![Metallica - Nothing Else Matters (Live Earth, London, 2007) [HD]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110429212234im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nO3yHu0g2-M/0.jpg "Metallica - Nothing Else Matters (Live Earth, London, 2007) [HD]")
![Metallica - Enter Sandman Live Earth [HD]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110429212234im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1yjrTZ_cJkQ/0.jpg "Metallica - Enter Sandman Live Earth [HD]")
| Music festival name | Live Earth |
|---|---|
| Location | 2007: Sydney, Johannesburg, New Jersey, Rio de Janeiro, Antarctica, Tokyo, Kyoto, Shanghai, London, Hamburg, Washington D.C. and Rome |
| Participation | Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Genesis, Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, The Police |
| Founders | Al Gore, Kevin Wall |
| Years active | 2007 |
| Dates | 7 July 2007 |
| Genre | Pop, Rock music |
| Website | www.liveearth.org |
Live Earth is an annual event developed to combat climate change.
The first series of benefit concerts were held on July 7, 2007. The concerts brought together more than 150 musical acts in eleven locations around the world and were broadcast to a mass global audience through television, radio, and live internet streams.
Live Earth would have been broadcast by STAR TV (Asia), which works in conjunction with the STAR Plus channel (United Kingdom, Middle East) and the Star World Channel. MSN was "the exclusive global broadband partner for Live Earth India."
The concert was cancelled shortly after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks on 26 November 2008. Wall, Gore, and Pachauri stated in a joint press release that, "due to circumstances far beyond our control, we are saddened to announce that Live Earth India has been cancelled. We will continue to work for solutions to the climate crisis for the good of the people of India and around the world. But for now, our thoughts and our prayers are with the victims of this terrible attack, with the bereaved, with the people of Mumbai and with everyone in India." Some argued against the cancellation stating that "music could have helped fear-hardened Mumbai to ride the storm." Jethro Tull and Anoushka Shankar, who also cancelled their 29 November Mumbai concert after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, reorganized the performance as A Billion Hands Concert, a benefit performance for victims of the attacks, and held it in Mumbai on 5 December 2008.
The Dow sponsorship of the Run For Water was protested by organizations representing the victims of the Bhopal tragedy, supported by Amnesty International. Planned events were also cancelled in Milan. was protested by a group of activists who disguised their involvement by creating a fictitious front organization, the Hindustan Sea Turtle Alliance, to register their event with Live Earth.
Category:2007 in music Category:2008 in music Category:2010 in music Category:Benefit concerts Category:Musical advocacy groups Category:International environmental organizations Category:Rock festivals
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | Mike Shinoda |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Michael Kenji Shinoda |
| Born | February 11, 1977 is an American musician, record producer, artist, and actor. He is best known as the rapper, songwriter, keyboardist, vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Linkin Park, along with his best friend and lead singer Chester Bennington, and as a solo rapper in his side-project, Fort Minor. He also provides artwork, production, and mixing for both groups. |
| Name | Shinoda, Mike aka shaleena |
| Alternative names | Shinoda, Michael Kenji |
| Short description | Musician, Rapper, Record producer, Graphic Designer |
| Date of birth | February 11, 1977 |
| Place of birth | Agoura Hills, California, U.S. |
Category:American musicians of Japanese descent Category:Linkin Park members Category:Living people Category:Musicians from California Category:American musicians of Russian descent Category:Nu metal singers Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area Category:American people of Native American descent
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | Joss Stone |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Joscelyn Eve Stoker |
| Born | April 11, 1987Dover, Kent, England |
| Genre | Soul, R&B;, blues |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, actress |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Label | Relentless, S-Curve, Virgin, Stone'd |
| Url |
Joss Stone (born Joscelyn Eve Stoker; 11 April 1987) is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone emerged to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist. Her second album, the equally multiplatinum Mind Body & Soul, topped the UK Albums Chart for one week and spawned the top ten hit "You Had Me", Stone's most successful single on the UK Singles Chart to date. Both album and single each received one nomination at the 2005 Grammy Awards, while Stone herself was nominated for Best New Artist, and in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2004 was ranked fifth as a predicted breakthrough act of 2004.
