Daley

Gareth Daley first drew attention via his role on the 2010 Gorillaz single "Doncamatic," after which he developed a following through his smooth, R&B-tinged vocal style. He advanced his path by offering the understated yet poignant ballad "Rainy Day" to the BBC, where its early-'70s Hi Records flavor and his anguished delivery earned rotation on BBC 1Xtra. Daley next co-wrote and performed on Gorillaz's "Doncamatic," landing a nomination with Jamie Woon and James Blake in the BBC Sound of 2011 poll. In 2011 he teamed with fellow nominee Wretch 32 for "Long Way Home," while also dropping the polished ten-track mixtape Those Who Wait as a free download. A deal with Universal Republic in the U.S. brought the release of the steamy Marsha Ambrosius duet "Alone Together," which entered Billboard's U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in late May 2012. Months afterward, "Remember Me" featuring Sound of 2011 winner Jessie J served as his first U.K. single, followed by "Broken" in 2013. His proper debut album Days & Nights arrived in February 2014; cohesive yet diverse, it included work with Pharrell Williams, Bernard Butler, Illangelo, Andre Harris, and Happy Perez. After appearances on Vince Staples' Summertime '06 and Swindle's Purple Walls, Daley returned in 2017 with the widely distributed independent album The Spectrum. One of his primary inspirations, Jill Scott, joined him on the single "Until the Pain Is Gone," helping the set reach number 13 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and number seven on the Heatseekers list.