Since 2005, and prior to his participation in The X Factor, he was a vocalist and guitarist in a number of bands, and later, as a solo artist as well as forming his own The James Arthur Band and James Arthur Project.
Arthur was born in Middlesbrough, England to English mother Shirley Ashworth and Scottish father Neil Arthur. James’ father was a delivery driver, but also used to be a DJ and a drummer for many years. Arthur’s parents split when he was just two-years-old and each settled with a new partner. Neil and Shirley were not on talking terms with each other for more than twenty years. But they agreed to attend the show together in a family reunion to attend their son’s performance.
Arthur first went to Ings Farm Primary School in Redcar, North Yorkshire. When he was nine, he moved with his mother Shirley and his step father Ronald Rafferty to Bahrain where he studied at the local British School of Bahrain for four years. When they split, Arthur, then 14, had to move back with his mother and his two half-sisters Jasmine and Neve to the UK to live in a modest house in Saltburn-by-the-Sea.Upon his return, he continued his studies at Redcar’s Rye Hills School.
Arthur has five siblings, an older brother called Neil Arthur, an older sister called Sian Arthur, and three younger sisters, Charlotte Arthur and Jasmin and Neve Rafferty.
Arthur has been writing and recording songs since he was 15 as an unsigned artist both solo and in many bands including:
Moonlight Drive - a Cleveland-based progressive, experimental, rock five-piece band with Arthur in lead vocals. The band was active between 2005 and 2008. They had recordings such as «Said You’d Be There», «Hole in My Heart» and «Tear Me Apart».
Cue the Drama - an alternative rock band based in Marske-by-the-Sea and active between 2005 and 2008. Recordings included «On the Radio 98KUPD», «It’s Killing Me», «I Reach You» and «It Hurts».
Save Arcade - a Middlesbrough alternative rock band made up of Arthur (vocals, guitar), Josh Brown (keyboards, vocals), Matthew Green (guitar), Alex Beer (bass, vocals), Travis Shaw (guitar, percussions, vocals) and Karl Dowson (drums). In 2009, the band released a three-track EP called Truth, carrying the title track «The Truth», as well as «Echoes» and «I Un-Proudly Present». In June 2010, the band released a five-track EP, Tonight We Dine in Hades, which in addition to the title track «Tonight We Dine in Hades» included «Superhero», «You Always Want a Fight», «Juliet Is Not Dead» and «She Aims to Please». Both releases were on the independent 57 Records UK.
Emerald Skye - a four-piece indie pop/rock band formed in March 2011 based in Redcar / Saltburn-by-the-Sea and made up of Arthur (guitar, vocals), Dean Harrison (piano, violin), Paul Gill (bass) and Save Arcade bandmate Green (drums).
Arthur also uploaded many of his own songs to Soundcloud and YouTube including an album entitled Sins by the Sea. In 2011, he auditioned for The Voice UK and made it into the final 200 contestants but no further.
In early 2012, he recorded songs and released two EPs as The James Arthur Band. The band consisted of Arthur (vocals and guitar), Jez Taylor (guitar), Chris Smalls (keyboards), Jordan Swain (drums) and Rich Doney (bass). In 2012, the band released The EP Collection CD with nine tracks with R&B, soul and hip hop influences, a compilation of tracks on both EPs. Arthur also released an EP named Hold On under the name The James Arthur Project in August 2012 in collaboration with John McGough. The tracks were written and arranged by McGough, and mixed by Matt Wanstall with all vocals by Arthur.
