"You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You" is a song by British singer and songwriterJames Arthur. Written by Arthur along withTMS, who also produced the record, it serves as his first single since winning theninth series ofThe X Factor in 2012, his second single overall after "Impossible", and thelead single from hisself-titled debut album.
Speaking toCapital FM about the song, Arthur called it: "One of those big, uplifting anthemic tunes. The rest of the album is quite diverse."[1] The song received its debut airplay on Capital FM on 9 September 2013.[2]
Writing for theMetro, 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."[3] Robert Copsey ofDigital Spy 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.[4]
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 theUK singles chart, behind "Royals" byLorde.[5][6]
The song's official music video was directed by Emil Nava[1] and was uploaded to YouTube on 19 September 2013. It features Arthur performing at a street gig.[7]
