James Arthur (album)

James Arthur
Studio album by James Arthur
Released 1 November 2013 (2013-11-01)
Recorded 2012–13
Genre
Length 44:18
Label
Producer
James Arthur chronology
James Arthur
(2013)
TBA
(2016)
Singles from James Arthur
  1. "Impossible"
    Released: 9 December 2012
  2. "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You"
    Released: 20 October 2013
  3. "Recovery"
    Released: 15 December 2013
  4. "Get Down"
    Released: 3 March 2014

James Arthur is the eponymously titled debut studio album by British singer-songwriter James Arthur. It was released via Syco Music on 1 November 2013.[5] The album includes the singles "Impossible", Arthur's X Factor winner's single, and "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You", as well as collaborations with Emeli Sandé and Chasing Grace.

The album debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, kept off the top spot by Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP 2. It became the 30th best-selling album of the year in the UK, despite iTunes offering refunds for fans after Arthur became embroiled in a homophobia row.

Background

On 9 December 2012, Arthur won the ninth series of the ITV music competition series The X Factor.[6] As the winner, he was signed to Simon Cowell's record label Syco Music and released a "cover of Shontelle's 2010 single "Impossible", which debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart.

On 3 March 2013, Arthur announced via Twitter that would be starting work on his debut album the following morning, stating "Can't wait to get in the studio tomorrow!!".[7] Several tracks on the album feature co-writing and production from Naughty Boy, and collaborations with Emeli Sandé and Chasing Grace, on the tracks "Roses" and "Certain Things" respectively. Naughty Boy said of the album; "It's really cool actually, it's definitely poppy but with an edge and a bit urban. One of the songs that me and Emeli wrote [for him] is like a big orchestral piece and it has no drums. It's a real album, I think a lot of people are going to be surprised with his album."[8]

Promotion

Arthur performed "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You" on The Jonathan Ross Show on 12 October, the Australian version of The X Factor on 14 October, Friday Download on 1 November and Daybreak on 4 November. He also performed at the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards[9] and switch on the Christmas lights in London's Oxford Street[10] and in Manchester, with performances in both places as well.[11]

On 11 October, a free download of an acoustic version of "New Tattoo" was available to download on the Amazon MP3 to celebrate the release of the album.[12]

Arthur performed his third single "Recovery" on The X Factor on 1 December 2013. It then debuted at 19 on the UK Singles Chart on 8 December 2013.

Singles

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic58/100
Review scores
SourceRating
Daily Record[16]
Digital Spy[17]
The Guardian[18]
The Independent[19]
London Evening Standard[20]
Metro[21]
musicOMH[22]
Shields Gazette[23]
The Times[24]
Virgin Media[25]

The album received mixed reviews from critics and received an average score of 58 based on ten reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Lewis Corner of Digital Spy gave it 4/5 stars, saying that Arthur has "The angst of Plan B and defiance of Emeli Sandé".[17] Writing for EntertainmentWise, Natalie Palmer wrote, "A mix of soul, rock and a splash of rap to make for an amazing debut...With X Factor's input it's hard not to be worried that even the best acts will come out with completely over-produced manufactured rubbish. However, a year later James Arthur is back with his self-titled debut album and we can assure you it won't disappoint."[26]

Andy Gill of The Independent, however, was more negative. He gave the album two stars and said, "The opener, "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You", is a decent showcase for his burly-voiced brand of R&B pop – but elsewhere, Arthur grossly overdoes the emotional groaning that passes for vocal expression in the album's more overwrought corners."[19] In his review for the Metro, John Lewis stated that "the good moments are overwhelmed by the stench of focus-grouped blandness." and awarded the album two stars.[21] In an extremely negative review, Sylvie Levished of Evigshed mag gave the album 1/5 and wrote "All in All, not really sure if James Arthur's behavior is the best way to promote his music specially when he is just a beginner in the music industry. His album is nothing special. Very different from factor winners, the young songwriter/singer shines until now, with his narcissism, his pride, an extreme disrespectful for his label mates and other young artists, coupled with a big arrogance in media and through his twitter account. If he put as much energy into his music, it would certainly be better. It is cold, without emotion. Not recommended."[27]

