Ones to watch in 2026: James Emmanuel, singer
Rising soul singer James Emmanuel credits his adopted city of Edinburgh with helping him find his voice and flourish musically, writes Fiona Shepherd
There is something very satisfying about the time-honoured rags-to-riches origins story. Soul singer James Emmanuel’s is as engaging as his rich vocals and natural ability – an ability which was coaxed out of him by a variety of family members, acquaintances and random strangers from his native Nigeria right through to his current base in Edinburgh, the city which adopted him and inspired his recent single Nothing But Love.
Emmanuel ended 2025 as the winner of the Spotlight award for emerging artists at the Scottish Music Awards, with a debut EP and a BBC Proms performance under his belt. Joining Beverley Knight and Jacob Lusk for the Soul Revolution concert at the Royal Albert Hall was a highlight of the long and somewhat ambivalent road he has already travelled to reach this tipping point.
This son of a preacher man spent his childhood and adolescence in Nigeria, a background he credits with teaching him the importance of community. “Growing up in church, it felt like you had so many parents,” he says. “Everybody was your mum, everybody was your dad. If you were hungry and at your mate’s house, you got a plate and that’s how it was.”
Like many soul singers, Emmanuel’s vocal chops were shaped by the church choir, though his attendance was a diversionary tactic cooked up by his father when he found 12-year-old James skipping church to play cards with his friends. To his surprise, the choirmistress spotted some potential and earmarked Emmanuel for some solos.
His secular music epiphany came when he heard Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing. While the rest of the kids in his village were moonwalking to Michael Jackson, he was dreaming of classy soul crooning. Those aspirations were shattered in his later teens when his father died prematurely.
“He wasn’t an openly affectionate guy,” recalls Emmanuel, “but he had a way of saying the right thing to give you a sense of pride. I’m dyslexic and I wasn’t doing so well in school. In Nigeria no one knows what that is and people think you are stupid. My father would say ‘you’re my son, you’re gonna do great’. Everything I did that was just a little bit good he would hype it up to the moon. Since he was the only one who appreciated my singing in the choir, I kept doing it just for him. There was almost a sense of not wanting to disappoint him.”
With his father gone, Emmanuel saw no reason to continue singing. He made the decision to leave school and home in search of work, sending back money to allow his sisters to continue with their education. He pinballed between friends and family members in India, South Africa, Glasgow and London. “I was searching,” he says. “I knew I could figure my own thing out.”
Finally he found the hospitality of home when he alighted in Edinburgh to visit a friend. That same night 15 years ago he got a job collecting glasses in a city centre bar and became a fixture, singing while he worked. “Strangers were so supportive,” he says. “Cleaning toilets in a bar is not the most glamorous job but the majority showed so much empathy and encouragement.”
Through the kindness of strangers, he was pointed first to karaoke in the Tron Ceilidh House, where he became known for his Phil Collins and Lionel Richie renditions, and then to Whistlebinkies open mic night, which he attended for three months before plucking up the courage to sing an a capella version of Hello. Emmanuel was subsequently dubbed Captain Love because he always sang love songs. Forging connections with local musicians, he moved on to perform regularly at The Jazz Bar as his own songwriting flourished.
Post-pandemic, he recorded his debut single, Lonesome Man, while working as a catering assistant for the NHS, taking out a loan to promote the track online and to radio stations. Eventually it was played by US internet service iHeartRadio and offers started coming in from labels and management. Emmanuel signed to the prestigious Decca Records and was dispatched to Joshua Tree, California to record his debut EP, A Time to Heal, as the area was recovering from devastating wildfires.
“It’s a hippy thing to say but it felt really spiritual,” he says. “Everybody was in this mood that they needed the music as much as I did.”
Emmanuel will kick off 2026 with an appearance at Celtic Connections and on the BBC’s Burns Night coverage. There is a new EP already in the works with an album to follow. “Not to give too much away but I’m going to touch on issues which affect men on the next EP,” he says. “I used my father as inspiration to help me write in that deep way because being a father myself now I’m starting to understand some of his frustrations and challenges.”
After so many years of being persuaded to sing, Emmanuel is now giving back with alacrity on Nothing But Love, his devotional paean to the city he has made his home. “It’s the people that make Edinburgh,” he says. “You are allowed to be an individual, people see you as James. I’ve never been in a place where I felt allowed to express myself and be seen for that, and that’s what Edinburgh gave me.”
James Emmanuel performs at Roaming Roots Revue, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, on 25 and 26 January as part of Celtic Connections. A Time To Heal is out now on Decca Records
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