James Blunt

James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After he left the military, he rose to fame in 2004 with the release of his debut album Back to Bedlam, achieving worldwide fame with the singles "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover". Blunt's first album has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, topping the UK Albums Chart and peaking at number two in the US. "You're Beautiful" reached number one in thirteen countries, including the UK and the USA. Back to Bedlam was the best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK, and is one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. Blunt's second album, All the Lost Souls, released in 2007, reached number 1 in twelve countries. He went on to release a further five albums: Some Kind of Trouble (2010), Moon Landing (2013), The Afterlove (2017), Once Upon a Mind (2019) and Blunt's seventh studio album, Who We Used to Be, released in October 2023. Blunt has sold over 20 million records worldwide. He has received several awards, including two Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 2006—two MTV Video Music Awards, and two Ivor Novello Awards, as well as receiving five Grammy Award nominations and an Honorary Doctorate of Music in 2016 from the University of Bristol. Early life Blunt was born James Hillier Blount on 22 February 1974 at Tidworth Camp military hospital in Hampshire, the first of three children born to Jane Ann Farran ( Amos) and Colonel Charles Blount. His mother started up a ski chalet company in the French Alpine resort of Méribel, while his father was a cavalry officer in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars and then a helicopter pilot, becoming Colonel of the Army Air Corps. The family has a long history of military service, dating back to the 10th-century arrival of their Danish ancestors in England.