James Maslow

Actor and singer James Maslow, who entered the world in New York in 1990, first drew notice as a key participant in Nickelodeon’s television-formed pop ensemble Big Time Rush. Raised in La Jolla, California, he joined the San Diego Children’s Choir at age six and began performing regularly. During his teenage years he studied at both the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts and the Coronado School of the Arts, completing his studies in 2007. By graduation he had already sung principal roles in several San Diego opera productions, among them La Boheme and Les Miserables.

His first on-screen appearance came shortly afterward in an episode of the Nickelodeon series iCarly. He soon landed the part of James Diamond in the network’s boy-band vehicle Big Time Rush, which ran from 2009 until 2013. Throughout that period he performed onscreen, toured, and recorded with the group, contributing to the albums BTR in 2010, Elevate in 2011, and 24/Seven in 2013. In 2012 he also appeared with his bandmates in the Beatles-inspired Nickelodeon feature Big Time Movie.

After Big Time Rush concluded in 2014, Maslow competed on season 18 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and was eliminated during the initial finals round. He continued taking screen roles, appearing in the independent feature Wild for the Night and headlining the 2015 Lifetime film Seeds of Yesterday. On the music side he maintained a steady output of online cover recordings and issued his first solo single, “Lies,” in 2015.