Arthur auditioned for The X Factor with an acoustic rendition of judge Tulisa Contostavlos’s «Young», before explaining his past, including spells in care and time spent on the streets after break-ups within his family. He also revealed his father and mother had not spoken to each other for over 20 years, and this was a reunion of sorts for them to attend his audition. After his judges’ houses performance of «I Can’t Make You Love Me», he was picked by his mentor Nicole Scherzinger as one of the 12 contestants for the live shows, and one of just three in the «Boys» category. After the second live show, Arthur suffered from an anxiety attack backstage. Whilst being treated at the studio, paramedics determined he did not need to go to hospital, and he was ordered back to his hotel to rest. He later returned for the results show the following. Arthur was in the bottom two in week 7 after performing «Can’t Take My Eyes Off You». He sang «Fallin’» for survival against Ella Henderson, with the judges going to deadlock after their vote was evenly split 2-2 (mentor Scherzinger and Gary Barlow voting to keep him, while Contostavlos and Louis Walsh voted in favour of Henderson). Arthur was then saved by the public vote. On 8 December, he made it through to the second night of the live finals.
Arthur won The X Factor on 9 December 2012, with 53.7% of the vote, against Jahméne Douglas who received 38.9% of the vote.
Falling Like the Stars
James Arthur Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm gonna hold you so close
I swear to God, when I come home
I'll never let go
Like a river, I flow
To the ocean, I know
You pull me close, guiding me home
We're fallin' like the stars, fallin' in love
And I'm not scared to say those words with you, I'm safe
We're fallin' like the stars, we're fallin' in love
I swear to God, I can see
Four kids and no sleep
We'll have one on each knee, you and me, hmm
And when they've grown up
You're still the girl in the club
When I held your hair up, 'cause you had too much
And I need you to know that we're fallin' so fast
We're fallin' like the stars, fallin' in love
And I'm not scared to say those words with you, I'm safe
We're fallin' like the stars, we're fallin' in love
I swear to God, every day
He won't take you away
'Cause without you, babe, I lose my way
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love (fallin' like the stars)
And I need you to know that we're fallin' so fast
We're fallin' like the stars, fallin' in love
And I'm not scared to say those words with you, I'm safe
We're fallin' like the stars, we're fallin' in love
In James Arthur's song Falling like the Stars, the artist expresses his love for his partner and the depth of his commitment to their relationship. The lyrics highlight the intense emotional bond between two people who are deeply in love. The songwriter describes how he can’t wait to come home to his partner and hold her close, acknowledging that she pulls him close and guides him home. The emotional intensity of the song becomes even more evident, as James Arthur says they are falling so fast like the stars and that nothing scares him more than saying the words of love to her.
The lyrics take the listeners through the journey of their love, starting from the present moment to the future they look forward to, with four kids and no sleep, and still seeing his lover as the girl in the club he held hair up for. James Arthur deeply loves his partner and he is not afraid to admit it, as he feels safe in their relationship. The song leaves a lasting impact on the listeners, conveying the power of true love and commitment.
Overall, the song Falling like the Stars showcases the depth of James Arthur's love and commitment to his partner, where he speaks to their present, future and all that he hold dear to their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
I swear to God, when I come home
I promise you that when I return, I will hold you close.
I'm gonna hold you so close
I will embrace you tightly to show you how much I care.
I'll never let go
I will be with you forever and never let you go.
Like a river, I flow
I move towards you with ease and naturally like a river flows to the ocean.
To the ocean, I know
I know that being with you is where I belong, like a river flowing to the ocean.
You pull me close, guiding me home
You draw me in closer to you, leading me to where I belong - home.
And I need you to know that we're fallin' so fast
I want you to understand that we're falling deeply in love at a rapid pace.
We're fallin' like the stars, fallin' in love
Our love is as intense and beautiful as falling stars in the night sky.
And I'm not scared to say those words with you, I'm safe
I'm not afraid to express my true feelings with you, because I feel safe with you.
I swear to God, I can see
I truly envision our future together.
Four kids and no sleep
I imagine a large family with four children and the challenges that come with it.
We'll have one on each knee, you and me, hmm
I imagine sitting with our children on our knees, together as a family.
And when they've grown up
When our children are adults.
You're still the girl in the club
You will always be the one I fell in love with, even when we are old and grey.
When I held your hair up, 'cause you had too much
I recall taking care of you when you had too much to drink, and it reminds me of how much love we share.
He won't take you away
I promise to protect you always and never let anyone or anything take you away from me.
