There’s more to James Arthur than just being the solo music artist that he is.
The Say You Won’t Let Go hitmaker recently came to the Philippines for a series of mall shows from November 22 to 24.
The British singer-songwriter got real on his life, music and career during an interview with the Philippine media.
James has had huge up and downs after rising to fame when he triumphed as the X Factor UK winner in 2012.
Two years after being named the X Factor champ, James got into a series of controversies which led him to lose his record label.
He recalled that during those times, he definitely wanted to quit and give up.
“Not only had I lost my record label, I really tarnished my reputation. I really like embarrassed myself because I’ve had this public meltdown.”
He had all these “what-ifs and whys” at the back of his mind, while he was trying to keep going.
Being a fighter paid off. He got his label back.
With a massive hit Say You Won’t Let Go in 2016, which has accumulated a billion streams on Spotify and a billion views on YouTube, James rose up from his downfall.
“I never dreamt that that was possible. I felt like my career was over before that. It felt like a miracle,” James shared.
“Know thyself.” This was the greatest lesson James learned from joining the X Factor. “It’s very important to have an identity, to know the kind of artists that you’d work with, and always know what I could do more and what I was capable of.”
Fast-forward to 2019, the soul-pop singer released his brand-new album titled You on October 18.
His previous album Back From The Edge in 2017 was quite an autobiographical one. This time, You focuses on other people’s stories.
“Although it feels like it’s coming from me, it’s not. It’s coming from the perspective of someone else. Every song in this record, it’s not me, it’s someone else, even if they’re talking to me,” he explained.
James only hopes that when people listen to his music, they would have that unforgettable feeling, a sort of enlightenment or something that might be helpful in whatever they’re going through.
