James Blunt (born, James Hillier-Blount —
February 22,
1977 in Tidworth, Wiltshire) is a British musician whose debut
album, Back To Bedlam, and single releases — especially number
one hit "You're Beautiful" — brought him to fame in 2005. His
style is a mix of jazz, rock and soul, and comparisons have been
made between him and early Elton John. Along with vocals Blunt
plays a wide variety of instruments including the piano, organ
and guitar.
Blunt was educated at Harrow School (where he received his
nickname 'Blunty') and subsequently attended the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst. Before the release of his album, Blunt was an
Officer in the British Army and served as a NATO peacekeeper in
Kosovo. He was also on duty for the funeral of the Queen Mother
on April 9, 2002, his duties included carrying her coffin.
Early success
James Blunt's debut single in the UK, "High", peaked below the
Top 100 of the UK Singles Chart. However, the song was chosen to
appear in a Vodafone commercial in Italy, and as a result ended
up becoming a Top 10 hit in that country. His second single "Wisemen"
improved upon that position with a #44 peak.
However, it was the third single, "You're Beautiful", that
became Blunt's breakout hit. The song debuted at #12 in the UK,
and demonstrated a rare trend of upward mobility on the UK
charts, rising all the way to the #1 position, six weeks after
its debut. The song also received massive airplay in the UK
which was able to propel Back To Bedlam to #1 on the albums
chart, unseating the record-breaking album X & Y by Coldplay
from the pole position.
After the success of "You're Beautiful" in the UK, the song
crossed over to mainland Europe, becoming one the biggest hits
of summer 2005 across the continent.
In the USA, "You're Beautiful" made its debut in the summer of
2005 on WPLJ, a prominent radio station in New York City,
despite not having been released to radio yet. Once the song was
released to radio stations in the Fall, the song climbed into to
the Top 10 at three radio formats: Adult Contemporary, Adult Top
40, and Adult Alternative. "You're Beautiful" is also a Top 5
hit on the US Hot Digital Songs chart, published by Billboard
Magazine.
The videos for all three of Blunt's singles to date feature
symbolism and dark imagery. In the video for "High", he is
buried in a desert. In the video for "Wisemen", he is kidnapped
and taken hostage. In the video for "You're Beautiful", he
alludes to suicide.
On December 3, 2005 James Blunt peformed on Saturday Night Live.
On December 9, 2005 James Blunt performed on NBC's Late Night
with Conan O'Brien.
Albums
Back To Bedlam — 11 October 2004 #1 UK, #1 AUS, #47 US
Singles
From Back To Bedlam:
"High" — 18 October 2004 #148 (#16
(re-release))
"Wise Men" — 7 March 2005 #44 UK
"You're Beautiful" — 30 May 2005 #1
UK #22 US
