.Associated actsWebsiteJames Hillier Blount (born 22 February 1974), better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English, record producer and former British Army Officer.Blunt rose to fame in 2004 with the release of his debut album, achieving worldwide fame with the singles ' and '. The album has sold over 11 million copies worldwide, topping the and peaking at number two in the US. 'You're Beautiful' was number one in the UK, the US and a dozen other countries. Back to Bedlam was, and is one of the.Blunt has sold over 20 million records worldwide. He has received several awards, including two —winning Best British Male in 2006—two and two, as well as receiving five.Blunt was a reconnaissance officer in the, a, and served under in the in 1999. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for Music in 2016. James BluntAllegianceService/ branchYears of service1996–2002RankUnitBattles/warsHaving been sponsored through university on an army bursary, Blunt was committed to serve a minimum of four years in the armed forces.
He trained at the, in intake 963, and was commissioned into the, a reconnaissance regiment. He rose to the rank of.The Life Guards, part of the, were primarily based in.
Blunt was trained in in, Canada, where his was posted for six months in 1998 to act as the in combat training exercises.In 1999, Blunt volunteered to join a squadron deploying with to Kosovo. Initially assigned to carry out reconnaissance of the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia– border, Blunt's worked ahead of the front lines, locating and targeting forces for the. On 12 June 1999, the troop led the 30,000-strong NATO peacekeeping force from the Macedonia border towards. However, a Russian before his unit's arrival. American NATO commander ordered that the unit forcibly take the airport from the Russians., the British commander, refused the order, telling Clark that they were 'not going to start for you'. Blunt has said that he would have refused to obey such an order.During Blunt's Kosovo assignment he had brought along his guitar, strapped to the outside of his tank, and would sometimes perform for locals and troops. It was while on duty there that he wrote the song '.Blunt extended his military service in November 2000, and was posted to the in London, as the.
During this posting, he was featured on the television programme 'Girls on Top', a series highlighting unusual career choices. He stood guard at the coffin of the during her and was part of the funeral procession on 9 April 2002.A keen skier, Blunt captained the Household Cavalry alpine ski team in, Switzerland, becoming giant slalom champion in 2000. He left the army on 1 October 2002 having served six years. Music career Early career Blunt had piano and violin lessons as a child, but was introduced to the electric guitar aged 14 at Harrow by a fellow student. His dissertation at was entitled The Commodification of Image – Production of a Pop Idol. One of his sources was, a and, and chair of the panel of judges since 1992, who later undertook a lecture tour entitled 'The unpopular and unpleasant thoughts inspired by the work of James Blunt'.
Feb 05, 2018 The album is the follow-up to 2010's, making it Blunt's first new material in three years. The album features production from the likes of, and, and was executively produced by, who worked with Blunt on 2004's. The first single from the album ' debuted at number six before peaking at number four the following week in the. Back to Bedlam - James Blunt 1. You're Beautiful 3. Goodbye My Lover 5. Tears and Rain 6. Out of My Mind 7. So Long, Jimmy.
While still in the army Blunt would write songs during his time off. A backing vocalist and songwriting collaborator suggested he contact 's manager, Todd Interland, with whom she used to share a house. Interland told that he listened to Blunt's demo while driving home and, after hearing the track 'Goodbye My Lover', pulled over and called the mobile number written on the CD to set up a meeting.Blunt left the British Army in 2002 so that he could pursue his musical career.
He started using the stage name 'Blunt' in part to make it easier for others to spell; 'Blount' is pronounced the same way, and remains his legal last name. Shortly after leaving the army he was signed to and to Twenty-First Artists management. A remained elusive, with recording label executives pointing to his speaking voice as a barrier in class-divided Britain., who was just launching her own Custard Records label in early 2003, heard Blunt's promotional tape when visiting London, and soon after heard him perform live at the.
She made an offer to him the same night, and within a few days he signed a recording contract with her. A month later, he travelled to Los Angeles to meet producer. Back to Bedlam: 2003–2006.
Blunt performing in the United States, 2008Blunt recorded in 2003 with Rothrock as producer in and Rothrock's home studio in Los Angeles, playing many instruments himself. During recording, he lodged with actress.
