James Blunt

Childhood

James Blunt comes from a long line of military men, and was even born in a military hospital. On February 22, 1974, James Hillier Blount (it is unclear when he changed the spelling) made his debut in Tidworth, Wiltshire, England. Blunt's father was part of a long history of military service going back to 995 AD. Though James resisted, it was understood from an early age that he, too, would be a military man.

James has often said that his childhood was free of music. He claims that his father believed music was a waste of time and only allowed the obligatory Happy Birthday and occasional Silent Night. Despite the silence, James lived a rather upper-crust existence, attending several prestigious British schools, including Woolhampton, Harrow, Bristol University, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

As expected, James Blunt became a military man. He served in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army. During his military days, James protected the Queen and helped keep the peace in Kosovo. He tells stories of walking the streets of war-torn Kosovo, a guitar in one hand and a rifle in the other, strumming songs of peace. He even wrote one of his future singles while stationed there. Later, the soldier was on-hand at the Queen Mother's funeral. Despite his respected rank of Captain, Blunt had dreams of making music. After four years of military service, he set out to make that dream a reality.

live performance

Music

Within weeks of leaving the military, James Blunt was "discovered". He was playing in a convention in 2003, when famed music producer Linda Perry approached him. Soon, he had signed with her and was releasing his first album. His first two singles were popular in the UK and Italy, but it was his third single, You're Beautiful, that captured the attention of the world. With that single, Blunt became the first British singer to top the American charts since 1997. Sir Elton John was the last Brit to hold that honor. You're Beautiful received so much airtime in 2005 that several radio stations across the United States refused to play it any more!

Romance

James Blunt's popularity with women has risen just as fast as his singles have flown up the Billboard chart. Stars such as Paris Hilton have declared their affection for the British cutie, with Hilton gushing, "I love James Blunt. He's an ex-soldier, which is pretty hot." Although rumors swirled that Blunt had lunch dates with Paris, as of mid-2006, he was dating Czech supermodel and tsunami survivor Petra Nemcova.

Controversy

James Blunt has become a nearly overnight success, and he's ticked some folks off along the way. First critics alleged that the blue-eyed hunk was misrepresenting his age. Later it was said that Blunt's songs held cloaked drug references, a charge he vehemently denied.

Then, in 2006, royalty payments from several of his singles were frozen as Blunt and an ex-producer squared off over the profits. Blunt has even been the focus of several television parodies. For example, Weird Al Yankovic penned "You're Pitiful" which mocked Blunt's breakout hit You're Beautiful.

James Blunt Trivia

• Blunt is an accomplished musician, playing such diverse instruments as the marimba, piano, guitar, and mellotron.
• Blunt says he has been shot at more times than 50 Cent.
• You're Beautiful is an ode to an ex-girlfriend. Blunt wrote the song after spotting her with another man in-- where else-- a subway.
• Blunt's music can be heard in episodes of The OC.