Stone grew up listening to a wide variety of music including 1960s and 1970s American R&B; and soul music performed by such artists as Dusty Springfield and Aretha Franklin. As a result, she developed a soulful style of singing like her idols. "My first CD that I owned was Aretha Franklin: Greatest Hits. And I saw the advert on TV and it was just like little clips of her songs. I had no idea who she was—I was only like 10 so. I said, 'Oh yeah, that looks really good', so I wrote it down and I said to my mum, 'Can I have that for Christmas?' So she told my friend Dennis, who always gets me good music anyway, and he got that for me. So that was one of my first albums that I loved." She would later tell MTV News: "I kind of clicked into soul music more than anything else because of the vocals. You've got to have good vocals to sing soul music and I always liked it ever since I was little."
After being signed by S-Curve Records, her U.S. market album came out by the label S-Curve Records and in the international market her album came out by the label EMI Music. Stone flew to Miami and Philadelphia to start work on her debut album, The Soul Sessions, released on 16 September 2003. She collaborated with people with solid credentials in the Miami soul scene such as Betty Wright, Benny Latimore, Timmy Thomas, and Little Beaver as well as contemporary acts Angie Stone and The Roots. The album consists of little-known soul tracks by Wright, Franklin, Laura Lee, Bettye Swann, and others. Released in late 2003, it reached the top five on the UK Albums Chart as well as the top forty of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The lead single, "Fell in Love with a Boy", a reworking of The White Stripes' 2001 "Fell in Love with a Girl", reached the top twenty of the UK Singles Chart, as did the second single, a cover version of Sugar Billy's 1974 song "Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin' on Me)". The album eventually went triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry in mid-April 2005 and gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in late March 2004.
Stone began work on her third studio album, Introducing Joss Stone, at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, in May 2006. Released on 12 March 2007, the album was coordinated by A&R; Chris Anokute, produced by Raphael Saadiq, and included collaborations with Lauryn Hill, Common, and Joi. Virgin Records describes the album as "an electrifying mix of warm vintage soul, '70s-style R&B;, Motown girl-group harmonies, and hip-hop grooves". Stone herself describes it as "truly me. That's why I'm calling it Introducing Joss Stone. These are my words, and this is who I am as an artist."
The album debuted and peaked at number twelve on the UK Albums Chart, not managing to match the success of Stone's two previous albums. It nevertheless debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 selling 118,000 copies in its first week, becoming the highest debut for a British solo female artist on the U.S. chart, surpassing the record previously held by Amy Winehouse with Back to Black (which in turn would later be outdone by Leona Lewis, whose album Spirit debuted at number one the week of 26 April 2008). Stone was nominated for the MOBO Award for Best UK Female in September 2007, but lost out to Winehouse.
.]] "Tell Me 'Bout It", the album's lead single, debuted and peaked at number twenty-eight on the UK Singles Chart—where it stayed for three weeks only—, and peaked at number eighty-three on the U.S Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now", a collaboration with rapper Common, failed to chart inside the UK top seventy-five, but made the top sixty-five of the U.S. Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs. "Baby Baby Baby" was released digitally in December 2007 and physically in January 2008 as the third single. With their three albums, she came to the balance of 10 million copies sold worldwide and being, the biggest selling female singers in the decade of 2000s.
Joss elaunched the MTV Unplugged series with a four song acoustic set, but never received commercial release to DVD and CD.
In support of the album, Stone embarked on a North American tour which began on 27 April at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut and ended on 13 June at the Filene Center in Vienna, Virginia, visiting sixteen cities in total including Philadelphia, San Francisco, Vancouver, Chicago, Toronto, New York City, and Boston. Two months later, she went on a North American late-summer tour which kicked off on 27 August at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California and ended on 29 September at the Crossroads in Kansas City, Missouri, covering twelve cities—this time including Mexico City.
At the 2007 Grammy Awards, Stone shared the award for Best R&B; Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for her collaboration with John Legend and Van Hunt on their 2005 cover of Sly & the Family Stone's 1971 chart-topper "Family Affair".
On 21 April 2008, Starpulse reported that Stone is going to launch a legal battle in a bid to leave her record label, EMI, and free her of her current three-album deal with the record label. She says, "I'm not happy at all with EMI. I've spoken to my lawyers and am seeing what my options are. The industry is in a state and EMI are in a state, so I would rather work on other things."
In late August 2010, it was reported that Stone has left EMI. Soon after, she added on her Facebook account that her new record company is Stone'd Records. On 31 August 2010, it was confirmed by her official website that Stone'd Records is coming up as a real record company while its website is coming soon. On Stone'd Record's Facebook page it was announced that they'll release their first single this December. On October 10, 2010, Stone performed in Brazil at the SWU Music Festival to an audience of 58,000 people, her biggest audience in Brazil up to now.
