"Recovery" is a song recorded by British singer and songwriter

James Arthur James Andrew Arthur (born 2 March 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after winning the ninth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2012. His debut single, a cover of Shontelle's " Impossible", was released by Syco Music aft ...

. It was released by

Syco Music Syco Music, originally S Records, was a division of Syco Entertainment which operated from 2002 until 2020. The label was founded by British entrepreneur, record executive and media personality Simon Cowell, who was formerly employed at Bertels ...

on 9 December 2013 as the third single from his debut studio album ''

'' (2013). The song peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and number 40 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

Live performances

Arthur performed the song on the eighth live results show on the tenth series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' on 8 December 2013. After he performed the song he gave an on-air apology for his recent behaviour after using a homophobic slur in a freestyle track he recorded the previous month. He swiftly apologised to those he offended, but was later involved in a heated argument with

Lucy Spraggan Lucy Honour Ruby Spraggan (born 21 July 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Spraggan was a contestant on ''The X Factor'' in 2012, and she was the first contestant in the show's history to score a Top 40 single and album before the live show ...

over his remarks. Speaking to

Dermot O'Leary Seán Dermot O'Leary (born 24 May 1973) is a British-Irish broadcaster. He presented the television talent show ''The X Factor'' on ITV from 2007 until its final series in 2018, with the exception of 2015. Since 2021, O'Leary has presented ITV' ...

on the show, he said: "It's been an amazing year for me. There's been incredible highs paired with some terrible lows. I've made a few very silly mistakes. I just want to thank all the people who are still supporting me and especially ''The X Factor'' for giving me the opportunity to do my dream job. Above all, I'd like to say sorry for abusing my position as an ''X Factor'' winner, because I owe everything to this thing."

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "Recovery" was first released onto YouTube on 19 December 2013 at a total length of four minutes and three seconds. The video was directed by

Emil Nava Emil William Capper Nava (born 29 March 1985) is a British music video director. After leaving school at 16, Emil started his career as a chef. He shot to fame after directing Jessie J's song " Do It Like A Dude". He has since directed over 1 ...

and sees James Arthur performing the track in an empty studio.

Track listing

Chart performance

On 4 December 2013, the song was at number 12 on '' The Official Chart Update''. On 8 December 2013, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 19 in its first week of release. It has also peaked to number 20 on the Scottish Singles Charts and number 40 on the

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2013 singles James Arthur songs Syco Music singles Black-and-white music videos Songs written by Ina Wroldsen Songs written by James Arthur