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.
Supposed
James Arthur Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Than to ever
Look to heaven questionin'
Whether I've found it
Put it up, sounded
Better than it looked
Now I'm your friend
Yeah
And all these words, they come too late
You could never compensate
For this pain, oh-ooh
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I should've said it all when I was close to you
Like I was supposed to do
Like I was supposed to do, yeah, yeah
I should've known better than to be pacified
Now you just pass me by
I'm stumblin' through this life like a man with no sight
No sight
Yeah, oh
Like a man that lost his fight
And all these words, they come too late
You could never compensate
For this pain (for this pain)
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I should've said it all when I was close to you
Like I was supposed to do, yeah
Like I was supposed to do, oh yeah
It's too late
The hands of fate (oh the hands of fate yea
Just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
Help me change (help me change, change, change)
It's too late (oh, it's too fuckin' late)
The hands of fate (oh, it's too fuckin' late, no)
Just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
Help me change (help me change, change, change)
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I should've said it all when I was close to you
Like I was supposed to do, yeah
Like I was supposed to do, oh-ooh yeah
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I should've said it all when I was close to you
Like I was supposed to do, yeah
Like I was supposed to do
Oh, like I was supposed to do
The lyrics to James Arthur's song Supposed are about regret and missed opportunities in a relationship. The singer reflects on how they should have acted differently when they were closer to their partner, instead of looking to external sources for validation. They realize too late that they should have said everything they wanted to say when they had the chance, and now the opportunity has passed them by. The hands of fate won't wait, and they are left with a feeling of being stuck in a dead end. The pain and regret are too much to bear, and there is no way to make up for lost time.
These lyrics are a powerful reminder of the importance of communicating our feelings and intentions before it's too late. It's all too easy to take our loved ones for granted and assume that there will always be another chance to say what we need to say. But life is unpredictable, and we can never be sure when our time with someone will end. The message of Supposed is that we need to seize the moment and speak our truth while we still have the chance.
Line by Line Meaning
I should've known better
I should have had better judgment
Than to ever look to heaven questionin'
Than to question whether I have found what I was looking for in something intangible like heaven
Whether I've found it
Whether I have found what I was searching for
Put it up, sounded better than it looked
I had high expectations for something that ended up being disappointing
Now I'm your friend
After everything, we are still friends
Yeah, I'm stuck in this dead end
I feel trapped in a situation with no way out
And all these words, they come too late
All the words I could have said are now irrelevant because it is too late
You could never compensate for this pain, oh-ooh
No matter what you do, you can't make up for the pain I feel
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I should have expressed my thoughts and feelings when I had the chance
Like I was supposed to do, yeah, yeah
According to social norms, expressing my thoughts and feelings when I had the chance is what was expected of me
I should've known better than to be pacified
I should have had better judgment and not let myself be pacified with a mediocre situation
Now you just pass me by
You show me no attention now
I'm stumblin' through this life like a man with no sight
I'm wandering aimlessly without direction or purpose
Like a man that lost his fight
Like a man who has given up or is defeated
It's too late
There is no more time to fix what is broken
The hands of fate just won't wait
Destiny cannot be delayed or changed
Help me change
I need help to change my situation
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I missed the opportunity to express my thoughts and feelings when I had the chance
Like I was supposed to do, oh-ooh yeah
According to social norms, expressing my thoughts and feelings when I had the chance is what was expected of me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Shahid Khan, James Arthur, Wayne Hector
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ardian Allard
Lyrics
I should've known better
Than to ever
Look to heaven questioning
Whether I've found it
Put it up, sounded
Better than it looked
Now I'm your friend
Yea, yea
I'm stuck in this dead end
And all these words, they come too late
You could never compensate
For this pain oh
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I should've said it all when I was close to you
Like I was supposed to do
Like I was supposed to do
I should've known better than to be pacified
Now you just pass me by
I'm stumbling through this life like a man with no sight
No sight
Yea, oh
Like a man that lost his fight
And all these words, they come too late
You could never compensate
For this pain
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I should've said it all when I was close to you
Like I was supposed to do
Like I was supposed to do
It's too late
The hands of fate
Oh the hands of fate yea
Just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
Help me change
Help me change, help me change
It's too late
The hands of fate
Just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
Help me change
Help me change, help me change
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I should've said it all when I was close to you
Like I was supposed to do
Like I was supposed to do
Oh like I was supposed to do
Abigail Gentile
Pasan los años, y sigo amando cada una de sus canciones.. simplemente hermoso la intensidad de sentimientos que puede transmitir este hombre.
Gianina Revels
It is impossible for me to pick a favorite song. They're all so good! The lyrics are amazing and the beat and just, his voice!! Gosh.
Marielly
Vem pro Brasil, amo todas as suas músicas 💜
Fade's World
Love it! James is killing it lately, wouldn't surprise me if he was No.1 for Christmas!
Ardian Allard
Lyrics
I should've known better
Than to ever
Look to heaven questioning
Whether I've found it
Put it up, sounded
Better than it looked
Now I'm your friend
Yea, yea
I'm stuck in this dead end
And all these words, they come too late
You could never compensate
For this pain oh
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I should've said it all when I was close to you
Like I was supposed to do
Like I was supposed to do
I should've known better than to be pacified
Now you just pass me by
I'm stumbling through this life like a man with no sight
No sight
Yea, oh
Like a man that lost his fight
And all these words, they come too late
You could never compensate
For this pain
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I should've said it all when I was close to you
Like I was supposed to do
Like I was supposed to do
It's too late
The hands of fate
Oh the hands of fate yea
Just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
Help me change
Help me change, help me change
It's too late
The hands of fate
Just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
No, it just won't wait
Help me change
Help me change, help me change
I should've said it all when I was close to you
I should've said it all when I was close to you
Like I was supposed to do
Like I was supposed to do
Oh like I was supposed to do
אורלי בלושטיין
⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆💐💐💐💐💐💐💐🌼🌼🌼🌼 perfect song James!!!!!! 🎵👌😍❤💕♥🎵👌😍❤💕♥🎵👌😍❤💕♥🎵👌😍❤💕♥🎵👌😍❤💕♥🎵👌😍❤💕♥🎵👌😍❤💕♥🎵👌😍❤💕♥🎵👌😍❤💕♥🎵👌😍❤💕❤
Van Lai
ki
Van Lai
kiiii
micika2u
James has so much soul... I love it, thank you for these songs! :)
TXGirl
..this song. I’ve listened to it on repeat for months, addicted and can’t let it go… singing at the top of my lungs when I go for a long drive.. or trying to preoccupy my mind restraining something I don’t want to face.. in the end tho, i feel a sense of hope, the thought is it’s never too late.. rough times keep showing up, coupled with discovering more of his tracks, continuously coming back for more… it’s safe to say at this point, this heart is here for life. Mad love, Blessings, and Light J 🤟😎❤️🔥✨