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Bitter Sweet Love

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Bitter Sweet Love
Close-up of a man running on a sidewalk
Studio album by
James Arthur
Released26 January 2024 (2024-01-26)
Studio
Length43:03
LabelColumbia
Producer
  • Red Triangle
  • Steven Solomon
James Arthur chronology
It'll All Make Sense in the End
(2021) 		Bitter Sweet Love
(2024)
Singles from Bitter Sweet Love
  1. "A Year Ago"
    Released: 12 May 2023
  2. "Blindside"
    Released: 4 August 2023[1]
  3. "Just Us"
    Released: 6 October 2023[2]
  4. "Homecoming"
    Released: 24 November 2023[3]
  5. "Sleepwalking"
    Released: 15 December 2023[4]
  6. "Bitter Sweet Love"
    Released: 12 January 2024[5]
Singles from Bitter Sweet Love (Deluxe)
  1. "From the Jump[6]"
    Released: 19 April 2024

Bitter Sweet Love is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter James Arthur, released on 26 January 2024 through Columbia Records.[7] The album, primarily co-written and produced by Steven Solomon, retains Arthur's signature sound, and was preceded by the release of six singles, including the title track, and the lead single "A Year Ago".[8]

The album peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Arthur's second number one album, following Back from the Edge (2016). On June 28, 2024, to accompany Arthur's world tour in promotion of the album, a deluxe edition was released, adding eight new tracks, including covers of Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years" and Shania Twain's "You're Still the One". The deluxe release was preceded by the release of a duet version of "From the Jump" featuring vocals from Kelly Clarkson.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Irish Times[9]

Irish Times writer Lauren Murphy rated the album two and a half stars out of five stars. She noted that "Arthur's soulful husky voice continues to be the main quality that sets him apart from the army of Ed Sheerans in operation, but there is only so far it will take him on his fifth album [...] Hollow sloganeering and hackneyed balladry aside, Arthur is more than capable of churning out a decent, lively pop song. There are just not enough of them here to make a lasting impression."[9] Renowned for Sound described Bitter Sweet Love as "a mixture of some decent, upbeat tracks, a couple of tolerable country-light tracks, and a plethora of entirely adequate, yet instantly forgettable, piano-heavy ballads. The up-tempo tracks demonstrate that Arthur can write good pop songs – without these, this album would have been one long, unendurable ballad."[10]

Track listing

[edit]
Bitter Sweet Love track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bitter Sweet Love"
2:45
2."Free Falling"
  • Arthur
  • Solomon
  • Graham
2:53
3."Sleepwalking"
  • Arthur
  • Solomon
  • Graham
3:48
4."Blindside"
3:32
5."Just Us"
  • Arthur
  • Solomon
  • Andrew Jackson
3:34
6."Comeback Kid"
  • Arthur
  • Solomon
3:53
7."From the Jump"Arthur3:51
8."A Year Ago"
  • Arthur
  • Solomon
  • Graham
2:50
9."Ruthless"
  • Arthur
  • Solomon
  • Graham
3:12
10."New Generation"
  • Arthur
  • Solomon
2:46
11."My Favourite Pill"
  • Arthur
  • Solomon
3:23
12."Is It Alright?"
  • Arthur
  • Parkhouse
  • Tizzard
  • Hector
3:44
13."Homecoming"
  • Arthur
  • Solomon
  • Graham
2:52
Total length:43:03
iTunes edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."A Year Ago" (acoustic version)
  • Arthur
  • Graham
  • Solomon
3:02
15."Blindside" (acoustic version)
  • Arthur
  • Hector
  • Parkhouse
  • Tizzard
3:53
16."Just Us" (strings version)
  • Arthur
  • Jackson
  • Solomon
3:34
Total length:53:32
Bitter Sweet Love (Deluxe) - Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Thousand Years"
4:14
2."From the Jump" (with Kelly Clarkson)Arthur3:51
3."You're Still the One"
3:18
4."Sinners"
  • Arthur
  • Graham
  • Solomon
3:25
5."Brave"
3:55
6."Heartbeat"
  • Arthur
  • Dan Bingham
  • Solomon
3:52
7."Blindside" (Orchestral Version live from Channel Aid)
  • Arthur
  • Parkhouse
  • Tizzard
  • Hector
4:07
8."Bitter Sweet Love" (Orchestral Version live from Channel Aid)
  • Arthur
  • Graham
  • Solomon
3:22

