| Bitter Sweet Love | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 26 January 2024 (2024-01-26) | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Length | 43:03 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer |
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| James Arthur chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Bitter Sweet Love | ||||
| Singles from Bitter Sweet Love (Deluxe) | ||||
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Bitter Sweet Love is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriterJames Arthur, released on 26 January 2024 throughColumbia 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 number one on theUK Albums Chart, becoming Arthur's second number one album, followingBack 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 ofChristina Perri's "A Thousand Years" andShania 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 fromKelly Clarkson.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| 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 ofEd 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 describedBitter 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]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bitter Sweet Love" |
| 2:45 |
| 2. | "Free Falling" |
| 2:53 |
| 3. | "Sleepwalking" |
| 3:48 |
| 4. | "Blindside" |
| 3:32 |
| 5. | "Just Us" |
| 3:34 |
| 6. | "Comeback Kid" |
| 3:53 |
| 7. | "From the Jump" | Arthur | 3:51 |
| 8. | "A Year Ago" |
| 2:50 |
| 9. | "Ruthless" |
| 3:12 |
| 10. | "New Generation" |
| 2:46 |
| 11. | "My Favourite Pill" |
| 3:23 |
| 12. | "Is It Alright?" |
| 3:44 |
| 13. | "Homecoming" |
| 2:52 |
| Total length: | 43:03 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "A Year Ago" (acoustic version) |
| 3:02 |
| 15. | "Blindside" (acoustic version) |
| 3:53 |
| 16. | "Just Us" (strings version) |
| 3:34 |
| Total length: | 53:32 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Thousand Years" | 4:14 | |
| 2. | "From the Jump" (withKelly Clarkson) | Arthur | 3:51 |
| 3. | "You're Still the One" | 3:18 | |
| 4. | "Sinners" |
| 3:25 |
| 5. | "Brave" |
| 3:55 |
| 6. | "Heartbeat" |
| 3:52 |
| 7. | "Blindside" (Orchestral Version live from Channel Aid) |
| 4:07 |
| 8. | "Bitter Sweet Love" (Orchestral Version live from Channel Aid) |
| 3:22 |
Musicians
Technical
Visuals
| 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 |
