Latest news with #musicanniversary
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
James Blunt Reveals What His Hit 'You're Beautiful' Is 'Really' About as Song Turns 20
James Blunt is celebrating the 20th anniversary of "You're Beautiful" The singer is looking back on the song about an ex-girlfriend and how it changed the trajectory of his career "You're Beautiful" hit number one across 10 countries in an explosive release James Blunt is celebrating 20 years of "You're Beautiful." Marking the milestone on X, Blunt expressed his gratitude at the staying power of the hit song, which was released on May 30, 2005. He wrote, "20 years ago today, I released a song that bought me this house. Whoever thought a song about being high as a kite on drugs, stalking someone else's girlfriend would resonate quite so much? Thank you. You guys are beautiful." "You're Beautiful" was the third single released from Blunt's album, Back to Bedlam, first released in October 2004. It ended up hitting number one across 10 countries in an explosive release that made it one of the songs of the year. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Blunt has never commented on who, in particular, the song is about, though there were rumors after the song's release that it was about Dixie Chassay. At the time, Chassay was best known as part of the casting team for Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban, learning under the tutelage of casting director Jina Jay. It was mentioned in a 2006 profile of Chassay that the song is about her, though she has never commented on it directly. The singer did give some insight into how the song came to be in a 2020 essay for The Guardian. "One day I was on the underground in London and saw an ex-girlfriend with her new boyfriend. Our eyes met, but we just walked past each other, and I went home and wrote the words to 'You're Beautiful' in two minutes," he wrote. "I went to see my songwriter friend Sacha Skarbek in Los Angeles, and, with Amanda Ghost as a co-writer, we finished the song. It's always been portrayed as romantic, but it's actually a bit creepy. It's about a guy (me) who's high and stalking someone else's girlfriend on the subway. But everyone has those moments where you wonder: 'What if I'd said something?' " Blunt recalls playing the song at SXSW, the beginning of a huge shift that came when Linda Perry expressed interest in signing him. "The label asked me to remove the words 'f— high' from 'You're Beautiful,'" he recalls."I tried 'particularly high,' 'especially high!' Eventually I sang 'flying high' on the radio edit but wanted the released version left as it was. I told them, 'I was f— high!' " Blunt added, "The song has a false start. I sing 'my life is brilliant' twice, which is my little joke, but I think in my elated state, from whatever concoction I might have taken at the time, life did seem really brilliant. The tube certainly looked very colorful." Looking back with the knowledge that it propelled his career as a singer and songwriter, Blunt admitted, "I had no idea the song would be such a big hit, and it scared me at first." "I thought I'd just be a musician putting out music. The song [released in 2004] became so ubiquitous that it started to irritate people, but I'm still proud of it and I love my job. I sang it at Elton John and David Furnish's civil ceremony and I'm about to start my sixth world tour. Without 'You're Beautiful,' it'd be a tour of north London." Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
James Blunt reveals famous song he wrote about 'being high as a kite on drugs' and 'stalking someone's girlfriend' bought him a house as he celebrates 20th anniversary
James Blunt revealed the success of his hit song, You're Beautiful, bought him a house in Ibiza as he celebrated the track's 20th anniversary on Instagram on Friday. The 2005 track put the singer, 51, on the map and quickly became a global hit due to its catchy melody - but he joked about the lyrics which include 'being high as a kite on drugs' and 'stalking someone's girlfriend'. James took to Instagram to share a comical video with his fans, thanking them for making the tune such a big hit. In the new clip, James could be seen entering his large living room before making his way towards the camera as the iconic song played in the background. He said: '20 years ago today, I put out this song that bought me this house. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. He continued: '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.' Following his post, fans and famous pals flocked to the comment section to compliment the star on his 'great sense of humour' and branded him a 'legend'. One fan wrote: 'You're beautiful James (laughing emoji) can't believe it's 20 years'; 'Genius (laughing emojis)'; 'I bloody love you (laughing emoji) such a great sense of humour.' While Poppy Delevingne commented: 'Hahahahahhahahahahahahaa legend' and Hugo Taylor said: 'It's a nice house.' In 2006, James snapped up the £1.7million property in Ibiza following the success of his number one hit. The hilltop property - surrounded by pine forest - features six bedrooms, a library, sun terrace and an outdoor swimming pool with its own pool house. You're Beautiful has undoubtedly been one of the most adored love songs of the past 20 years. However, the inspiration behind the enduring tune could be described as slightly creepy. Following his post, fans and famous pals flocked to the comment section to compliment the star on his 'great sense of humour' and branded him a 'legend' In 2022, James appeared on The John Bishop Show and revealed the truth behind the beloved ballad - and it's not as romantic as some fans think. When asked what inspired him to write the tune, he confessed: 'It's about me stalking somebody else's girlfriend on the underground while I'm high. James then jokingly added: 'But people play it at their weddings, which is nice.' Upon its release, You're Beautiful made James a household name around the world and the single reached number one in the UK, Canada, Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, and Italy. Several years ago, James appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and claimed that the song was about an ex-girlfriend. He told Oprah: 'It's kind of miserable. 'It was about seeing my ex-girlfriend on the Underground in London with her new man, who I didn't know existed. '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.'