Stone announced in late December 2010 that she would be releasing a greatest hits album. The compilation, titled Super Duper Hits: The Best Of Joss Stone is expected for release in February 2011.
Stone performed a medley of "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" and "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" with funk legend James Brown on BBC One's chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 1 July 2005, She also collaborated with Lemar in 2006 on his third studio album, The Truth About Love, on the track "Anniversary".
On 28 June 2007, Stone asked Queen guitarist Brian May to perform "Under Pressure" with her at the Concert for Diana, held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 1 July 2007. Although May had initially accepted, he eventually declined as he realised how different the arrangement was from the original, stating that "he was not going to be able to do it justice". Stone went on to perform the song solo as well as her hit "You Had Me" and a cover of Homer Banks's 1966 "Ain't That a Lot of Love" with Tom Jones. Both songs were made available on iTunes, the former on 18 September 2007 and the latter on 18 December 2007.
In 2007, Stone collaborated with Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo on a cover of The Rolling Stones' 1969 song "Gimme Shelter" for Kidjo's album Djin Djin, and made a cameo appearance in Mexican singer Aleks Syntek's music video "Historias de Danzón y de Arrabal". The following year, Stone appeared on Randy Jackson's compilation album Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1 with the song "Just Walk on By", which contains a sample from Dionne Warwick's 1964 song "Walk On By". The song was originally supposed to feature Three 6 Mafia in addition to Stone, but the rap group did not make the cut for unknown reasons.
On 29 November 2007, Stone joined Jeff Beck on a duet of The Impressions's 1965 song "People Get Ready" as part of his series of concerts at London's Ronnie Scott's, documented on the DVD Performing This Week: Live at Ronnie Scott's.
On 7 December 2007, Stone performed live with LeAnn Rimes on the television show CMT Crossroads, which pairs country artists with artists from other music genres. The repertoire included Stone's "Super Duper Love", "Fell in Love with a Boy", and "Tell Me 'bout It", and Rimes's "Nothin' Better to Do", "Good Friend and a Glass of Wine", and "How Do I Live", as well as the jazz standard "Summertime". Their performance of "Tell Me 'bout It" was announced on 5 February 2008 as one of the first-round nominees for Performance of the Year at the 2008 CMT Music Awards.
Stone contributed to the to the 2008 film adaptation of Sex and the City with overdubbed vocals on Al Green's 1972 classic "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", reinvented as a duet.
Stone recorded a new version of the song "Unchained Melody" (first recorded by Todd Duncan in 1955) with French singer Johnny Hallyday on his 2008 album Ça ne finira jamais, on which Stone sings the original English lyrics while Hallyday sings the lyrics to Les Chaussettes Noires' 1962 French-language version "Les enchaînés".
On 26 October 2008, Stone sang the British national anthem, God Save the Queen, before the NFL match between the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints, held at Wembley Stadium, London.
On 7 December 2008, Stone performed The Who's 1965 song "My Generation" on CBS's Kennedy Center Honors TV special at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., honouring Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey.
On 27 December 2008, Stone released the song "The Anti-Christmas Carol" and its video on her website as the 2008 Christmas gift. In contrast to most Christmas songs, which state that Christmas is the most delightful time of the year, in "The Anti-Christmas Carol" Stone states that she is happy that Christmas only occurs once a year, because of all the stress she experienced during her family dinner.
Stone performed a duet with Yolanda Adams on Adams's 1991 song "Just a Prayer Away" in honour of film director Tyler Perry at the 2009 BET Honors, held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. on 17 January.
Stone appeared on American Idol on 26 March 2009 singing a duet with Motown artist Smokey Robinson entitled "You're the One for Me", from his upcoming album Time Flies When You're Having Fun.
In April, 2009, Stone was in Glenwood Studios, Los Angeles with composer/writer/director Mark Warford working on tracks for the up-coming stage show 'Cry, Desert'. The pair, along with Eurythmics' Dave Stewart worked on demos 'LoverEarth' and 'Never Gonna Be The Same'.
Also in April, Stone was featured in two songs on Tower of Power's most recent album, "Great American Soul Book." Stone sings on "It Takes Two" and "Your Precious Love" with the legendary R&B;, funk, and soul group.
In 2009, Stone, along with Buick Audra, recorded a version of the 1920s gospel children's song "This Little Light of Mine" for the EMI Gospel/Vector Recordings compilation album .
In 2010, Stone appeared on Ringo Starr's album, "Y Not" on the song "Who's Your Daddy" in which she sang and co-wrote with the ex-Beatle.
