James Arthur: Back from the edge

James Arthur: Back from the edge

James Arthur certainly is back with a bang following his much-anticipated arena tour. Perhaps James’ biggest show, his performance at Wembley SSE Arena was nothing short of brilliant.

The show kicked off with a knockout performance from Ella Henderson. Both Ella and James rose to fame on the ninth series of X Factor in 2012. From the atmospheric song Glow to her final song, Ghost, her vocals were impressive, emotional and at points eerily beautiful. Perhaps my favourite moment of the concert was James and Ella’s duet ‘Let’s Go Home Together’, which the pair wrote together. Their voices blended perfectly and the song itself was honest and relatable – certainly a release to look forward to!

James started his set with his comeback single ‘Back from the Edge’, a lively, almost defiant performance which served as a great opener. He went on to perform a mixture of songs from his first album (James Arthur) and his most recent album (Back from the Edge). His performance was a perfect mixture of acoustic hits where his vocals were laid bare and the beautiful tone of his voice could be fully appreciated on songs such as Roses, to rockier numbers like ‘You’re Nobody Til Somebody Loves You’.

A highlight was a haunting rendition of his song ‘Recovery’ which James has claimed to be one of his most honest and heartfelt numbers. The emotion that James puts into his songs is special to watch – you can’t help but be drawn into his story. For me, this is what sets him apart from other artists. You can’t watch James without being moved by his stunning vocals, his raw energy and how much of himself he lays bare on stage. It really is a special skill that few have.

James’ band were also pretty excellent – his guitarist and bassist were particularly enigmatic and performed a number of great solos during his livelier songs. Add to this the simple but effective AV for his set, and it made for a brilliant hour and a half of soul from James Arthur that nobody in the crowd wanted to finish!

Bravo James – I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next tour.

Posted by – Charley Green