British singer James Arthur writes new song about the loss of his unborn child

The 33-year-old singer said he wrote the track Emily for his daughter. Photo: Handout

British singer James Arthur opens up about a heartbreaking time in his life in his new song, Emily.

While appearing as a guest on Andy Jaye's An Hour With podcast on Nov 23, the artiste revealed that his ex girlfriend, Jessica Girsts, had an ectopic pregnancy: "Sadly it didn't work out. It wasn't far, it was a couple of months and she had an ectopic pregnancy. So she lost the child, and I didn't really want to talk about it."

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilised egg implants itself outside the womb. This would result in the immediate removal of the egg to prevent any health risks to the mother.

The 33-year-old singer said he wrote the track Emily for his daughter. He began writing it during the early stages of pregnancy, but admitted that he "should have waited a bit longer".

The X-Factor star recalled the excitement he felt when he heard the news. "I remember at the time saying 'So you've got to wait 14 weeks, or whatever it is, before you can even celebrate this', and I was writing the songs about it - I'm going to be a dad," he shared.

Despite the tragedy, the song still holds a special place in the hearts of both Arthur and his ex.

He has also dedicated it to his future child, stating: "The record label was like, ''we think you should release this song' – I guess to say this is a song to my future child which I still would call Emily. So it made sense to put it out like that."

Emily was released as a single ahead of Arthur's fourth album, It'll All Make Sense In The End, which was released on Nov 5.