Crunch Time

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Meeting your new partner's parents for the First Time is a nerve-wracking experience for anyone.

While psychologists don't agree on a specific number, most suggest that you have less than 30 seconds to impress someone. One study even suggests you've got just before people start making judgements.

So spare a thought for poor James Arthur , who met his new girlfriend's mum under less than ideal circumstances.

The X Factor winner and multi-platinum singer-songwriter had driven her to her house, and was waiting outside when an idea took hold of him.

" I don't know what I was on at The Time , But I drove to this little field near her house started making crop circles in The Car . Like, doing donuts in The Middle of this field, " he cringes.

" I was a little bit away from The House , so I wasn't trying to draw attention to Myself . I just thought she would find it funny.

" But then I got stuck in the mud. "

And so Arthur's potential future in-laws pulled on their wellies and stomped into a marshy field to help. But as they pushed The Car , he revved the engine and sprayed them full in The Face with mud.

" I was just mortified, " he says. " But she's a lovely Irish lady and she was cool about it.

" In a way it broke The Ice . She fond out pretty quickly that I was a silly goose. "

The Incident has now been immortalised on Arthur's latest single, September. " I remember being foolish when I met your mother, " he sings, with conspicuous understatement.

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Released as a single earlier this year, it's a romantic highlight of his new album, It'll All Make Sense In The End .

But the rest of the record treads on darker paths, charting the deterioration of Arthur's Mental Health during lockdown.

On the hazy opening track, Running Away , he admits, " I want to smoke 'til I can't wake up" Avalanche is a snapshot of how Mental Health problems gather momentum until they bury you; while a staccato rap on Wolves dissects childhood trauma (Arthur lived through two divorces and ended up in foster care).

On the moving Medicine, he talks darkly of a " suicidal spiral".

Like many people, he says 2020 forced him to confront his demons.

'I hit a wall'

It all began with a gallbladder infection at the start of the year, which required tour-cancelling Emergency Surgery . The Experience triggered severe anxiety, leaving him.

" It became clear that I needed therapy and, in particular, childhood trauma therapy. "

The Sessions were long overdue, he says.

" It's crazy that I've been in this business for The Last 10 Years and not addressed that stuff, especially with all the pressures and scrutiny that come with my job. "

" I'd just been plodding on, not really addressing those things. Every so often, I'd hit a wall, then I'd recover and think everything was cool. "

Back on his feet, he managed to complete a UK arena tour while maintaining his therapy regime.

" Then the pandemic struck and I just spiralled. I was re-evaluating everything, re-assessing everything. Like, do I even want to continue with music? I just wasn't happy. I wasn't happy in Myself . "

Part of The Problem was that he'd set himself near-impossible goals.

After achieving The Best -selling X Factor single of all Time (, 1. 4 million copies) and writing one of the biggest ballads of the 21St Century (, 1. 9bn streams on Spotify) he still wanted more.

" I'm a really ambitious person and I wasn't achieving the goals I wanted to achieve, " he says.

" Everyone was telling me, 'You're crazy, you can be so proud of everything you've done'. And I Am , Trust Me , But I'm aiming for The Stars . I want to be one of the greats.

" I don't just want to have one song that's done a couple of billion streams. I want to have 10. I want my music to reach as many people as possible. "

With that in mind, his new album is something of a risk, eschewing the universal Love Songs of his first three records for a grittier, guitar-driven sound.

" I was in a particularly emo state of mind, " he says, attributing The Album 's raw energy to The Way it was recorded. " I made it all At Home and every Time I had an idea, I put it down, however I was feeling. "

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But while The Album documents a period of immense pain, the over-arching theme is of hope and positivity and appreciation for The People who helped him survive.

" You're my bulletproof vest, " he sings on Medicine. Later, on September, he adds: " You're The Pin in my heart, it's a hand grenade".

" I've always just resonated with songs where the sentiment is 'you and me against The World ', " says Arthur. " I think that's something that we can all relate to.

" I was focusing on The People around me Because I was going through a dark Time , and I put those feelings directly into The Music .

" It's an album that genuinely helped me through a rough patch. So it means The World to me - Because it was a lifesaver. "

Fame has clearly taken a negative toll on The Star 's health over The Years .

His first flush of success was quickly derailed by erratic behaviour, drug use and a homophobic outburst on a diss track. He subsequently described his actions as self-sabotage, prompted by deep-rooted feelings of unworthiness.

Although he rebuilt his career, it's tempting to class Arthur alongside fellow X Factor alumni like about being exploited by The Show (and the Music Industry in general) earlier this year.

Arthur isn't aware of the specific allegations, But says he can sympathise.

" I will say one thing about going through a process like that: Quite often, [the contestants] come from Working Class backgrounds and have no experience of showbusiness or Television - and it is quite a shock to The System .

" It certainly took me a few years to get over how sudden the success was. It definitely plays with your head and it's a really High Pressure situation to be in. It's kind of sink or swim.

" But I can honestly say that The People that worked on The Show did their best. I don't think that they could have done any more for me, personally. They had a welfare lady that was Checking In on us all The Time .

" But I think [the Crunch Time ] is after The Show when you're put back into society after going through something like that. And it all depends on who you've got around you. "

With X Factor now cancelled for good, Arthur is increasingly concerned with how Working Class musicians can get a Break In the Music Industry .

He only auditioned for The Show in 2012 when His Mother bribed him by promising to pay his electricity bill for a month. Up until then, money had always been a barrier to his career.

" I had Record Label executives saying, 'You could be The Next best thing since The Beatles ' But it always came down to the fact that I didn't have any money that I couldn't progress.

" I've seen friends give up on music Because they don't have the [financial] backing, they don't have management, they can't even afford a train ticket to London. "

He notes: " It's great seeing someone like Sam Fender doing so well, Because he's a proper northern lad like Myself - But I think we've just got a bit of work to do to educate people outside of The South about different regions. "

With that in mind, Arthur is leaving London after 10 Years , and heading Back To his hometown of Redcar, in North Yorkshire . He says his dream is to establish a Record Label there, championing local acts.

" The unemployment rate is the worst in the country But there's a lot of talent there, " he says.

" You know, if you've got a Trust Fund and you can fund launching your music career that's all well and good [But ] I'd Just Love to see people who didn't have The Best start in life break through.

" Personally, I champion Those People and root for them. "

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Source of news: bbc.com