How old is James Arthur? Singer releases new album, announces plans to quit music to pursue acting career

James Arthur is a 35-year-old British singer-songwriter who rose to prominence after winning The X Factor in 2012. He released his fifth album Bitter Sweet Love on January 26, 2024, and plans to release one final album before moving away from music to focus on his acting career.

The singer announced the new album via a post on his official Instagram account on Friday. The post was accompanied by a statement from Arthur thanking his fans:

"This record is real special to me, it feels like a proper return to form from the songs to the team around me. I appreciate every single one of you that’s listened to music from this album and picked up a copy (or 5!) or bought a ticket to a show on the BSL World Tour this year! I cant wait to sing these songs live for you and to hear what your favourites are, thanks JA x"

James Arthur originally signed to X Factor judge, Simon Cowell's label Syco before moving to Columbia Records on a five-album deal in 2016. With Bitter Sweet Love being his fourth album for the label, the singer is obligated to fulfill his contract and deliver another project before being able to move on to other opportunities.

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James Arthur released his fifth album Bitter Sweet Love

The singer revealed the new album back in September 2023, with the UK and European dates on his Bitter Sweet Love World Tour announced shortly after. The first date of the tour coincided with the album's release date, with a sold-out performance at the Sporthalle Arena in Hamburg, Germany on January 26, 2024.

Prior to the album's release, James Arthur began to consistently drop singles from the album. Starting with the release of the track "A Year Ago" back in May 2023 to two weeks ago with the upload of the music video for the titular track Bitter Sweet Love on January 12, 2024.

Bitter Sweet Love Tracklist:

• Bitter Sweet Love
• Free Falling
• Sleepwalking
• Blindside
• Just Us
• Comeback Kid
• From The Jump
• A Year Ago
• Ruthless
• New Generation
• My Favourite Pill
• Is It Alright?
• Homecoming

The 14-track album has writing credits by James Arthus, as well as Jamie Graham, Steven Solomon, Wayne Hector, Daniel Bingham, Parkhouse and Tizzard.

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More about James Arthur's decision to quit music

In an exclusive interview with The Sun on January 26, 2024, James Arthur mentioned that he is planning to take a hiatus from music after the release of his next album so that he can focus on making it as an actor. The singer stated that this is something he has wanted to get into for a long time:

"There was a time where there were a couple of projects where I was one foot in and one foot out and I was trying to make them work. I sort of chose music because it made more sense."

Regarding his love for acting, the "Say You Won't Let Go" singer further added that he became passionate about the medium after shooting for his music videos:

“I do a bit of acting in my videos, and I enjoy that, but it’s gotta be the right project. At some point, I’d love to spend a couple of years focusing on acting and parking the music for a bit.”

James Arthur plans to dive into his acting career after his next album, in order to fulfill his contract obligations with Columbia Records, stating:

“I will do that after my next album. Then take a bit of a hiatus and focus on my acting because I’ve got one more album on my record deal.”

James Arthur's debut single "Impossible" is the highest-charting single by a winner in X Factor history, debuting at No.1 on the UK Singles Charts, selling over 2.5 million copies worldwide.

His 2016 album Back From the Edge was his first album to debut at No.1 on the UK Album Chart with its lead single "Say You Won't Let Go" also topping the charts. The track's music video has over 1.6 billion views on YouTube and has sold over 2.7 million copies.

Fans can see the singer perform on his Bitter Sweet Love World Tour over the next few months, culminating with a final show in London on March 22, 2024.