Personnel

[edit]

Musicians

  • James Arthur – vocals (all tracks), felt piano (tracks 2, 5), guitars (4, 8)
  • Steven Solomon – guitars, keyboards (tracks 1–11, 13); bass (1, 4–7, 10, 11, 13), programming (1–4, 6–11, 13), Juno bass synthesizer (2, 3, 8, 9), piano (7), felt piano (13)
  • Daniel Bingham – drums (tracks 1–11, 13), keyboards (1, 3, 5–11, 13), Juno synthesizer (1–3, 5, 6–9, 11, 13), felt piano (7, 13), upright piano (10), piano (12)
  • Pete Whitfield – strings (tracks 2, 3, 5, 12, 13)
  • Sarah Brandwood-Spencer – strings (tracks 2, 3, 5, 12, 13)
  • Simon Turner – strings (tracks 2, 3, 5, 12, 13)
  • Rick Parkhouse – bass, keyboards, programming (tracks 4, 12); guitars (4)
  • George Tizzard – bass, keyboards, programming (tracks 4, 12); guitars (4)
  • Sarah Dorgan – voicemail vocal (track 6)
  • John Dempsy – bass guitar (track 9)

Technical

  • Steve Solomon – production (tracks 1–11, 13)
  • Red Triangle – production (tracks 4, 12)
  • Idania Valencia – mastering (tracks 1–7, 9–13)
  • Randy Merrill – mastering (track 8)
  • Charlie Holmes – mixing (tracks 1–3, 6, 7, 9–13)
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (tracks 4, 5)
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing (track 8)
  • Chris Galland – mix engineering (track 8)
  • Pete Whitfield – string arrangement (tracks 2, 3, 5, 12, 13)
  • Daniel Bingham – string arrangement (track 5)
  • Matthew Barnes – mixing assistance (tracks 1–3, 6, 7, 9–13)
  • Matt Wolach – mixing assistance (tracks 4, 5)
  • Ramiro Fernandez-Seoane – mix engineering assistance (track 8)
  • John Dempsy – engineering assistance
  • Sarah Dorgan – engineering assistance
  • Ryan Short – editing assistance

Visuals

  • Drinkwater Studio – creative direction, design
  • Edward Cooke – photography

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Bitter Sweet Love
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 29
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 33
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] 122
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 43
French Physical Albums (SNEP)[15] 133
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 12
Irish Albums (OCC)[17] 15
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[18] 87
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[19] 38
Scottish Albums (OCC)[20] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 1

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "James Arthur releases 'Blindside' along with the music video". Planet Radio. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  2. ^ "James Arthur releases his new single 'Just Us' along with a music video". Planet Radio. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  3. ^ "James Arthur Homecoming". Euphoria. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  4. ^ "James Arthur shares Sleepwalking from forthcoming album Bitter Sweet Love". Retropop Magazine. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  5. ^ "James Arthur releases title song from forthcoming album Bitter Sweet Love". Retropop. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  6. ^ "James Arthur Enlists Kelly Clarkson for a Soulful Duet of 'From the Jump'". Rolling Stone Magazine. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  7. ^ "James Arthur announces new album Bitter Sweet Love". Hot Press. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  8. ^ "James Arthur today makes a most welcome return with his stunning new song 'A Year Ago'". Total Ntertainment. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b Murphy, Lauren (25 January 2024). "James Arthur: Bitter Sweet Love – Former X Factor winner should stick to the jaunty pop". The Irish Times. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Album Review: James Arthur – Bitter Sweet Love". Renowned for Sound. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Austriancharts.at – James Arthur – Bitter Sweet Love" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – James Arthur – Bitter Sweet Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – James Arthur – Bitter Sweet Love" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – James Arthur – Bitter Sweet Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Top Physical Albums (Week 5, 2024)". SNEP. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – James Arthur – Bitter Sweet Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  18. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 26.01.2024–01.02.2024 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – James Arthur – Bitter Sweet Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  20. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Swisscharts.com – James Arthur – Bitter Sweet Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  22. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
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