"You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You" is a song by British singer and songwriter
James Arthur
James Andrew Arthur (born 2 March 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after winning the ninth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2012. His debut single, a cover of Shontelle's " Impossible", was released by Syco Music aft ...
. Written by Arthur along with
TMS, who also produced the record, it serves as his first single since winning the
ninth series of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' in 2012, his second single overall after "
Impossible", and the
lead single
A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
A similar term, "debut ...
from his
self-titled debut album.
Background
Speaking to
Capital FM about the song, Arthur called it: "One of those big, uplifting anthemic tunes. The rest of the album is quite diverse."
The song received its debut airplay on Capital FM on 9 September 2013.
Reception
Critical reception
Writing for the ''
Metro'', Seamus Duff said "With a possibly genuine new talent about to take the charts, The X Factor might in fact have produced their best winner yet." Robert Copsey of
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
gave it four stars out of five, saying "It's hard times when nobody wants you," he sings in his unmistakably wobbly, soul-soaked vocal over a barrage of horns and toe-tapping percussion. Unsurprisingly, the result feels just as big – if not bigger – than before.
Chart performance
The single reached number 17 in New Zealand on 17 October 2013 and number 22 in Australia three days later. On 27 October, it debuted at number two on the
UK singles chart, behind "
Royals" by
Lorde
Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of pop music and introspective songwriting, and has been referred to ...
.
Music video
The song's official music video was directed by Emil Nava
and was uploaded to YouTube on 19 September 2013. It features Arthur performing at a street gig.
Track listing
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Radio and release history
References
{{Authority control
2013 singles
James Arthur songs
2013 songs
Syco Music singles
Song recordings produced by TMS (production team)
Songs written by Peter Kelleher (songwriter)
Songs written by Tom Barnes (songwriter)
Songs written by Ben Kohn
Songs written by James Arthur