Was Us" | Devotion | |
| Naughty Boy | "La La La" feat. Sam Smith | Hotel Cabana | |
| Clean Bandit | "Dust Clears" feat. Noonie Bao | New Eyes | |
| 2014 | Clean Bandit | "Rather Be" feat. Jess Glynne | |
| "Extraordinary" feat. Sharna Bass | |||
| Tourist | "I Can't Keep Up" feat. Will Heard | Patterns EP | |
| Sam Smith | "Stay with Me" | In the Lonely Hour | |
| "Leave Your Lover" | |||
| "I'm Not the Only One" | |||
| "I've Told You Now" | |||
| "Like I Can" | |||
| "Lay Me Down" (re-release) | |||
| "Restart" | |||
| "Latch" | |||
| "Make It to Me" | |||
| Gorgon City | "Unmissable" feat. Zak Abel | Sirens | |
| Ella Henderson | "Billie Holliday" | Chapter One | |
| Jessie Ware | "Pieces" | Tough Love | |
| "The Way We Are" | |||
| Mary J. Blige | "Therapy" | The London Sessions | |
| "Right Now" | |||
| "Not Loving You" | |||
| "When You're Gone" | |||
| "Nobody But You" | |||
| "Worth My Time" | |||
| Mary J. Blige
& |
"Follow" | ||
| Madeon | "You're On" feat. Kyan | Adventure | |
| 2015 | Chasing Grace | "Lost Time" | Nowhere Near Old Enough |
| Madonna | "Best Night" | Rebel Heart | |
| Disclosure | "Holding On" feat. Gregory Porter | Caracal | |
| "Omen" feat. Sam Smith | |||
| "Jaded" | |||
| "Willing and Able" feat. Kwabs | |||
| "Hourglass" feat. Lion Babe | |||
| "Magnets" feat. Lorde | |||
| "Nocturnal" feat. The Weeknd | |||
| "Good Intentions" feat. Miguel | |||
| "Superego" feat. Nao | |||
| "Echoes" | |||
| "Masterpiece" feat. Jordan Rakei | |||
| "Molecules" | |||
| "Moving Mountains" feat. Brendan Reilly | |||
| "Afterthought" | |||
| Låpsley | "Hurt Me" | Long Way Home | |
| Kwabs | "Cheating on Me" | Love + War | |
| Ellie Goulding | "Heal" | Delirium | |
| Sam Smith | "Writing's on the Wall" | Spectre OST | |
| "Drowning Shadows" | In the Lonely Hour: Drowning Shadows Edition | ||
| "Love Is a Losing Game" | |||
| "How Will I Know" | |||
| "Omen" | |||
| "Stay with Me" (Darkchild Remix) feat. Mary J. Blige | |||
| "I'm Not the Only One" feat. ASAP Rocky | |||
| "Lay Me Down" feat. John Legend | |||
| 2016 | Alicia Keys | "Hallelujah" | Here |
| Dillon Francis | "Anywhere" feat. Will Heard | Non-album single | |
| Liv Dawson | "Reflection" | Open Your Eyes EP | |
| 2017 | Liv Dawson | "Searching" | Non-album single |
| Isaac Gracie | "Reverie" | Isaac Gracie | |
| Frances | "Cloud 9" | Things I've Never Said | |
| "It Isn't Like You" | |||
| Ardyn | "Together" | Bloom EP | |
| "Throwing Stones" | |||
| Ray BLK | "Doing Me" | Non-album single | |
| Tourist | "We Stayed Up All Night" feat. Ardyn | Wash EP | |
| Sam Smith | "Too Good at Goodbyes" | The Thrill of It All | |
| "Pray" solo / feat. Logic | |||
| "Burning" | |||
| "Say It First" | |||
| "One Last Song" | |||
| "Midnight Train" | |||
| "Baby, You Make Me Crazy" | |||
| "No Peace" feat. Yebba | |||
| "Nothing Left for You" | |||
| "The Thrill of It All" | |||
| "One Day at a Time" | |||
| Liv Dawson | "Hush" | Non-album single | |
| "Last Time" | |||
| 2018 | Albin Lee Meldau | "Before & After" | About You |
| Isaac Gracie | "Telescope" | Isaac Gracie | |
| James Bay | "I Found You" | Electric Light | |
| Paul the PSM | "Lord Give Me Strength" | Secret Life of a Bad Man EP | |
| Lily Moore | "I Know I Wanna Be with You" | I Will Never Be EP | |
| Rita Ora | "Velvet Rope" | Phoenix | |
| 2019 | Sam Smith
& |
"Dancing with a Stranger" | Love Goes |
| Mae Muller | "Anticlimax" | Non-album single | |
| Avicii | "Freak" | TIM | |
| Stormzy | "Crown" | Heavy Is the Head | |
| Icona Pop | "Next Mistake" | Non-album single | |
| Mabel | "I Belong to Me" | High Expectations | |
| Tori Kelly | "Change Your Mind" | Inspired by True Events | |
| "Sorry Would Go a Long Way" | |||
| "Language" | |||
| "Coffee" | |||
| "8/28/1997" | |||
| "Kid I Used to Know" | |||
| "Pretty Fades" | |||
| "3/2/1991" | |||
| "Actress" | |||
| "Until I Think of You" | |||
| "3/26/1994" | |||
| "Your Words" | |||
| "Before the Dawn" | |||
| "Until Forever" | |||
| "Minute to Myself" | |||
| Kano | "Got My Brandy, Got My Beats" feat. Lil Silva | Hoodies All Summer | |
| "SYM" | |||
| Mae Muller | "Dick" | Non-album single | |
| Celine Dion | "For the Lover That I Lost" | Courage | |
| Taylor Swift | "Christmas Tree Farm" | Non-album single | |
| 2020 | Khalid
& |
"Know Your Worth" | Energy |
| Sam Smith | "To Die For" | Love Goes | |
| Mae Muller | "I Don't Want Your Money" | Non-album single | |
| Sam Smith | "My Oasis" feat. Burna Boy | Love Goes | |
| Alicia Keys | "3 Hour Drive" feat. Sampha | Alicia | |
| "Gramercy Park" | |||
| Sam Smith | "For the Lover That I Lost" | Love Goes | |
| "Breaking Hearts" | |||
| "Forgive Myself" |
References
edit- ^ Cliff, Aimee (29 October 2014). "Meet The Singer Who's Secretly Behind The UK's American Pop Takeover". The Fader. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ Donna King biography at donnakingdame.com, accessed 7 April 2018
- ^ "SESAC's James Napier Named Billboard's No.1 Writer". SESAC. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ Jonze, Tim (8 February 2015). "Grammys 2015 – Sam Smith's Stay With Me wins song of the year". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ "Jimmy Napes shares title track from debut EP". DIY. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ Smith, Sam (15 March 2015). "Instagram". Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2015.