James Blunt says dark backstory behind hit song is all about 'stalking' a woman

Daily Mirror

30-05-2025

To mark 20 years since the release of his breakout single You're Beautiful, James Blunt took a tongue-in-cheek trip down memory lane as he revealed what actually inspired the song
James Blunt is raising a glass to 20 years of You're Beautiful, the chart-topping ballad that catapulted him to global fame and, as he puts it, paid for his Ibiza villa. In a tongue-in-cheek Instagram post on Friday, the 51-year-old singer walked through his lavish home while the iconic 2005 track played in the background.
Stopping to face the camera, he quipped: '20 years ago today, I put out this song that bought me this house. I mean, who would've thought? A song about being high as a kite on drugs and stalking someone else's girlfriend would resonate quite so much. You guys... are beautiful.'
‌
The video, full of his signature deadpan humour, quickly drew applause from fans and celebrity friends alike. 'Legend,' wrote Poppy Delevingne. Hugo Taylor kept it simple: 'It's a nice house.'
‌
The house in question - a £1.7 million, six-bedroom villa nestled in an Ibizan pine forest - was purchased in 2006, just a year after You're Beautiful became a worldwide hit, topping charts from the UK to Italy.
But while the song has become a wedding staple, its origins are less romantic than many realise. In 2022, Blunt told The John Bishop Show: 'It's about me stalking somebody else's girlfriend on the underground while I'm high. But people play it at their weddings, which is nice.'
‌
Even on Oprah, Blunt admitted it wasn't exactly a feel-good anthem: 'It's kind of miserable,' he told her, recalling a fleeting encounter with an ex and her new partner on the London Underground: "She and I caught eyes and lived a lifetime in that moment, but didn't do anything about it and haven't seen each other since.'
James has been busy writing, singing and recording over the past two years, all the while raising two kids and travelling between Ibiza and London with his wife.
‌
James is married to Sofia Wellesley, an Edinburgh University-educated legal consultant with aristocratic roots.
The daughter of Lord and Lady John Henry Wellesley, and granddaughter of the eighth Duke of Wellington, it was perhaps no surprise that James and Sofia received an exclusive invite to the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018.
The couple began dating in 2012 and, on September 5, 2014, tied the knot in a private ceremony held at a London registry office, the morning after attending music legend Elton John's annual End of Summer party in Windsor. As reported by the Mail Online, socialite Sofia joked with pals at the time that she "was almost too hungover to get married".
‌
No sooner had they said, 'I do', the lovebirds jetted off to Majorca for a second ceremony with family and friends, held at Sofia's mother's breathtaking Marsana estate.
Reflecting on his choice of partner with the Mail Online ahead of the big day, James explained: "It takes a strong person to be able to deal with somebody working in music.
"It's hard when you're with somebody and you become embroiled in something just because you were seen standing next to someone else." He added: "It takes a tough person to deal with that and I'm lucky to have her."