Fisher contributed in naming the album, and he recorded the song ' in her bathroom. Back to Bedlam was released in the UK in October 2004.Blunt's debut single in the UK was ' (co-written with of ). This song initially peaked below the Top 100 of the, however after the subsequent success of ' it made the Top 75 before being re-released. The song was chosen to appear in a in Italy, and was a Top 10 hit in that country.The debut album from the unknown Blunt initially attracted little critical attention; there were no published reviews from major UK music journals. His live performances, mainly in support of better-known musicians, received generally favourable reviews.
His lack of performing experience and inconsistent approach with audiences was commented upon, while his music was likened to that of. In March 2004, with Blunt performing in the support role for in, Alex McCann of Designer Magazine wrote, 'Blunt's ascendance is a dead cert and this time next year it isn't that far removed from reality to suggest that a number one album, Brit Award and countless accolade's sic will be his for the taking.'
After release of the album, concert support slots for and in late 2004 and early 2005 followed, as did a band residency at London club 93 Feet East. In March 2005, his second single, ',' was released.Blunt's third single, 'You're Beautiful', was his break-out hit. The song debuted at number 12 in the UK, and reached number one six weeks later. The song also received huge airplay in the UK, propelling Back to Bedlam to number one on the. The extensive airplay ultimately led to Blunt and his co-writers being awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Most Performed Work. After the success of 'You're Beautiful' in the UK, the song crossed over to mainland Europe, becoming one of the biggest hits of summer 2005 across the continent. In the US, 'You're Beautiful' made its debut in the summer of 2005 on, a prominent radio station in New York City, despite not having been released to radio.
The song was released to radio stations in the autumn of 2005 and climbed into the Top 10 in three radio formats:,. Blunt became the first British artist to top the American singles chart in nearly a decade when 'You're Beautiful' reached number one on the in 2006; the last British artist to do so had been in 1997 with the song '.' Goodbye My Lover' was released as the fourth UK single from the album in December 2005, and the second US single.
The songs 'High' and 'Wisemen' were subsequently re-released in 2006. Blunt began 2006 celebrating five nominations, and went on to win Best British male solo artist and Best pop act categories, having already started an 11-month world tour. On 31 August, he won two awards at the, with 'You're Beautiful' winning the award for Best Male Video.In late 2005, Blunt made appearances on and as a musical guest on.
Eight of the songs on the album were featured in television shows (, and many more), films ( ), and advertising campaigns (, telecommunications) throughout 2005 and 2006. He performed 'You're Beautiful' at the in February 2007, dedicating the song to the late of, but he did not win in any of the five categories for which he had received nominations (including, won by ).The album sold 11.2 million copies and topped the album charts in 16 territories worldwide. It sold 2.6 million in the US and was certified 2× platinum.
In Britain the album sold over three million copies, was certified 10× platinum, and entered the for the fastest selling album in one year.In 2005, Blunt performed 90 live shows, mainly across the UK and Europe, and supported in a North American tour. The 'Back to Bedlam World Tour' started off in January 2006, covering cities in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, as well as three separate headline tours in North America, ending in November of that year. Not including promotional appearances, he performed over 140 live shows in 2006.
',' Blunt's break-out hit was the third UK single and first US single from.Problems playing this file? See.The videos for all of Blunt's singles from Back To Bedlam feature symbolism and dark imagery.
In the first video for 'High', he is buried in a desert. In the first video for 'Wisemen', he is kidnapped and taken hostage. In the video for 'You're Beautiful', he alludes to suicide by jumping off a cliff into the sea.
In the ' video, he is the outsider in a love triangle, imagining the couple, a man and woman (played by of and of ) together. The re-release video for 'High' features Blunt running in a forest. The re-release video for 'Wisemen' has him burning identification papers, and then walking through a forest while he is on fire.Blunt appeared on an episode of which aired on 14 November 2007, singing about triangles to the tune of 'You're Beautiful'.
A parody of 'You're Beautiful' titled ' was recorded. He gave personal permission for this parody to be included on a Weird Al album, but, his label, stepped in to forbid the commercial release of the song.
Weird Al has since made the song available as a free MP3 download on his website. In a request by Yankovic to include the song on an upcoming compilation CD, Blunt's manager replied via email, 'Thanks for your email, but both James and I will never approve this parody to be released on any label.' On 28 December 2009, announced that Back to Bedlam was the biggest-selling album of the 2000s decade in the United Kingdom. All the Lost Souls: 2007–2008. Main article:Blunt's second studio album, was released on 17 September 2007 in the United Kingdom and one day later in North America. It sold 65,000 units in its first week, and was certified gold in the UK after only four days. By the end of January 2008, the album had sold 600,000 copies in the UK, and 4.5 million copies internationally.
