James Arthur's latest single 'Naked' Was pitched to Zara Larsson before him.
James Arthur
The 29-year-old pop hunk has revealed the Swedish star - known for hits 'I Would Like' and 'Lush Life' - was originally meant to have the song, which he worked on with Taylor Swift and Katy Perry songwriter and producer Max Martin, but they decided it would be more interesting to have a male doing the "vulnerable" vocal.
James - who won 'The X Factor' in 2012 - jazzed the track up adding in his "gospel" influence.
He shared: "They had a chorus that I think they were pitching to her at one point.
"But then they played it to me and they thought, 'How nice would it be if it was a male singer doing a vulnerable thing like that?'
"So we re-wrote it and made it suit me. I put the gospel middle eight in there. I was quite happy with that."
Meanwhile, James confessed he fears his music has become too predictable.
The 'Say You Won't Let Go' hitmaker - who made a comeback with the album 'Back From The Edge' in 2016 - wants to "branch out" and make songs that his fans wouldn't expect him to release, as his most popular singles that get the most radio airplay are all ballads.
He told the BBC: "I'm starting to feel like people know what to expect from me.
"If you come and see my shows, I'm all over the stage. We do grunge, we do gospel, we do R&B - but the songs that make it on the radio are the acoustic, heartfelt ballads.
"I'm starting to feel the urge to branch out and do some stuff that nobody would expect."
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