Blunt's beautiful, it's true — and he's got a plan, Tara PT Speaks Blunt-ly

Blunt's beautiful, it's true — and he's got a plan
Seattle Times - United States
... two other acts — promising new rock band the Boy Least Likely To and singer-songwriter Sierra Swan — before they can scream their lungs out for James Blunt ...

By Patrick MacDonald
Seattle Times music critic

First time I heard "You're Beautiful," it sounded to me like a girl was singing it.

It was a TV promo spot for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The singer kept repeating those two words, "you're beautiful." In a very high voice.

Somebody stole that idea from Joe Cocker's' "You Are So Beautiful," I remember thinking. Simple lyric. High voice. Same sentiment. A rip-off, essentially. Joe should sue. But who is that girl singing it?

Heard it again while channel surfing, on one of those teen-romance shows, probably "The O.C.," and then on "Grey's Anatomy." Same excerpt. Who is that girl singing it? And why is the song all over the place?

Then I saw the video. It's a guy! Singing falsetto. A dark-haired, handsome bloke with a winsome smile. He's stripping, pulling off his sweater and T-shirt. He continues to sing while standing there, on a cliff overlooking the sea, showing off his medium-build bod. He takes off his shoes and empties his pockets, laying their contents in a neat row. Then he jumps off the cliff into the ocean.
Smart fellow, I thought. Sing a sensitive song, show a little skin. Smile nicely. No hint of macho. Perfect fantasy lover.

Wish I could have bought stock in the guy. Or at least in his record company

"You're Beautiful" turned out to be one of the biggest hit singles in years. The album it came from, "Back to Bedlam," has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide, and is still going strong.
It is Blunt's time to shine. But is he just the latest Christopher Cross — the romantic, falsetto-singing phenom who won five Grammys in 1981, thanks mostly to the ballad "Sailing," then faded into obscurity — or is he here to stay?

It's way too early to tell. The current album will easily carry him through most of the rest of this year. He'll probably headline a big tour through the summer and early fall. He plans to record his second album in September, and he's already saying he's tired of the "miserable" songs from his first CD and that the next one will not be so sentimental. And he won't be singing "like a girl."

Big mistake.

If he drops the safe, romantic persona, it's over. He can coast along as a nice romantic for years, as long as he doesn't hitch himself to a model or movie star or get married — the kiss of death for fantasy boyfriends.

Along with the romanticism, Blunt's backstory also makes the girls sigh. Born James Blount 29 years ago in Tidworth, Wiltshire, England, he was educated at the exclusive Harrow School in London; then the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst; and finally Bristol University, where he studied sociology, writing a dissertation titled "The Commodification of Image — Production of a Pop Idol." Hmmm.

His college education was paid for by the British Army, which required four years of service in return. Capt. Blount served in war-torn Kosovo (the one non-romantic song on his album, "No Bravery," was inspired by his experiences there) and later was posted to London, where he served in the Queen's Horse Guards at Buckingham Palace.

He played his first club gig in London in 2000, taking the stage name Blunt because it was easier to spell and pronounce. He continued working clubs, made demos and met folks in the music industry. He became a civilian in 2002 and was signed by Twenty-First Artists, Elton John's management company.

Twenty-First took him to South by Southwest, the annual music-industry conference in Austin, Texas, in 2003, where he played a showcase and was heard by Linda Perry, a noted record producer and executive. She signed him to her new label, Custard.

They worked on an album in London, but Blunt was unhappy with the results. He met actress Carrie Fisher there and told her he would rather work in her hometown of Los Angeles because of all the great studios and musicians there. She invited him to stay with her in Beverly Hills, and he made most of the album in L.A. "You're Beautiful" was recorded in one of her mansion's bathrooms (the big one with the piano). Fisher, a talented writer, wrote the Blunt biography on his Web site, under the pseudonym "The Landlady."

All those star connections helped Blunt get on "Oprah Winfrey," "The Today Show" and others, and got his songs on TV-show soundtracks. It helps to have friends in high places.

Blunt plays all the songs from the first album in his shows, along with a couple of new songs and some covers. Since he has only one album to draw from, the set is relatively short — about 70 to 75 minutes.

The women will have to sit through two other acts — promising new rock band the Boy Least Likely To and singer-songwriter Sierra Swan — before they can scream their lungs out for James Blunt.

Tara PT Speaks Blunt-ly
Sky News - United Kingdom
Rumours have been flying that army-boy turned posh pop star James Blunt has been playing away with the celeb posho. Now TPT has come right out and admitted it. ...
See all stories on this topic

It's a case of hello my lover for Tara Palmer-Tomkinson.

She's been spilling the beans about her Beautiful affair.

Rumours have been flying that army-boy turned posh pop star James Blunt has been playing away with the celeb posho.

Now TPT has come right out and admitted it.

According to the Daily Mail, she said: "If nothing had happened between James and I then I would have come right out and said nothing had happened.

"And I haven't done that, have I? That's your answer - it's pretty easy to work out what I am saying. It's not rocket science.

James Blunt"However, I am quite deliberately stopping short of going into detail. I'm keeping my dignity here. I really would like the whole thing to just blow over."

And now that you've said that Tara, no doubt it will.

There have been reports that James' relationship with girlfriend Camilla Boler is on the rocks and, according to the Mail, Camilla's accused Tara of publicity-seeking over the whole thing.

Tara said: "I didn't even know James had a girlfriend when it happened. Now she's come out of the woodwork and says I made all this up for PR.

"Well, first of all, I never talk about my private life. And secondly, I'm not the one who needs publicity out of the two of us."

Mi-aow.

Last Updated: 08:54 UK, Friday March 31, 2006