James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go

I am one of those folk with autism. As far as targets for discrimination go, I'm far from being among the most unfortunate. In many situations I can get by without people even realising it's the case, giving them no means to discriminate.

But that discrimination does happen, typically online. To be autistic is an aspect that becomes exaggerated as being the lowest among those in communication, with a lack of social skills preventing you from correctly filtering your speech. To be autistic is a dismissive retort used to de-legitimise any opinion you may hold, and dehumanise you in the process.

Suffice to say I have very little respect for anyone who would hold myself, or people like me in contempt, and such a thing is only made a problem by the fact that people can freely get away with such a thing. I can't think of a single instance of someone being banished from any sort of circle for discriminating against people with autism.

James Arthur didn't do that of course. I just mention it as it gives me a way to get in the mindset of those he DID discriminate against to get a clearer perspective. If you are out of the loop, James Arthur infamously sunk his career in late 2013, when among all manner of social media gaffes where he let his ego overtake common sense, he rapped a homophobic slur, and to many people, this was unforgivable and he was shunted out of the spotlight. Having been dropped from his label and having no commercial viability in the following 3 years, it became clear that he had killed his career.

Except apparently not! He released this single last year and to the shock of many, it managed to storm to the top of the charts, with the accompanying album doing the same. He even got back on Sony, and it's very clear that this is one of those songs that will never disappear as long as radio remains in cycle.

This is the point where he became particularly loathsome. Half for the way he's been marketed, and half for what he represents. With the former, it's important to note that his album is called "Back From The Edge", and I've heard at least one song on it that pushes a narrative where James acknowledges that he made mistakes in the past. On the surface it sounds fine, but I quickly couldn't help but see it as him actually pushing a comeback narrative, which means that in some part, he is banking from some terrible things he said in the past.

But perhaps the worst thing about it is the precedent it sets. In the intervening years where James Arthur's career was going nowhere, I'd seen many LGBT members in celebration that he'd been rightfully shunned out of the spotlight. After all, isn't it great when people get what they deserve, which also serves as a lesson for anyone else who might do the same. James Arthur being brought back into the spotlight is a complete slap in the face to this notion. It shows that you can be forgiven for such offense, you can even be rewarded for it!

All you have to do is make some plodding, middle of the road adult contemporary music. 2.3

(Also I remember James Arthur when he was on his tirades in 2013, he mentioned that he didn't like how his debut album turned out, and he wanted to record music that was 'darker'. Here he is in all his glorious creative control. I wonder if deep down he thinks this is rubbish).