IF there’s one singer-songwriter destined to make 2015 his own, it’s James Bay.

The hat-wearing, Hitchin-born 24-year-old came to prominence last year with Hold Back The River, which led to him winning the Brits Critics’ Choice Award for 2015 – an accolade enjoyed in the past by Sam Smith, Tom Odell and Emeli Sande.

His debut album, The Chaos And The Calm, released this week looks destined for the top of the charts.

His biggest UK tour to date kicks off in April, including a date at Portsmouth Pyramids on Tuesday, April 7.

The Daily Echo caught up with James . . .

Tell us about The Chaos And The Calm. You must be so excited to be releasing your debut album?

I was trying to make a record for the first time ever, which was both a daunting and exciting task.

You realise that a lot of your life has built to this moment where you step into the studio and get cracking. But being daunted is healthy too. It would be weird if I totally knew what I was doing. Actually, in a lot of respects I didn’t.

Really? That’s not what you might expect to hear from someone with a debut album that’s tipped for big things.

Let me explain! Some of the songs were demos which I felt had already developed to the stage where I was happy with them. I knew how I wanted them to impact upon listeners when I was playing them live, but I didn’t have a huge idea about how I might record them. You just want to make something that sounds good so in a way, you’re never exactly sure how the recording process will go.

And now you’ve made it, how do you feel?

Well, I’ve heard it a lot obviously, and you go through a lot of emotions, from thinking it will never ever be finished to being pleased that it sounds like a proper debut album. It has a lot of different flavours to it, incorporating all the different sounds that I love and want to use to portray myself as an artist.

It’s about getting away from being just the next singer-songwriter on the production line, right?

Exactly. There’s nothing wrong with being labelled a singer-songwriter but it’s often equated with being a guy on a stage under a spotlight in a hushed room. I love that kind of thing and it is part of my set, but there is a whole other part of me which likes to rock out. Then there’s various levels in between those two extremes. It was important on the album to capture that entire spectrum. And I feel good now, listening to it. I feel I nailed that sense of being able to show what I can do.

So is there a song of yours on the album where you feel that sense of who James Bay is really comes together?

It changes every day. Today it’s Scars – I’m really pleased with how that came out, and that started out as just me with a guitar. I did have a strong vision of how I wanted it to sound with all the other instruments and I got close to that, I think. But I would never say anything is perfect.

But it must be amazing when you do finish a song and, like in the case of Hold Back The River, it gets 13 million listens on Spotify.

You’re kidding! 13 million?! I had no idea. Wow.

On the one hand I have no idea why a song like that can strike a chord – and if I did I’d be a multimillionaire, multiple Grammy Award winner. And that’s the beauty and the magic of music.

But then, I do think Hold Back The River feels very real and honest – and those are things that resonate with me when I really like a song. The rest of it, the millions of listeners, is subjective and down to personal taste.

A lot of people seem to have the same personal taste as you, though…

Well, I listen to a lot of music, and you try and draw from your influences. What I think is interesting about trying to create your own sound is that it comes from a process of trying to replicate the artists you love – and failing.

In naturally failing to sound like your inspirations you end up creating something unique.

That’s what’s quite refreshing about you – you’re not afraid to say you’ve been inspired by people like Ray Lamontagne, for example.

No, and that’s because I’m not just trying to be a pastiche. There’s lots that I’m bringing to the table that is my own – not least because I want to do this for a while by standing out!

Yes, I play acoustic guitar a lot and I’m not really including many electronic or synthetic sounds right now – but that’s not to say I won’t in the future.

It’s interesting you mention electronica. It wasn’t so long ago that people were signalling the death of guitar music.

That’s how pop music works though. It goes in cycles. But what gives me great encouragement that someone can be taken seriously playing a song with one instrument and not needing anything more than that to get their point across to a lot of people.

To get the Brits Critics’ award must have been a real thrill.

It’s strange, my music comes from a mix of influences that isn’t directly on Radio 1 or in fact the pop music of the moment.

To be in that company, with Sam Smith, Adele, Florence & The Machine, is amazing. I mean, I listen to The Rolling Stones. I went to see this pretty unknown guitarist Blake Mills recently and it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to.

But I still listen to the radio, I recognise the importance of pop music and maybe now I feel a part of it with that Critics’ Choice award. I’m really grateful.

You’ve been interviewed by Pop Crush and Teen Vogue. How are you dealing with being a heartthrob?

It’s cool. I’m only even in their minds and on their screens because I put music online that didn’t have my picture with it. They liked what they heard and then they wanted to see what I looked like.

It is what it is, there’s not a lot I can do about it, but actually it all helps if people listen to the music too.