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Saturday, August 11, 2018 6:30am ET by  

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James Arthur reaches out to fans following anxiety attack

James Arthur had an anxiety attack onstage last night (August 10) at the Monte Verde Festival in Ribeira Grande, Azores. It was so severe that he thought he would die.

Taking to Twitter, the You Deserve Better singer-songwriter said: "I had an anxiety attack on stage in front of 12,000 people tonight and no one would've known but I thought I was gunna die on stage which is maybe the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life but it really made me appreciate my blessings, thanks everyone for everything x (sic)"

The star was headlining the festival at the Ribeira Grande Stage on the Portugese island reknowned for its natural beauty at the three-day event.

Arthur has always opened up about his anxiety attacks in a selfless bid to help others. Earlier this year he spoke on the Lorraine show during mental health week about why being open is important to him, he said: "I think people in the spotlight have a huge responsibility to talk about these things."

Arthur is the ambassador for mental health charity, Sane.

The last two years have been remarkable for James. Since being released in September 2016, comeback single "Say You Won’t Let Go" has sold more than 9.6 million copies worldwide and secured nearly 2 billion combined streams.

The single spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK and went to No. 1 on US radio. In addition, James’ album "Back From The Edge", released in October 2016, went straight to No. 1 in the UK charts and has gone multi platinum worldwide. James was also nominated for two BRIT Awards and an American Music Award for 'Best New Artist'.

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