X-Factor star's family speaks
Published 20 Dec 2012 09:30
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X-FACTOR winner James Arthur this week spoke of their pride after travelling from Barrhead to watch him triumph in the nail-biting final.
The 24-year-old former busker made history in the show by becoming the first act ever to win having been in the bottom two.
Among the Manchester audience at the weekend to watch him pip Jahmene Douglas were his aunt and uncle, Carol and Angus MacInnes, from the Cross Stobbs area of the town.
Now his new single, Impossible, has already topped national music charts.
Carol said: "James is a marvellous songwriter and he hasn't had the chance to showcase some of his own music - he has put his own twist on the songs that he has sung but we haven\u2019t seen the best of James yet.
"We were in the frame of mind that as long as he gets to the finals then we will know that he's made it - he has a real drive for his music and he really wants it.
"I don't think he believed that he could have got this far, but he got into the bubble of the competition and he just wanted to win."
Carol, the sister of James' dad Neil, told how an entire side of James' family grew up just a stones throw from Barrhead in south Nitshill, before Neil moved to Redcar, where the Arthur family live to this day.
She said: "I had a moment on the train when I saw a girl in the seat near me was listening to music and flicking through pictures of James on her phone," she continued.
"Usually I don't like to tell people we are related, but I just couldn't help myself there and I asked he how big a fan she was and that I was his auntie.
"She wouldn't believe me until I showed her a picture."
James, a self confessed Glasgow Rangers fan, won with an electrifying rendition of Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On followed by his single Impossible by Barbadian r'n'b artist Shontelle, which had 10,000 people inside the Manchester Central arena on their feet.
Angus said: "We are thrilled for him we really are."
Carol continued: "Every weekend we have been on tenterhooks, sitting on the couch and holding hands and just willing him to go through, waiting on his name to be called.
"When James and Ella Henderson were in the sing off and it was the two people you just didn't expect, and it was a real shame for Ella, it was just the case that James got more votes.
"The other families were just like us and in awe of what is happening to them. Most of them can't believe it and even when the acts were on the stage they are really egging each other on and supporting everyone - it's been a fantastic atmosphere."
Carol told how James' rise from an unknown to a UK superstar had been 'amazing' for his family.
"You can't really pick up a newspaper or a magazine without seeing him in there somewhere," she beamed.
"He has also had the support of the guests who have came onto the show, and celebrities have said he is their favourite, and that only has to be good for his future career."
Speaking after his final win, James said: "I think one of the first things I'll do is probably look after my family a bit, maybe find somewhere nicer to live."
This article appeared in Barrhead News 12 Dec 12
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