‘The X Factor’ UK / USA notes: James Arthur, Emblem3, Fifth Harmony

It’s been a while since we featured James Arthur in an “X Factor” notes article, and so with that, we are rather pleased to kick things off here by talking about someone who has quickly become one of our favorite singing-competition winners ever. Of course, we’d feel even more strongly if we had a chance to hear some of his original music sooner rather than later.

What we can tell you right now is this: The guy is getting the incredible honor of opening for Justin Timberlake. In a post on Twitter late last week, James announced that he and Jessie J are going to be opening for the “Mirrors” singer for his Phoenix Park concert on July 10. Hopefully by that time, he will also have some original music to show off. After all, there are few stages out there that are better for showcasing your new music then one that has Justin Timberlake’s name attached to it.

Speaking of big news – How about Emblem3’s radio airplay? With “Chloe” now hitting the top 40 on the pop radio chart of the same name, they are now in rare air as a former “X Factor” USA contestant. They and Chris Rene are the only two artists with ties to the show to actually accomplish this feat. Emblem3 may have a chance to climb even higher, given that their single premieres its official music video on Tuesday (which always amounts to a nice bump).

Also … major congrats To Ally from Fifth Harmony this weekend! In a new post on Twitter, she announced that this weekend is the one-year anniversary of her first audition on the show. When she first came on the show, she did so as a solo act, only to be later put into a group by the judges. In the end, this had to have been the best move ever, right?

If you want to check out more from Fifth Harmony and also Little Mix, just be sure to head on over to the link here.

Photo: ITV