In 2010, Stone appeared on Jeff Beck's album, "Emotion and Commotion" on the songs "I Put A Spell On You" and "There's No Other Me".
In the mid of 2010 it was revealed that she was chosen to be a James Bond girl in the video game . She also wrote the new theme of the game titled "I'll Take It All".
Stone made her film debut in the fantasy adventure film Eragon (based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Christopher Paolini), directed by Stefen Fangmeier and released on 15 December 2006, playing the fortune teller Angela. Of the experience, Stone said, "I was like, 'Why do you want me? I'm a singer, for Christ's sake.' I don't know why [Fangmeier] wanted me, but he did. I'm always getting approached for films—maybe they see me onstage and see the way I get all emotional. But I was like, 'Hey, let's do it.' I never really take anything seriously until I have to, and acting is fun. I never thought I'd do it, but hey, why not, man?"
In March 2008, Stone signed up for the role of a lesbian named Stephanie in the upcoming British romantic comedy Snappers. "I just wanted to challenge myself. There are things in the film that are going to really push the boundaries, and that excites me! I can also confirm there will be a long lingering French kiss, but it won't be with a male!", Stone said. In addition to acting, she will produce the film's soundtrack. The film, which will also star Chloe Howman, Caroline Quentin, and Bruce Jones, will premiere at the English Riviera Comedy Film Festival in September 2008.
Stone made her television debut portraying Henry VIII's fourth wife Anne of Cleves in the third season of Showtime's series The Tudors, appearing in two episodes.
Stone caused major controversy at the 2007 BRIT Awards ceremony on 14 February 2007 while presenting the award for British Male Solo Artist (won by James Morrison). Speaking with what press reports described as an American accent, she gave a speech about Robbie Williams, who had been the target of earlier jokes made by host Russell Brand. Williams had been reported as going into rehabilitation that same week. As her speech continued, she made remarks about Brand, implying that he was heading for rehabilitation himself (while singing a passage of Amy Winehouse's hit "Rehab"). In response to the British media's reaction, Stone said, "At the end of the day, I don't give a fuck if people have a problem with my accent. That's all I can say about it. The words I say do not change. If the way that it sounds is skew-wiff and you don't like it, don't listen. I'm not being a cruel person by sounding a different way. And I can't help it. I've been [in America working] since I was, like, 14."
In March 2007, Stone joined the Campaign for Little Britain, which is petitioning New York City—known for its ethnic enclaves such as Little Italy, Spanish Harlem, and Chinatown—to formally recognise Little Britain as a new neighbourhood in Manhattan. "Britain is a wicked place full of culture and great people", she said, adding: "We can all blend and become one, then the world will be a happier place in the great scheme of things."
In mid-December 2007, Stone was named the new Flake girl to star in a series of television adverts for the Cadbury Schweppes product in the spring of 2008. According to the company, she is the first non-model to take the role.
It was rumoured that Stone was asked personally by Barack Obama to write and record a song for his presidential campaign, reportedly due to the fact that she appeals across racial boundaries. This claim was refuted during her interview with Carson Daily, where Stone explained that she initially wrote the song about the British government. The song, entitled "Governmentalist", was performed at HeadCount's "Get Out the Vote Party" at the Highline Ballroom in New York City on 3 November 2008. The media gleefully reported that she repeatedly referred to him as Bob Gandalf. Despite some criticism, the single became the UK's biggest-selling single of 2004 as well as the 2004 Christmas number-one single.
On 11 April 2005, Stone performed "Spoiled", Rufus' 1974 song "Tell Me Something Good" with John Legend, Otis Redding's 1966 song "Try a Little Tenderness" with Donna Summer, and 1977's "Hot Legs" with Rod Stewart at "Save the Music: A Concert to Benefit the VH1 Save the Music Foundation", in benefit of VH1's Save the Music Foundation. She owns two female dogs: Missy (named for rapper Missy Elliott), a Rottweiler, and Dusty (named for Dusty Springfield, one of her major influences), a Poodle. That same year, she was voted the World's Sexiest Vegetarian by peta2, alongside Chris Martin. Stone, a vegetarian since birth—having been brought up as one by her parents—, was photographed by Justin Borucki posing with a chicken in an advert for PETA in March 2007, whose tagline states, "I am Joss Stone and I am a vegetarian". She was also one of the entertainers appearing in Curt Johnson's 2007 documentary film Your Mommy Kills Animals.
