Singer-songwriter James Newman to Rotterdam for the UK

27 February 2020 at 10:42 CET

James Newman BMG/Victor Frankowski

For the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, UK public broadcaster BBC has selected multi-platinum selling, BRIT award-winning and Grammy-nominated songwriter James Newman. He will perform the song ‘My Last Breath’ at the Grand Final on 16 May. He wrote the track himself alongside an all-star team of Adam Argyle, Ed Drewett and Iain James. Iain also worked on Azerbaijan’s winning Eurovision 2011 entry, 'Running Scared' by Ell & Nikki.

After writing hits for other artists, James is ready to take Europe by storm as a solo artist. He recorded his entry My Last Breath in Scotland while staying on a loch (a Scottish lake) with fellow songwriters, Ed Drewett, Iain James and Adam Argyle. James knew My Last Breath was ‘the one’ after recording it; he loved the simplicity of the song and felt like it gets you right away.

About James

James Newman is a multi-platinum selling, BRIT award-winning and Grammy-nominated songwriter, having won a BRIT for British Single of the Year for Waiting All Night performed by Rudimental and Ella Eyre. It was James’ first UK Number 1 single in 2013.

It wasn’t long before he was able to co-write another UK Number 1, this time for Calvin Harris and his younger brother John Newman called Blame. The song topped the charts in several countries including the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Mexico. James has worked with many famous artists over the years, including good friend Ed Sheeran who recorded the vocals on his track Lay It All On Me which was certified platinum in both the UK and the US. James has also been Grammy-nominated twice, co-writing Coping from Toni Braxton’s album Sex & Cigarettes, and Let ‘Em Talk from Kesha’s album Rainbow.

James has been a featured vocalist on many successful songs – his biggest hit came in 2018 when he collaborated with acclaimed Dutch DJ Armin Van Buuren. Their song Therapy was a big hit in Europe and reached number 4 on the Dutch Top 40 chart.

The team behind My Last Breath

Ed Drewett

Ed is a British singer-songwriter who is best known for his contributions and collaborations with acts such as One Direction, Jonas Blue, Little Mix, Olly Murs and Craig David. His first big success came with the UK Number 1 single All Time Low by The Wanted in 2010. The follow-up single which Ed also co-wrote, Glad You Came, sold 4 million copies worldwide and reached Number 3 on the US Billboard charts. His other notable hits include UK Number 1 single for Little Mix (Black Magic), worldwide smashes Best Song Ever, Steal My Girl and History by One Direction and, most recently, the hit singles Rise & Mama for Jonas Blue.

Iain James

British singer, songwriter and vocal producer Iain James has had hits with some of the biggest UK and international artists, including Anne-Marie, One Direction, Why Don’t We, The Vamps, Leona Lewis, EXO and Olly Murs. His most notable song is Read All About It which was initially released by Professor Green. The song was re-released by Emeli Sandé where it was performed at the 2012 Olympics and became multi-platinum selling around the world. Iain is no stranger to Eurovision - he was one of the co-writers of Azerbaijan’s winning Eurovision entry, Running Scared by Ell & Nikki in 2011.

Adam Argyle

Adam has a background as a country singer-songwriter but transitioned into writing and producing in other genres as well. A respected lyric and melody writer, as well as a multi-instrumentalist, he found early success writing and producing for Spice Girl Melanie C on her solo albums, as well as Newton Faulkner. Adam has had a long-running collaboration with Olly Murs over numerous albums and has also written songs with 5 Seconds Of Summer, Dua Lipa, James Bay, Ava Max and James Arthur.