James Arthur Hits Out At The X Factor
It has produced a string of karaoke singers, he claims
James Arthur has hit out at The X Factor for producing “karaoke singers” and labelled previous male winners as “puppets.”
The 2012 X Factor champ, who infamously quit Twitter last November after uploading a diss track containing alleged homophobic lyrics to YouTube, pulled no punches when talking about the talent show to Inertia.tv in Poland.
26-year-old James said: “Having watched X Factor over the years, they just haven’t got it right. The male winners haven’t been believable. They look like puppets, they sound like puppets.
“I happen to agree with a lot of people who say it’s like karaoke. I’ve done it myself watching the show over the years and saying, ‘I’ve seen better down my local pub.’
“Unfortunately, there’s a f***load of karaoke singers in the world and all they can do is make them look like good karaoke singers.”
He added: "You find the one or two amazing vocalists, like Leona Lewis, like Jennifer Hudson or Kelly Clarkson.
"It's really hard to find those types of singers. I honestly think you just hit the jackpot now and again. I think it's a lottery."
James, who is currently signed to Simon Cowell’s Syco imprint, also expressed his frustrations over the lack of control he apparently had over his self-titled debut album.
"I'm really just looking forward to my next record because although I thank my first album for what it's done for me, I feel a little bit detached from it now because it felt like there were so many influences on it,” James said.
"I'd rather just be left alone to make my art and make my music."
James continued: "Now I have people telling me what I can and can't do, what music I can make, what music I can't make.
"People that aren't artists don't think about creativity and art, they think about money.
"That's why when you 'find fame' or you get signed to a record label it's not what you imagined because what you imagine is they would just have 100% faith and trust in you in an artist and unfortunately that's not really the case. It's whatever sells."