Among other musicians such as Rod Stewart, Amy Winehouse, Lindsay Lohan, Dionne Warwick, and Plácido Domingo, Stone was photographed by Canadian singer-guitarist and photographer Bryan Adams for Phonak's Hear the World initiative, whose main goal is to raise global awareness for the topic of hearing and hearing loss. "Being able to hear means that you can enjoy all the sounds of the world", she said.
Following the release of "Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now" in mid-2007, Stone and Common turned the single's music video into a Product Red, reverting 100% of the gains from copies of the video purchased from iTunes to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Stone is the first Product Red artist to do so.
On 7 July 2007, Stone performed at the South African leg of the Live Earth concerts at the Coca Cola Dome in Johannesburg, to promote awareness of global warming. She sang the Introducing Joss Stone tracks "Girl They Won't Believe It", "Headturner", "Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now", "Music", and "Tell Me 'bout It", as well as Mind, Body & Soul's "Right to Be Wrong" and "Gimme Shelter", the latter with Angélique Kidjo.
In order to raise the awareness of AIDS, Annie Lennox joined forces with twenty-three female acts (including Stone) and recorded the song "Sing", which was released on World AIDS Day on 1 December 2007, when Lennox performed at one of Nelson Mandela's 46664 concerts at Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium. The song appears on Lennox's fourth studio album, Songs of Mass Destruction.
In support of the gay community, Stone performed at the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California on 26 April 2008. She also performed "Right to Be Wrong" at the LA PRIDE 2008—produced by Christopher Street West, a non-profit organisation—in West Hollywood, California, on 7 June 2008.
Stone was the youngest woman on the 2006 Sunday Times Rich List—an annual list of the UK's wealthiest people—with £6 million, and was also ranked number seventy-eight on Maxim's 2007 Hot 100.
|- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3"| 2005 || Joss Stone || Best New Artist || |- | "You Had Me" || Best Female Pop Vocal Performance || |- | Mind Body & Soul || Best Pop Vocal Album || |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2007 ||"Family Affair" (with John Legend and Van Hunt) || Best R&B; Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals || |- | style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"| 2011 ||"I Put a Spell on You" (with Jeff Beck) || Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal || |-
Category:1987 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Animal rights advocates Category:English blues singers Category:English child singers Category:English female singers Category:English film actors Category:English rhythm and blues singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English soul singers Category:English television actors Category:English vegetarians Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Neo soul singers Category:People from Dover Category:People from Mid Devon (district) Category:Virgin Records artists
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| Name | James Blunt |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | James Hillier Blount |
| Born | February 22, 1974Tidworth, Wiltshire, England, UK |
| Instrument | Vocals, guitar, piano, organ, violin |
| Genre | Pop rock, folk rock |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Years active | 2004 – present |
| Label | Warner Bros. Records, Atlantic, Custard |
| Notable instruments | Seagull Acoustic Guitars |
| Url |
James Hillier Blount (born 22 February 1974), better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005. His repertoire can be best described as a mix of acoustic-tinged pop, rock and folk. After recording on the independent American label Custard Records, Blunt won two BRIT Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards, and by 2006 was nominated for five Grammy Awards. The following year, he released his second album All the Lost Souls (2007). Blunt's third studio album, Some Kind of Trouble, was released in November 2010.
Blunt was an officer in the Life Guards, a Cavalry regiment of the British Army, and served under NATO in Kosovo during the conflict there in 1999. While posted to Kosovo, Blunt was introduced to the work of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF or "Doctors Without Borders"). Since then, Blunt has supported MSF by holding meet-and-greet auctions at many of his concerts.
As of 4 October 2009 Blunt's primary residence is on the Spanish island of Ibiza.
James Blunt has two younger siblings. His father instilled in him a love of flying, and he earned his pilot's licence at age 16. The Blount family has a long history of military service, dating from the 10th century.
In 1999, he served as an armoured reconnaissance officer in the NATO deployment in Kosovo. Initially assigned to reconnaissance of the Macedonia-Yugoslavia border, Blunt and his unit worked ahead of the front lines directing forces and targeting Serb positions for the NATO bombing campaign. His unit was given the assignment of securing the Pristina International Airport in advance of the 30,000-strong peacekeeping force; the Russian army had moved in and taken control of the airport before his unit's arrival. According to Blunt's own account of the incident he refused to follow orders from NATO command to attack the Russians. There were less intense moments during Blunt's Kosovo assignment, however. Blunt had brought along his guitar, strapped to the outside of his tank. At some places, the peacekeepers would share a meal with hospitable locals, and Blunt would perform. It was while on duty there that he wrote the song "No Bravery". The Scottish television sit-com that is broadcast on BBC Two Scotland and repeated on BBC One, "Gary: Tank Commander", is loosely based on Blunts exploits while serving in the British Army.
