James Arthur wants to change his name to just 'Arthur'

James Arthur has expressed the wish to change his name to just 'Arthur' for his next album and beyond, because "there's a stigma attached to the name James Arthur that I'm ashamed of."

The singer has courted his fair share of controversy since he won The X Factor back in 2012, the most notable of which was his use of a homophobic slur during a rap battle.

He recently took to Twitter to ask Stonewall if he could make a "long term commitment" to them, as he would like to "right my wrongs with this." 

It seems that the singer doesn't just want to clear his name though - now he wants to get rid of it altogether. Arthur took to Twitter to ask fans how they would feel if he released the next record under the name 'Arthur', before Instagramming suggestions of album artwork, which featured what seemed to be his attempt at an Illuminati symbol. 

How would the fans feel if the next record was released under the name "Arthur" and james was dropped going forward as I'm a new character?

Id like to start over.

The singer went on to say, "There's stigma attached to the name James Arthur that I'm ashamed of... They can throw dirt at a triangle with Arthur beside it all day long for all I care, but James Arthur has enough dirt on his name."

The singer was recently dropped from Simon Cowell's record company Syco after months of denying he had split with the label.

Arthur's eponymously titled debut album was released in 2013, and received mixed reviews.