James Arthur has endured a rocky career following his X Factor win after controversial comments saw the star’s fans and radio stations turn against him
Former X Factor star James Arthur’s career has been rocky to say the least, but the singer has climbed his way back to the top.
The 37-year-old star is ready to take to the Royal Albert Hall stage for tonight’s Teenage Cancer Trust gig. But it was almost so very different for the musician from Middlesbrough. In 2013, he admitted he had been an “idiot” following a homophobia row. It came a year after he won the ninth season of ITV talent contest The X Factor.
After his debut single, a cover of Shontelle’s Impossible, was released by Syco Music and went straight in at number one on the UK Singles Chart, the future looked bright for James. However, he almost lost it all following the controversial comments.
James had been forced to cancel tour dates at the time due to being diagnosed with “acute exhaustion”. However, he provoked huge antagonism when he responded to jibes from underground rapper Micky Worthless, by calling him a “f***ing queer” in a rap. James also used the words “scrubber”, “peasant” and “motherf**ker” to insult the up and coming musician, with Lucy Spraggan later sharing a bitter text exchange between the pair.
Critics immediately launched an online petition to demand the singer was removed from an upcoming X Factor line-up. The petition gathered more than 9,000 signatures, and some fans even requested refunds on his album – which all served to send James into depression at the time.
He also quickly apologised, saying: “I’m extremely disappointed in myself for being so naïve with the diss track I made. I assure you homophobia is something I do not believe in.”
A year later, as he was trying to rebuild his career, his single Get Down failed to enter the UK’s top 40. He went on to have a massive go at his PR team before taking aim at Simon Cowell. In a shocking final fall from grace, James was the fired by a seething Simon.
He decided to keep his head down and, in 2016, James admitted he had a “humongous breakdown.” Looking back, James explained: “I was lost. I look back on the character that I was then and I’m embarrassed. I’m embarrassed about how I behaved and how negative my perspective was and how I handled the pressure.
“Looking back now it’s clear to see it was a mental illness issue that I had and again I just dealt with everything in completely the wrong way. It’s great to be in my mind and be conscious again and be looking forward to just focusing on music and all the positive stuff that’s going on.”
Slowly, James has been rebuilding his career and now is riding the wave of success once again. He returned with a new chart topping album in 2024 and his arena tour won the plaudits.
His recent single titled ADHD is part of his determination to destigmatise mental health issues. He has also been involved in a series of impressive collaborations with the likes of Kelly Clarkson.
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Source: Mirror
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