YOU
Balladry may have made James Arthur an *X Factor* champion, but he’s always been a singer-songwriter with a broader vision than your average acoustic troubadour. Building on the soul-pop foundations of 2016’s *Back From the Edge*, he sets his lived-in vocals to his richest palette of sounds yet. The drama and pomp of opener “You” suggests the Teessider absorbed a few tricks while contributing to *The Greatest Showman: Reimagined*, and he recruits Ty Dolla $ign and UK rapper Shotty Horroh for the spry hip-pop cut “Treehouse.” Those vocals demand a few stripped-back heart-tuggers, though, and the album’s reflective second half explores the twists and turns of love on “Empty Space” and the gospel-influenced “Naked,” while the graceful “Fall” evokes Arthur’s own struggles with addiction and anxiety.
History could file James Arthur under the category of X Factor winner done good: his debut single Impossible is the most successful winner’s single in the show’s history. But a series of scandals, including a row over his use of homophobic language, derailed him. He has suffered from mental health issues and sought treatment for substance abuse.