The 28 year old UK star James Arthur has been singing for nearly half his life as he started writing and recording songs at the mere age of 15!

He’s been involved in bands growing up, including groups called Cue The Drama (and alternative rock band where he provided vocals), Emerald Skye (an indie pop-rock band) and Save Arcade (a band that in 2010 released a five track EP titled Tonight We Dine in Hades). You can check out some of their music below!

Fast forward to 2011, Arthur auditioned for The Voice UK and made it to the Top 200, but not any further. The next year, he auditioned for The X-Factor UK and despite being in the bottom two (a place where one of the two contestants gets eliminated), Arthur won Season 9 (you can check out his X-Factor journey HERE).

Today, he’s got a number 1 song called ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ which serves as the lead single from his sophomore album, Back From The Edge; the song has hit #1 across Europe and is gaining a ton of traction in North America.

In a recent interview with Official Charts, Arthur talked about the song’s success saying, “It’s literally insane. Its such a whirlwind and I don’t think it has actually sunk in yet. It has gone way beyond my expectations and I am so grateful that people have connected with the song”.

When asked why he thinks the song has connected so much with people, he said, “I think lyrically it relates to a lot of people as it tells a story. It’s a love story that can be adapted to suit any situation someone might be going through. I didn’t think I had a hit, but knew it was special, to me anyway.”

Looking ahead to the follow up to Back From The Edge, Arthur says he wants to be more like…Kanye West.

He told The Daily Star, “I want to just go a bit crazy and bit more Kanye next. I would love to do something more left (field) and maybe make an R&B, hip-hop thing…This one was quite guitar-based, vintage Motown, really honest and raw but I’m excited to make new music.”

Check out James Arthur’s YouTube channel and learn more about this month’s ‘One to Watch’ artist!

Filed under: James Arthur, One To Watch