James Arthur is a singer-songwriter from North Yorkshire, England. His singing career took off in 2012 after winning Season 9 of The X Factor . In 2013 he released his first studio album called James Arthur. The second studio album “Back from the Edge” followed in 2016. Both albums were certified “Platinum” by BPI.

Born name

James Andrew Arthur

nickname

James

Sun sign

fish

Place of birth

Redcar Town, North Yorkshire, England

Residence

London, England, United Kingdom

nationality

training

James studied at Ings Farm Primary School in Redcar.

At the age of 9 he moved to Bahrain with his mother and stepfather and was enrolled in a private institution called The British School of Bahrain for 4 years.

After he was 14 his mother broke up with his stepfather and returned to the Redcar coast road. James continued his high school education at Ryehills School nearby.

occupation

singer, songwriter

family

• Father – Neil Arthur (Frozen Food Company Delivery Man, Former DJ and Drummer)
• Mother – Shirley Ashworth (Sales & Marketing Professional, Former Model)
• siblings –
  • Neil Arthur (elder half-brother) (professional bookmaker based in Morecambe)
  • Sian Arthur (older sister) (Online Media Strategist at Visualsoft Ltd)
  • Charlotte Marina Arthur (Neil’s daughter with wife Jacqueline, younger half-sister)
  • Jasmine Rafferty (Shirley’s daughter with ex-husband Ronald Rafferty, younger half-sister)
  • Neve Rafferty (Shirley’s daughter with ex-husband Ronald Rafferty, younger half-sister)
• Others – Helen Arthur (paternal grandmother), Carol MacInnes (paternal aunt), Jacqueline Y Arthur née Hunter (stepmother)

Manager

James Grant Management, London

Genre

Pop, R & B, Hip-Hop, Soul, Rock

instruments

vocals, guitar

labels

Sony (Deutschland), Syco Music (UK), Columbia Records (USA)

Build

Average

Height

188 cm (6 ft 2 in)

weight

82 kg or 181 lbs

girlfriend/spouse

1. Lucie Poole (2012) – Lucie was a dance teacher whom James met when he was living modestly, singing in pubs and performing. She stood by the singer during his struggle time, but differences developed when James was called back to audition for The X Factor audition. As he became more involved with the competition, he decided to end his relationship with Lucie.
2. Chanelle McCleary (2012) – During a night out at a London pub, James met model and reality personality Chanelle while still competing for The X Factor competition in 2012. They had a brief fling before going their separate ways .
3. Caroline Flack (2012) – After winning The X Factor , James was frequently spotted partying and kissing X Factor host Caroline Flack, but he denied being in a relationship with her. A few months later, the singer admitted he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be in a committed relationship with Caroline, but she definitely was serious girlfriend material.
4. Kimberley Garner (2012) – The paparazzi spotted James on an intimate dinner date with swimwear designer and socialite Kimberley in December 2012, but the couple hadn’t been together for too long since James had been with a number of women and wasn’t ready for monogamy relationship was.
5. Lacey Banghard (2013) – James’ management urged him to cut back on his womanizing habits and in response he befriended former Celebrity Big Brother contestant, Lacey. The couple’s mutual attraction waned after a few dates. In an interview, James shared that he missed his chance for a serious relationship with another girl he was interested in because she was no longer sure about all the questionable tabloid stories that connected James to Lacey. He added that most of the rumors linked to Lacey were immortalized for public relations by the glamor model herself.
6. Rita Ora (2013) – In October 2017, James released his autobiography entitled Back to the Boy , in which James confessed that he was the hardest hit when singer Rita Ora broke his heart. The two dated for a few months until Rita decided to break up with James for good. James admitted he didn’t handle rejection well and developed an addiction to weed and s*x for the months that followed.
7. Miscellaneous Women (2013-2016) – After that, James slept with a number of glamor models and was often hooked up with random women, which eventually led to a series of public allegations, including beauty therapist Danielle Withey, who claimed the singer’s disrespectful behavior and companion Ria Vincent to suffer. He separately became involved in a public feud with glamor model Teddy Edwardes and Playboy model Carla Howe, and briefly starred with actress Lori Buckby.
8. Jessica Grist(2014, 2016-Present) – Angry at the media In late 2013, the singer reported that he continues to be the same simple, introverted artist he was before he found fame. James added that over-the-top hookups with glamor models actually got in the way of him maintaining a committed relationship with a real girl. Although said girl’s identity has not been revealed, she may have been a professional dancer, Jessica Grist. James clarified that he only turned to other women when he wasn’t dating Jessica and therefore never cheated on her. Although the couple’s demanding careers forced them to separate towards the end of 2014, they rekindled their romance in September 2016.V Festival gig in Essex in August 2017 sparking engagement rumours. However, the couple denied making this commitment. Nevertheless, they stay together. In January 2018, Jessica posted a vacation photo with James in the Maldives.

