What started as a guitar, a camera and a dream has now become a career for 18-year-old Noah James from Prairieville, Louisiana.
Growing up in a house full of musicians, his dad being a professional jazz player, he always knew he had a passion for music. But after experimenting with different genres and trying to find his voice, James took to TikTok to share his love.
“I had never been on social media before,” James said. “Putting my face out there for everybody to see and it was also the same time that I was trying to find my voice so I wasn’t the best when I started and that’s always the scary part,” he added.
He followed through, though. He found country artists that fit his voice and style, one of which being Zach Bryan, who Noah says is his biggest inspiration. He even covered Zach Bryan’s song “Pink Skies,” which now has close to 32 million views.
“It made me want to keep going. I got like a thousand views and then hundreds of thousands, and when I got my first million, it was insane,” James said.
Noah’s account @noahjamesofficial now sits at 296,000 followers and has 8.5 million likes.
Somebody took notice of this traction. In December 2024, he got signed to Santa Ana/Sony Music Records based in Nashville, an honor that came sooner than expected.
“I was prepared to get signed maybe five years from now but it’s been absolutely amazing. Everyone in the label is absolutely amazing and welcomed me with open arms and pretty much when I got signed, we got the ball rolling,” James said.
As soon as he got to Nashville, Noah recorded four songs that he’s been writing for the past year. Those songs led up to his debut EP The Tracks, which was released in August 2025 and features six songs.
“Those songs are like my babies. Those are the first songs that I’m proud of and I wrote pretty well I would say,” James said.
Noah writes most of his songs, sometimes with the help of co-writers and even his older brother, who encouraged him to start posting on social media in the first place.
His title track, “The Tracks,” is even inspired by the movie he was named after — yes, Noah from The Notebook.
“When you listen to the lyrics it’s about a girl who has a privileged life and the guy doesn’t and I pretty much made it to where they’re both living on opposite sides of the tracks and they run away together,” James said.
And he’s already working on new music. His new single “Denim My Dear” will be out on Sept. 26. As far as his future goals, he hopes to do more shows and hopefully go on tour one day, but right now he says he’s just thankful for the gift that God gave him.
“I’ve always done music but knowing it actually developed into something that can bring light to the world and bring love, hope and joy to the world, I think I’m most grateful for that,” James said.
Noah will have his first hometown show Thursday, Sept. 18, at The Station Bar at 7 p.m., and he’s excited to be able to play for the people who have supported him every step of the way.
“My friends and family have been the best support I could ever ask for and to get to put on a show for them and invite them out to my hometown show, it’s awesome,” James said.
The event is 18+ and admission is free. If you would like to follow Noah on his musical journey, make sure to follow his socials @noahjamesofficial on TikTok and @noahjamezmusic on Instagram.
