James Blunt

James Blunt Wisemen Video: Written by James Blunt, Jimmy Hogarth and S.Skarbeck, ‘Wisemen’ is taken from his Number 1, debut album ‘Back To Bedlam’ and is undoubtedly one the LP’s standout tracks. Produced and mixed by Tom Rothrock (Badly Drawn Boy) and Jimmy Hogarth, it combines optimistic, addictive melodies with poetic lyrics and James’ unique voice.

Available on 7” and 2-track CD, the latter features a live recording of the album track ‘Out Of My Mind’ from his critically acclaimed live show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, November 2005.

February proved to be a good month for many diverse artists, as the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) handed out it’s latest awards. All in all, the RIAA awarded a total of three multi-Platinum, four Platinum and 11 Gold albums for the month of February.

British singer James Blunt earned a Platinum award for his debut album Back To Bedlam. The success of his album is partly due to the popularity of his debut single, “You’re Beautiful,” which earned Gold, Platinum and double-Platinum digital awards. Blunt is currently about to kick off his North American tour which begins on March 13 in Washington, D.C. and concludes on April 6 in San Francisco, CA.

Just in case you missed it, here is the the video of James Blunt on Oprah show, he sings You’re Beautiful and then interviewed by Oprah. Great to see him making it so great in USA! Enjoy the video.

Oprah Winfrey gets a visit from James Blunt tomorrow, March 8th.

The singer-songwriter who once served as an officer in the British army guests on “Oprah” this Wednesday.

During the show, Blunt will perform a song from his debut album “Back To Bedlam” and tell Oprah the story behind his hit song “You’re Beautiful.”

Check your local listings for showtimes.

Singer-songwriter James Blunt has become the first UK artist to top the American singles chart since 1997.

‘You’re Beautiful’ from his debut album ‘Back to Bedlam’ is at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, which is drawn from a combination of record sales and airplay.

He is the first UK artist to hit Number One since Sir Elton John spent 14 weeks at poll position with ‘Candle in the Wind’/ ‘Something in the Way You Look Tonight’ nine years ago.

His debut album ‘Back to Bedlam’ is also scoring high in the US, currently ranked at number five on Billboard 200.

Congratulations to James for Making the top Spot!

Just added James Blunt in Concert at Carling Academy Brixton Photos to the gallery!.

Click to view the full set!
  

Just added James Blunt in Concert, Plymouth photos into the Gallery!

Click photos below to view the full set!
  

On a stage at NBC Studios, James Blunt is rehearsing You’re Beautiful, the runaway global hit now saturating U.S. airwaves. By the third run-through with his band in preparation for a TV appearance, he seems merely satisfied with the sound. Visitors and staffers loitering nearby seem spellbound, echoing the reaction this 29-year-old Brit has generated since emerging in the UK 16 months ago with his Back to Bedlam debut, a melodic batch of literate and emotionally resonant pop songs.

The music’s romantic aspects and the singer’s poster appeal — tousled hair, bedroom eyes, chiseled features and full mouth — have cast him as the latest pop pin-up. Less superficial scribes tend to label Blunt a sensitive singer/songwriter, a tag that irks him.

“Bob Dylan is a singer/songwriter and therefore is ’sensitive’ or aware, maybe, but do you anticipate him crying on every street corner?” says Blunt, sequestered in a sparely appointed dressing room. His slight form is almost swallowed in a jacket and loose jeans. “I think sensitive is the wrong description of me. I’m British, actually, so quite bad at expressing myself in conversation, as any ex-girlfriend will tell you. I’m probably emotionally stunted.”

Droll and unfailingly polite, Blunt also can be defensive and a tad frosty, his tone hardening when he senses a misperception or challenge. He smiles easily, wears a direct gaze and speaks in a crisp, rapid flow, seldom pausing and dodging only matters of his private life. “I find language quite limiting in capturing what’s going on in the mind,” he says. “But combined with the medium of music, I found it captured what I felt. It was a natural and almost necessary outlet.”