race/ethnicity

White

He was born to an English mother and Scottish father.

hair colour

dark brown

eye color

Blau

sexual orientation

Just

distinguishing features

• Pierced left ear
• Heavily tattooed body with arms, hands and torso
• Also had a teardrop tattoo just below his right eye which has now faded due to a laser tattoo removal procedure
• Usually sports a beard and also likes to wear many rings and chains during his public appearances

brand promotion

Part of Pepsi Is The Sound Drop Campaign (2017)

Religion

Not religious/spiritual, leaning toward Christianity

Known for

Ninth Season Singing Competition Winner, The x Factor (2012)

As a singer

His debut single was the cover of a song called Impossible originally sung by Barbadian singer Shontelle. The song became the fastest-selling and best-selling single of all time in The x Factor history of all winning singles.

His debut studio album was eponymous James Arthur (2013) and debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. It was the 30th ^best -selling album of 2013.

first movie

Never been made into a feature-length film.

First TV show

James co-starred in Great Performances which aired on the PBS network in February 2007.

Personal trainer

• James stated in an interview that he has a very addictive personality that also affects his eating habits.
• The X Factor victory brought a sizeable income well beyond James’ fighting period. When he was particularly on tour, he ate Burger King for breakfast, KFC for lunch, and Domino’s Pizzas for dinner.
• Excessive consumption of fast food led to massive weight gain.
• The singer also has a history of substance abuse and gambling addiction. He used antidepressants to deal with the feelings of intense loneliness brought on by overnight fame.
• One day James watched the Netflix documentary What to Health and felt the need to make a positive change. He was also influenced by his drummer, who followed a vegan lifestyle and decided in early 2017 to try and maintain the plant-based lifestyle himself.
• After almost a year, James shared that going vegan helped him lose a significant amount of weight.
• He follows a moderate exercise routine whenever his schedule allows to complement his healthy eating routine.

James Arthur favorite things

• Alcoholic Drink – Pale Ale Beer
• Swear Word – F***
• Sport – UFC
• Movie – Trolls (2016)
• Music Genre – Old School R&B
• food – bread
• Pizza Topping – Extra Cheese
• Actor – Will Ferrell
• Emoji – eye roll
• Space for a Movie Date – Odeon Cinemas, The Lounge in London
• Celebrities – Prince William and Prince Harry
• Guys, he admires the most – All his sisters
• American city – Los Angeles
• Social Media App – Twitter
• Coffee – Decaf
• Rapper – Eminem
• Musical Influence – Kurt Cobain

James Arthur Facts

1. At the age of 15 he started writing and recording songs.
2. Before the competition The x Factor James performed throughout northern England as a solo artist and has been part of several bands namely Moonlight Drive, Cue the Drama, Arcade Save and Emerald Skye .
3. James briefly lived a life of luxury in Bahrain when his mother remarried Ronald Rafferty. After the couple divorced, James could no longer bear to return to basic working-class life in England. He would often lash out at his mother in anger, frequently throwing him out of his own home.
4. The singer described himself as a difficult teenager who skipped school, stole food and got into unintentional fights at night.
5. He also became addicted to smoking cannabis in his youth to cope with his constant feelings of anxiety.
6. During his time on The X Factor James was on a heavy dose of antidepressants.
7. In 2011, James cracked the audition for The Voice of Britain but didn’t make it past the final 200 contestants.
8. He has the words “love” and “hate” tattooed on his knuckles.
9. In week 7 of The X Factor competition, James was in the bottom two. He is the only contestant to recover from that position to win the competition.
10. In November 2013, James was widely criticized for using homophobic lyrics in his song. A rap intended as a comeback for rapper Micky Worthless that used homophobic slurs caused so much outrage on social media that iTunes was forced to offer refunds on his debut studio album.
11. Mentor Simon Cowell’s record label, Syco James Arthur, dropped in 2014 after his controversial misjudgment calls. After getting sober and drug free in 2016, the singer signed with Sony (Germany) and restarted his career in Europe. His comeback performances also convinced Syco to re-sign him as an artist.
12. A celebrity who has openly shared his battle with anxiety and depression, James became an ambassador for a mental health charity called SANE in September 2016.
13. Visit his official website @ jamesarthurofficial.com.
14. To find out more about the singer, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.