A keen skier, Blunt captained the Household Cavalry Alpine Ski Team in Verbier, Switzerland, eventually becoming champion skier of the entire Royal Armoured Corps. He had extended his military service in November 2000, and after an intensive six-month army riding course was posted to the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in London, England. He stood guard at the coffin of the Queen Mother during the days of her lying in State and was part of the funeral procession on 9 April 2002. Blunt left the army on 1 October 2002 having served six years.
Blunt left the British Army in 2002 so that he could pursue his musical career. Shortly after leaving the Army, he was signed to EMI music publishers, and to Twenty-First Artists management. A record contract remained elusive however, with recording label executives pointing to Blunt's "" speaking voice as a barrier in class-divided Britain. and within a few days, Blunt signed a recording contract with Perry, and one month later he was in Los Angeles working with producer Tom Rothrock.
Blunt's third single "You're Beautiful" was his break-out hit. The song debuted at number 12 in the UK, and rose all the way to the number one position six weeks after its debut. After the success of "You're Beautiful" in the UK, the song crossed over to mainland Europe, becoming one of the biggest hits of summer 2005 across the continent. In the U.S., "You're Beautiful" made its debut in the summer of 2005 on WPLJ, a prominent radio station in New York City, despite not having been released to radio yet. Once the song was released to radio stations in the fall of 2005, the song climbed into the Top 10 at three radio formats: Adult Contemporary Music, Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks, and Adult album alternative.
There was extensive promotion in the United States starting in the fall of 2005, with Blunt making appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Eight of the songs on the album were featured in television shows (The O.C., Grey's Anatomy and many more), films (Undiscovered), and advertising campaigns (Hilton Hotels, Sprint telecommunications) throughout 2005 and 2006.
The album eventually sold 11 million copies and topped the album charts in 16 territories worldwide. In Britain the album was certified 10x platinum, sold over three million copies, and entered the Guiness Book of World Records for the fastest selling album in one year. In 2005, Blunt performed in 90 live shows, mainly across the UK and Europe, ending the year supporting Jason Mraz in a North American tour. The "Back to Bedlam World Tour" started off in January 2006, covering cities in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, as well as three separate headline tours in North America, ending in November of that year.
A parody of You're Beautiful titled "You're Pitiful" was recorded by Weird Al Yankovic. James Blunt gave personal permission for this parody to be included on a Weird Al album, but Atlantic Records, Blunt's label, stepped in to forbid the commercial release of the song. Weird Al has since made the song available as a free MP3 download on his website. In a request by Yankovic to include the song on an upcoming compilation CD, Blunt's manager replied via email, "Thanks for your email, but both James and I will never approve this parody to be released on any label.".
On 28 December 2009, BBC Radio 1 announced that Back to Bedlam was the biggest selling album of the noughties decade in the United Kingdom.
The first single from All the Lost Souls, "1973", was inspired by Blunt's nights out at Pacha, an Ibiza club, which opened in that year. The song became another hit for Blunt reaching number one the Billboard European Hot 100 Singles chart. D.J. Pete Tong remixed "1973" and played the track during his set at Pacha over the summer of 2007. The third single from the album was "Carry You Home", released in March 2008, peaking at number 20 in the U.K charts and bringing the album back into the Top 10, six months after its release. and his mother arranged for the purchase of his principal residence in Ibiza, where Blunt has holidayed since he was a teenager.
The musician's social life has been the subject of significant commentary, particularly in the tabloid press. Blunt himself has found the degree of interest in his personal life to be bizarre, stating that "fame and celebrity is something that other people have constructed that I'm not really party to".
As a former soldier, Blunt is a patron of Help for Heroes, a charity aiming to raise money to provide better facilities for wounded British servicemen, and has also held benefit concerts for this charity.
Blunt has also contributed with his vocals for the charity single, "Everybody Hurts" in aid of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake Appeal.
2005
Category:1974 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Alumni of the University of Bristol Category:British Life Guards officers Category:Custard Records artists Category:English folk singers Category:English guitarists Category:English keyboardists Category:English-language singers Category:English male singers Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:English pianists Category:English singer-songwriters Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Living people Category:Old Harrovians Category:People from Tidworth Category:Sandhurst graduates Category:Warner Music Group artists Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:British expatriates in Spain
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