James Andrew Arthur (born 2 March 1988) is a British singer-songwriter who won the ninth series of The X Factor in 2012. His debut single, "Impossible", was released through Syco Music after the final and debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart in its first week of release. It has since gone on to sell over 1,289,000 copies in the UK, and 2.5 million copies worldwide. He released his self-titled debut album in November 2013 and it debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart.
Just weeks after the release of his debut album, Arthur became embroiled in a homophobia controversy, which led to iTunes offering refunds for the album. After this, Arthur parted ways with Syco. In 2015, he signed a new deal with Columbia Records and will release his second album in 2016.