Blunt’s outlet yielded an intercontinental commotion. Released in the UK in October 2004, Back to Bedlam sold 2.4 million copies and perched nine weeks at No. 1 (unseating Coldplay) to become the year’s best-selling album in England and the biggest-selling disc in a single year since sales tabulations began there in 1994. You’re Beautiful, a gorgeous acoustic slice of heartache and futile pining, spent five weeks at No. 1 last summer. He just won two Brit Awards, the UK equivalent of Grammys. (more…)

For the third straight week, the top four titles on European Top 100 Albums are unchanged, with James Blunt`s ‘Back To Bedlam’ (Atlantic) at No. 1 for a sixth consecutive and seventh aggregate week. It now climbs from 2 to 1 in Austria, holds at No. 1 in Switzerland and improves from 6 to 3 in Ireland, from 6 to 5 in Holland. Among a number of other prominent European placings, it`s also No. 2 in Germany and No. 3 in France.

Blunt adds a second hit album in the region, although its overall impact is somewhat diluted by varying chart eligibility rules. Atlantic`s new ‘Chasing Time - The Bedlam Sessions’ release arrives at No. 2 in Switzerland and No. 8 in France. It comprises a DVD of a BBC concert, plus all of Blunt`s videos and short films on the making of each, plus a bonus CD of a concert in Ireland. The DVD element makes it ineligible for the album chart in the United Kingdom, where it debuts at No. 1 on the music DVD chart.

Blunt`s ‘Goodbye My Lover’ single from ‘Back To Bedlam’ is up again, from 12 to 9 on the Eurochart, after rising from 11 to 8 in France, and maintaining a top five ranking in Sweden. The fastest riser on the Eurochart, up from 26 to 10, is ‘Najoua Belyzel’ (Scorpio) by female pop vocalist Gabriel, which is up from 7 to 3 in France.

FRESH from the Brits and on the night of his 32nd birthday, James Blunt took Manchester by storm last night. A packed Apollo Theatre saw the former Army captain relaxed and on top form. With his understated charm and humour he drew the audience in as soon as he stepped on stage.

Opening with Billy and High, and audience sang their hearts out. And despite what some uncharitable types have suggested about his fan base, there wasn’t a single “bored housewife” in sight.

After snatching Best British Male and Best Pop Act at the Brits, selling upwards of 5.5m albums and counting established artists like Elton John among his friends, he has little to prove, despite jibes about him “singing like a girl” and being over-sentimental.

However, with his rapid rise to fame and Back To Bedlam the only album under his belt so far, it was a stretch to provide an hour of material and that included the entrance from stage left of a man with a birthday cake and a few bars of Happy Birthday from the audience.

That said, it was worth £20 of anyone’s money.

Predictably You’re Beautiful was saved for the encore. The phones came out as couples gave each other doughy-eyed looks as he belted out the song he was initially worried might be killed off by being over-played on the radio. (more…)

Now that British singer/songwriter James Blunt has topped the American charts with his weepy ballad, “You’re Beautiful,” and managed to move more units than Coldplay last year, it’s time to take a peek under the hood and see if all the hype is worth a listen.

“Back To Bedlam” is Blunt’s ten-song debut, which he refers to as “like a book, with ten chapters.” Most of these chapters are heartfelt ballads in the same vein as David Gray and Damien Rice, dominated by either acoustic guitar or piano. The understated arrangements compliment the bleeding heart lyrics, which are punctuated by Blunt’s falsetto vocals. Only “No Bravery” steps out of the love and loss tone to recount Blunt’s experiences as a soldier during the Kosovo conflict in 1999.

With “You’re Beautiful” bordering on overkill, it’s not hard to imagine the number of television commercials that will use the song as a backdrop (“Need a credit card? That’s cause You’re Beautiful…”). And for that exact reason, “Bedlam” is one of those CD’s that the record label must hate. The astounding popularity of the single practically screams to be downloaded, with the rest of the tracks left in its emotional dust.

It’s the definitive example of the “15 bucks for one good song?” syndrome. (more…)