'Cause without you, babe, I lose my way
I need you in my life because you guide me and show me the way when I'm lost without you.
Oh, I'm in love (fallin' like the stars)
My feelings for you are so intense that I cannot help but be in love with you.
And I need you to know that we're fallin' so fast
I want you to understand that we're falling deeply in love at a rapid pace.
We're fallin' like the stars, fallin' in love
Our love is as intense and beautiful as falling stars in the night sky.
And I'm not scared to say those words with you, I'm safe
I'm not afraid to express my true feelings with you, because I feel safe with you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Anders Hojier, Jamie Grey, Jamie Martin Graham, James Arthur, Sven Anders Albin Hojier
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@CsrGeaMz
Lyrics
I swear to God, when I come home
I'm gonna hold you so close
I swear to God, when I come home, I'll never let go
Like a river, I flow to the ocean I know
You pull me close, guiding me home
And I need you to know that we're
Fallin' so fast, we're fallin' like the stars, fallin' in love
And I'm not scared to say those words
With you I'm safe, we're fallin' like the stars, we're fallin' in love
I swear to God, I can see
Four kids and no sleep
We'll have one on each knee, you and me, hmm
And when they've grown up
You're still the girl in the club
When I held your hair up, 'cause you had too much
And I need you to know that we're
Fallin' so fast, we're fallin' like the stars, fallin' in love
And I'm not scared to say those words
With you I'm safe, we're fallin' like the stars, fallin' in love
I swear to God, every day
He won't take you away
'Cause without you, babe, I lose my way
Oh, I'm in love (I'm in love)
Oh, I'm in love (I'm in love)
Oh, I'm in love (I'm in love)
Oh, I'm in love (I'm in love)
Oh, I'm in love (I'm in love)
Oh, I'm in love (Fallin' like the stars)
And I need you to know that we're
Fallin' so fast, we're fallin' like the stars, fallin' in love
And I'm not scared to say those words
With you I'm safe, we're fallin' like the stars, we're fallin' in love
@sunnysanderson3124
Lyrics : l swear to God, when I come home
I'm gonna hold you so close
I swear to God, when I come home
I'll never let go
Like a river, I flow
To the ocean I know
You pull me close
Guiding me home
And I need you to know that we're falling so fast
We're falling like the stars
Falling in love
And I'm not scared to say those words, with you, I'm safe
We're falling like the stars
We're falling in love
I swear to God, I can see
Four kids and no sleep
We'll have one on each knee
You and me, hmm
And when they've grown up
You're still the girl in the club
When I held your hair up
'Cause you had too much
And I need you to know that we're falling so fast
We're falling like the stars
Falling in love
And I'm not scared to say those words, with you, I'm safe
We're falling like the stars
Falling in love
I swear to God, every day
He won't take you away
'Cause without you, babe
I lose my way
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love
Oh, I'm in love (falling like the stars)
And I need you to know that we're falling so fast
We're falling like the stars
Falling in love
And I'm not scared to say those words, with you, I'm safe
We're falling like the stars
We're falling in love
@iLieOfficial
My Top 3 Favourite Songs By James Arthur
1 - Say you won't let go
2- Can I be him
3 - Falling like the stars
*Update*
Every Song By James Is ❤️
@dangeloortiz9233
One of my favorites are impossible
@SpottedCars2023
Rewrite the stars
@muhdshazili4652
Nothing can beat his acoustic version of empty space tbh
@gamefanaddict6313
1. Say you wont let go
2. Empty space
3. Can i be him
4. Rewrite the stars
5. Impossible
6. Falling like stars
@xara_ninanile
iLie
Lovely song. Have you heard the song Wanted by ninanile It’s a song I wrote, please check it out on my channel. I’d truly appreciate the support ✨💙
@marzibada1473
James Arthur is not a singer, he's a feeling.
@dantebynoe9808
You copied that from Lewis capadila comments
@marzibada1473
@@dantebynoe9808 no.
@marzibada1473
@@dantebynoe9808 Thank you for the idea. I'll comment on that there.