Blunt completed the album's songs at his home in in the winter of 2006–2007. He performed five of the ten album tracks during his 2005–2006 tours; lyrics, melodies, and harmonies were refined for the studio recording, on which his touring band played and Tom Rothrock worked as producer. Main article:Blunt's third studio album titled, was released on 8 November 2010. The album debuted at number four in the UK with over 100,000 copies sold in the first week. The album's first single ' was released on 27 October 2010.
The single did much better in Europe than the UK, sitting at number two on the European Airplay Chart for five consecutive weeks, but only charting at number 37 in the UK top 40. The second single from the album, 'So Far Gone' was released in the UK on 3 January 2011. The third single from the album, 'If Time Is All I Have' was released in the UK on 4 April 2011. Overall critical reception has been mixed, with saying, in a positive review, that 'Some Kind of Trouble is a step in the right direction for Blunt, a move toward love songs free of pretension' whilst felt 'When all's said, Some Kind of Trouble is not a terrible record by any means, but there's little sense that Blunt has advanced, and equally little sense that it'll make any difference to his bottom line.' As of February 2011, worldwide sales stand at over one million copies. Moon Landing: 2013–2017.
Main article:Blunt's fourth album, was released on 18 October 2013. It featured production from Back to Bedlam producer Tom Rothrock. The lead single, ', debuted at number six before peaking at number four the following week in the UK Singles Chart. The single went to number 1 in Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and was in top 10 in several other countries.On 16 September 2014, Blunt confirmed on his official Instagram account that 'Moon Landing' would be re-released on 3 November 2014. The new version of the album was named Moon Landing – Apollo Edition and contained 19 tracks: 11 from the original disc, plus the three bonus tracks of the deluxe version ('Telephone', 'Kiss This Love Goodbye', and 'Hollywood') and five new tracks ('Smoke Signals', 'When I Find Love Again', 'Breathe', 'Trail of Broken Hearts', and 'Working it Out'). The new track 'When I Find Love Again' was released as a single that same day, after being played on BBC's Radio 2 for the first time.
The official music video for 'When I Find Love Again' was released on 14 October 2014. The new version of the album also contains a 19-track live DVD recorded during Blunt's performance in the 2014 edition of the, Switzerland.On 3 May 2015, Blunt was confirmed to be replacing on the of. He was joined by American rock musician and returning judges. The Afterlove: 2017. Blunt and his wife Sofia at the 2014Blunt's main residence is in. He also owns a chalet in the Swiss town of, which he purchased in February 2007, and has a ski lift named after him there. In 2012, Blunt, and opened a restaurant at the top of the chairlift called La Vache.
The same year Blunt was one of six victims of the who had filed for damages in civil cases.In 2014 Blunt married Alexandrina 'Sofia' Wellesley, daughter of Lord and Lady John Henry Wellesley, and grand-daughter of the. At the in early June 2016, Blunt revealed that he had become a father to a boy. Also in 2016 he received the of from the. Charitable and environmental causes Blunt is a patron of, a charity that raises money to provide better facilities for wounded British, and has also held benefit concerts for this charity.He raises funds for the medical charity (MSF, or 'Doctors Without Borders').
He first encountered the while on operations in Kosovo. Since then, he has been an active supporter by holding meet-and-greet auctions at many of his concerts, and filming the documentary, in which he visited the people and places he had encountered while there.Blunt also supports environmental causes.
He screened the trailer for at his concerts, and for each advance sales concert ticket purchased through his designated website, a tree is planted. On 7 July 2007, he performed at the concert at, London. He contributed to the charity single, ' in aid of the.
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James Blunt recently released his single, 'Stay The Night', in anticipation of his upcoming album entitled Some Kind of Trouble. The album is set to be released on November 8th but we've got some tracks to hold you over until then. James has such a unique voice and an amazing approach to soft rock that its no wonder that the album is highly anticipated to fans of the genre. The album is mostly filled with 'lover' overtones so it will definitely hit closer to home if you are going through any pains and strife at the moment. This album is definitely more optimistic than his last two albums though. Check out the sample tracks below.