Track listing

James Arthur – Standard edition
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You"  TMS 3:21
2. "Get Down"  
  • Mojam
  • Craze & Hoax[a]
3:46
3. "New Tattoo"  
Remi 3:31
4. "Impossible"  
  • Graham Stack
  • Matt Furmidge
3:29
5. "Lie Down"  
  • Stannard
  • Howes
  • Ellis
2:53
6. "Recovery"  
  • Tiago Carvalho
  • Wroldsen
  • Arthur
  • Tiago Carvalho
  • TMS[b]
4:37
7. "Roses" (with Emeli Sandé)
4:14
8. "Supposed"  
  • Khan
  • Hector
  • Arthur
Naughty Boy 3:50
9. "Suicide"  
  • Arthur
  • Marcos Palacios
  • Ernest Clark
  • Sean "Elijah Blake" Fenton
  • David Asante
  • Eric Jackson
4:11
10. "Is This Love?"  
  • Robson
  • Komi Hakan[a]
3:07
11. "Certain Things" (featuring Chasing Grace)
  • Shahid Khan
  • Phil Plested
  • Arthur
  • Grace Ackerman
Naughty Boy 3:53
12. "Smoke Clouds"  Arthur  3:57
13. "Flyin'"  
  • Khan
  • Shakil Ashraf
  • Arthur
  • Naughty Boy
  • Shakavelli
1:19
Total length:
46:14
Notes[30]
Sample credits[30]

Credits and personnel

(Credits taken from AllMusic and James Arthur's liner notes.)

