Troubadour James hoping to Rocket up album charts thanks to Los Angeles buzz
The Troubadour in LA is one of those legendary music venues – a bit like the CBGB club in New York, the Hammersmith Apollo, or even the Barrowland Ballroom.
In fact, if you’ve seen the Elton John biopic Rocketman, there’s a moment where he visits Los Angeles and plays the Troubadour.
It sends his career rocketing in the USA. One man hoping to follow in Elton’s footsteps is James Arthur.
The former X Factor winner is back with a new album and he played The Troubadour last week in a sellout gig.
There was a lot of buzz about James here in the US, and his old X Factor judge, Nicole Scherzinger, was there to cheer him on.
And while he was here, I managed to nab a quick chat with James, too.
“I was watching Rocketman on the way here and obviously Elton John played here,” he told me.
“To be performing here is unbelievable. You can see all the icons on the wall, and think they’ve all been here. Finally I’m here.
“We wanted to create that special thing where you can’t get a ticket and it’s rammed. And make it a sweaty, intimate vibe.
“It’s seven years since I won X Factor. It feels like a long old time. Every time I do an interview I’m asked,‘what’s it been like since the X Factor?’.
“It feels like ages. The first years were about adapting to a new life. It was traumatic, it left me with a few scars!”
James has been open about his mental health in the last couple of years, having experienced depression and anxiety.
“I went through a lot of struggles when I found fame,” he added. “I was No 1, but I made some royal mistakes due to the fact I was struggling with mental health issues.
“Until I started talking about these things I didn’t realise how profound it would be for me to say I’m not OK.
“I just a felt a responsibility to speak up and do my bit to help others who are struggling to stand up and say I’m not doing well.
“It’s a management thing, I need to manage my anxiety every day.
“Every day you chip away at it. It’s becoming less of a taboo thing, and that’s wicked.”
James is working on a new album, and it was only when he listened back to the old one that he found some perspective. And he didn’t hold back when reviewing his last record!
“After the dust settled on my last album, I listened back to it and I cringed at how self-indulgent it is,” he added.
“It’s a bunch of songs where I was trying to write a comeback single.
“I can feel me writing about the pain I’m going through and I wanted redemption.
“The one song that people loved was a simple love song, Say You Won’t Let Go. So I approached this album the same way I approached that one song.
“It’s just about other people. It’s for you and not for me!”