James Blunt

Former British Army officer and singer/songwriter James Blunt is known for his thoughtful performances and knack for crafting melodic contemporary soft rock songs.

Born in Tidworth, Wiltshire, England in 1974 into a military family, Blunt joined the Army after graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He rose to the rank of captain, served with NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo, and completed his military service in the Life Guard Regiment of the British Household Cavalry. Pursuing music after his army career, he quickly embarked on a pop career.

A performance at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, caught the attention of 4 Non Blondes singer/producer Linda Perry, who subsequently signed him to her Custard Records label.

Blunt's debut album, Back to Bedlam, was released in 2005, and its hit single, "You're Beautiful," achieved global success, topping charts in over a dozen countries and selling over ten million copies worldwide.

After extensive touring in 2005 and 2006, he released a two-disc “odds and sods” CD/DVD called Chasing Time: The Bedlam Sessions in 2006. While touring, he wrote songs which he recorded with Tom Rothrock, the producer of Back to Bedlam. Collaborating with writers like Mark Batson, Jimmy Hogarth, Steve McEwan, and Max Martin, the recordings featured his live backing band.

His second album, All the Lost Souls, featuring the lead single "1973," was released in September 2007.

Feeling disillusioned with success and a loss of artistic credibility, Blunt took a hiatus from music, returning in 2010 with his third album, Some Kind of Trouble. Despite mixed reviews, the album, influenced by '70s U.S. pop/rock, sold well.

In 2012, Blunt re-entered the studio with Tom Rothrock to record his fourth album, Moon Landing, which included the tribute "Miss America" for the late Whitney Houston, and the country-folk-influenced single "Bonfire Heart," released in October 2013.

After a four-year interval, Blunt released his fifth studio album, The Afterlove, in early 2017, with songwriting support from his friend Ed Sheeran and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder.