James Arthur can "tap into the pain" of his past for writing songs.

The 35-year-old singer admitted to having had some "abandonment issues" and felt as if he "didn't belong in youth but explained that his past trauma allowed him to build a persona for his music that he uses when crafting a song today.

He told The Sun on Sunday's Bizarre column: "Because of what I have been through in my life I will eternally be heartbroken in some way.

“I guess I have had some abandonment issues and feeling like I didn’t belong when I was younger - that is what I have built my artist persona on. I find it easier to tap into pain because I know all about it - it never goes away.

“When you go through trauma you learn to live alongside it, you don’t ever get rid of it.”

However, the 'X Factor' winner - who is due to release his latest single 'Just Us' on Friday 7 October - now has daughter Emily, 11 months, with partner Jessica Grist and recently told of how becoming a dad changed his outlook on life, causing him to come off the "selfish" path he had been on.

He said: "My perspective changed when I became a dad. I’ve been on this selfish, self-indulgent pursuit for validation and recognition for my music. Like, why don’t people give me my flowers? And all that kind of stuff.

"When you have a kid, you have a bit of an ego death, like, what are you doing? It’s silly to care so much about external things from people who don’t care about you. It’s been good for me as someone who has been on a self-absorbed pursuit."