James Bailey, also known as Bear Bailey on social media, initially got noticed for his impressive voice on TikTok after sharing videos of himself singing country covers in a Super Serve Gas Station. Now, the Louisiana native has started to go beyond the local gas station to Nashville, TN to record his music of his own, as his online fan base continues to grow more and more every day. Bailey shared a touching, unreleased new song, “Mamas Boy,” on Monday (Oct. 12) via Instagram, which he said “goes out to all the moms and mamas boys.”
“Boy get ready / were late for Church / put on your best jeans / tuck in your shirt / she’s barely 5 feet / but tough as nails / her love is blinding / oh, it never fails / I might be a little wild child / I might raise a little hell / some might see me as a rebel / but you know me way too well / I might grow up / I might act up / but I’ll always hear your voice / saying baby you’ll always be a Mamas boy,” Bailey sings in the clip.
As he mentioned on social media, this personal song was written for all the moms and the mama’s boys in the world. Bailey just so happens to be one of those people who greatly values the special relationship he and his mom have. This is especially true for them while his mom continues to battle an illness in the hospital.
“She’s been amazing, she’s just been my biggest supporter. Biggest believer in me,” Bailey told Music Mayhem.
Co-written by Bailey alongside Mitchell Tenpenny and Dallas Wilson, “Mamas Boy” is a song that is close to the viral TikTok singer’s heart, as he said it’s very personal to him, and he hopes it resonates with his fans as much as it does with him.
“She’s just been in the hospital, and I was just thinking about her whenever I sat down that day to write that song with Mitchell [Tenpenny] and Dallas Wilson,” he continued. “I was looking at Mitchell Tenpenny and Dallas Wilson, and I was like ‘look I want to write a song about mama’s boys and about mom’s who raise boys’ and 90% of men are mama’s boys, they just won’t admit it.”
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Although they aren’t from the same city, Bailey revealed that this songwriting process for “Mamas Boy” has shown him that the two of them get along great, as they learn more about each other and write music together about their mamas.
“Working with Mitchell was an absolute dream. He’s just a good guy and one of the good ol’ boys,” Bailey exclaimed. “I feel like me and him were… It’s like we come from the same area or something, and he’s just a down-to-earth genuine guy. So, it was great!”
“I’d love to work with Mitchell in the future [on a duet],” he added.
This special track, along with the rest of Bailey’s covers, continues to get noticed by the country music community. Recently, Keith Urban even used one of Bailey’s covers on TikTok as an opener to his performance of “‘Til Summer Comes Around” on stage. Urban even dubbed Bailey a “badass” in a clip he shared of his video being used in Vegas.
“I have been listening to Keith Urban for so long and his music is amazing. ”Til Summer Comes Around’ is one of my all-time favorite songs by him, so is ‘Tonight I Wanna Cry’ and ‘Better Life.’” Bailey previously told Music Mayhem. “I love all his stuff, I think his message is always incredible, and him shouting me out onstage was just insane. He didn’t have to do that.”
Bailey has yet to formally release any original tunes, but he continues to showcase his talent on social media, as he nears the chance to finally share some songs of his own. The viral singer previously gave fans a taste of his original music when he teased two other tracks, “Let It Roll” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”
