Matt Cardle & James Arthur are the last two solo male winners of The X Factor UK. One may be forgiven for thinking that having that achievement in common might engender some mutual respect…and they just might like each other. Unfortunately that is far from the case in this relationship.
Last year James Arthur infuriated Cardle by saying that the previous X-Factor winners “haven’t made great albums” and “haven’t sold records.” Arthur went further, describing Matt Cardle’s releases as ‘boring’ and music ‘for bedwetters.’
With a week having passed since the release of James Arthur’s self titled debut album, the first week sales numbers have now been released to the public. The album has turned out a disappointing performance of 63,996 copies sold, which pales in comparison to the sales of Cardle’s 2011 debut album ‘Letters’ which sold 70,896.
Armed with the sales information, Matt Cardle has decided to speak out on James Arthur.
Quote:
"Well, there you go," Cardle told Digital Spy. "Having slagged me and my career off for a year now, the numbers are in and they speak for themselves. "For some reason, he has repeatedly tried to humiliate me publicly and cement the perception that I have failed, but I've just celebrated the release of my third top 20 album in as many years, two of which I released independently. I'm proud of what I've achieved." He added: "Like I initially said 12 months ago, I wish him well, I think he is talented and I hope he is still around in 3 years time."
They've both put out great debuts but Cardle has proven he has longevity, breaking the X Factor curse by still releasing hit albums independent of Simon Cowell and major labels.
Maybe Arthur should have kept his views on Cardle to himself
