James Arthur has collaborated with a pop giant for his new tune (Picture: Ken McKay/Thames/REX/Shutterstock)
It’s been over a decade since James Arthur won The X Factor, but he’s still making waves in the music industry, this time thanks to a duet with a pop icon.
James, now 36, triumphed in the 2012 series of Simon Cowell’s singing competition, with his debut single – a cover of Shontelle’s Impossible – landing at number one in the charts and becoming the most successful winner’s single in the show’s history.
Since then, James has released a bunch of tunes, including You’re Nobody ’til Somebody Loves You and Say You Won’t Let Go, as well as three studio albums.
Still going strong in 2024, he’s teamed up with none other than Kelly Clarkson for a fiery duet.
Titled From The Jump, the song is the duet version of James’s album track and the fourth official release from Bitter Sweet Love, which dropped earlier this year.
The intimate yet powerful ballad is the ideal setting for a magical encounter, as James begins with his gentle crooning.
Kelly Clarkson brings a new edge to the song with her powerful vocals (Picture: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Kelly then comes in with her powerful vocal, promising to find and hold her lover forever with the lyrics: ‘Remember, I told you I’ll never let go.’
Then, when the two powerful vocalists finally unite their passion in the shared chorus, magic is born.
Speaking about their collab, James – who was mentored by Nicole Scherzinger on The X Factor – said: ‘When I heard Kelly’s vocals on this, my mind was blown.
‘What a great honour to have someone of her calibre feature on one of my favourite songs from this body of work. I’m so excited for the fans to hear it.’
Clearly already a James Arthur fan, Kelly added: ‘James has such an incredible voice, so I was stoked when he sent me this song to jump on with him.
‘I love singing with artists who inspire me and vocalists I adore! That’s my favourite kind of duet partner.’
James’s career is still on the up post-X Factor (Picture: Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images)
She described From The Jump as ‘such a cool song’ with a ‘singer/songwriter vibe but with these pop elements of catchiness that I really dig.’
‘The melody is beautiful, and the writing is so great that I was very excited to sing on it with him!’
James and Kelly’s soulful duet has received rave reviews online since its release.
Taking to X, listeners described it as ‘stunning’, with the pair even reducing people to tears.
‘This James Arthur and Kelly Clarkson collab is beautiful’, wrote caseyleemoore.
MomX4grandmaX2 said they had ‘goosebumps’ while MashaelS97 wrote: ‘The two singers I never knew I needed. Iconic’.
‘A beautiful version of the original which is one of my faves from the album!!’, added scrappygrams12.
James has maintained a legion of fans post-X Factor, allowing him to become a multi-Platinum artist with sell-out tours in the UK and Europe.
Today, he is one of the world’s biggest streaming artists, with more than 38million monthly listeners on Spotify alone. “
Away from the microphone, the Falling Like The Stars singer had an ‘unexpected arrival’ in 2022 when he became a dad for the first time.
In his announcement at the time, James revealed that he and his girlfriend, Jessica Grist, had called the tot Emily, a name he has tattooed and which is the title of one of his songs.
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