  • Grace Ackerman - Composer, Vocals
  • Richard Adlam - Drums, Producer, Programming
  • Graham Archer - Vocal Engineer
  • James Arthur - Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
  • Shakil Ashraf - Composer
  • Tom Barnes - Composer, Drums, Instrumentation
  • Xavier Barnet - Choir/Chorus
  • Robert Bell - Composer
  • Ronald Bell - Composer
  • William Bell - Composer
  • Biffco - Producer
  • Dan Bingham - Percussion, Wurlitzer
  • Arnthor Birgisson - Composer
  • Tim Blacksmith - Management
  • Riki Bleau - Management
  • Delbert Bowers - Assistant
  • George Brown - Composer
  • Tiago Carvalho - Composer, Instrumentation, Producer
  • Lurine Cato - Choir/Chorus, Vocals (Background)
  • Austen Jux Chandler - Engineer
  • Jo Changer - Assistant Contractor
  • Chasing Grace - Featured Artist
  • Ernest Clark - Composer
  • Simon Clarke - Arranger, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone)
  • Wez Clarke - Mix Down
  • Jonny Coffer - Composer, Piano, Strings
  • Ben Collier - Programming, String Arrangements
  • Roz Colls - String Contractor
  • Rupert Coulson - Engineer
  • Tom Coyne - Mastering
  • Craze - Additional Production
  • Fiona Cruickshank - Assistant
  • Da Internz - Producer
  • Danny D. - Management
  • Gleyder "Gee" Disla - Engineer
  • Jimmy Douglass - Additional Production, Mixing
  • Bradford Ellis - Composer, Instrumentation, Producer, Programming
  • Joy Farrukh - Choir/Chorus
  • Sean "Elijah Blake" Fenton - Composer
  • Ben Foster - Conductor, Orchestration
  • Matt Furmidge - Producer
  • Chris Galland - Assistant
  • Serban Ghenea - Mixing
  • Cameron Gower-Poole - Assistant Engineer
  • Isobel Griffiths - Contractor
  • Komi & JL - Additional Production, Programming
  • Roy Handy - Composer
  • John Hanes - Engineer
  • Ben Harrison - Composer, Guitar
  • Wayne Hector - Composer
  • David Asante- Composer
  • Richard Henry - Trombone
  • Ben Hewlett - Harmonica
  • HOAX - Additional Production
  • Cleveland Horne - Composer
  • Ash Howes - Composer, Instrumentation, Mixing, Producer, Programming
  • Eric Jackson - Composer
  • Jaycen Joshua - Mixing
  • J.J. Johnson - Composer
  • Booker T. Jones - Composer
  • Priscilla Jones - Choir Arrangement, Vocals (Background)
  • Ryan Kaul - Assistant
  • Pete Kelleher - Composer, Instrumentation, Keyboards
  • Claude Kelly - Composer, Vocal Producer
  • The Kick Horns - Horn
  • Ben Kohn - Bass, Composer, Instrumentation
  • Dave Liddell - Trombone
  • Dom Liu - Assistant Engineer
  • Manny Marroquin - Mixing
  • Cliff Masterson - Choir Arrangement, Conductor, String Arrangements
  • Paul Meehan - Programming
  • Robert "Spike" Mickens - Composer
  • Mike Moore - Guitar
  • James Murray - Composer, Engineer, Instrumentation, Vocals
  • Naughty Boy - Composer, Engineer, Instrumentation, Producer
  • Everton Nelson - Orchestra Leader
  • Zach Nicholls - Engineer
  • Gary Noble - Mixing
  • Mustafa Omer - Engineer, Instrumentation, Vocals
  • Mustapha Omer - Composer
  • Marcos Palacios - Composer
  • Mark Pellizzer - Guitar
  • Adam Phillips - Guitar
  • Phil Plested - Composer, Guitar
  • Ryan Quigley - Trumpet
  • Gene Redd - Composer
  • Salaam Remi - Arranger, Bass, Composer, Drums, Keyboards, Producer
  • James Reynolds - Mixing
  • Hal Ritson - Keyboards, Producer
  • Steve Robson - Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Vocal Producer
  • Gene C. Rodd - Composer
  • Gustave Rudman - Arranger, Instrumentation, Orchestration, Producer
  • Emeli Sandé - Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals
  • Tim Sanders - Arranger, Sax (Tenor)
  • Tim Sandiford - Bass, Guitar
  • Claydes Smith - Composer
  • Jonny Solway - Assistant
  • Steve Stacey - Design
  • Graham Stack - Producer
  • Richard "Biff" Stannard - Producer
  • Richard Stannard - Composer, Instrumentation, Programming
  • Sunny - Engineer
  • Dennis Thomas - Composer
  • TMS - Producer
  • Tom Upex - Assistant
  • The Wade Brothers - Photography
  • Richard Westfield - Composer
  • Ina Wroldsen - Composer, Vocals (Background)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[31] 14
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[32] 22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[33] 74
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[34] 55
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[35] 99
French Albums (SNEP)[36] 5
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[37] 25
Greek Albums (IFPI)[38] 3
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[39] 9
Irish Albums (IRMA)[40] 2
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[41] 11
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[42] 11
Scottish Albums (OCC)[43] 2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[44] 34
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[45] 6
UK Albums (OCC)[46] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (2013) Position
UK Albums Chart[47] 30

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Ireland (IRMA)[48] Gold 7,500x
Poland (ZPAV)[49] Platinum 20,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[50] Gold 265,940[51]

*sales figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Label Format
Austria[52][53] 1 November 2013 Syco Music Standard, deluxe
Belgium[54][55]
Canada[56]
Finland[57][58]
Germany[59][60]
Ireland[61][62]
Netherlands[63][64]
Sweden[65][66]
Bulgaria[54][55] 4 November 2013
Denmark[67][68]
France[52][53]
Greece[69][70]
Norway[71][72]
United Kingdom[29][73]
Argentina[74][75] 5 November 2013
Armenia[76][77]
Brazil[78][79]
Chile[80][81]
Mexico[82][83]
Ukraine[84][85]
Venezuela[86][87]
Australia[88][89] 8 November 2013
New Zealand[90][91]

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