James Blunt returns – this time with added Carrie Fisher gossip

Blunt is back – with great anecdotes about his time living with the Star Wars actor and an album that acknowledges how much everyone hates You’re Beautiful

Apparently James Blunt has changed.
Apparently James Blunt has changed. Photograph: Franziska Krug/Getty Images

James Blunt returns – this time with added Carrie Fisher gossip

Blunt is back – with great anecdotes about his time living with the Star Wars actor and an album that acknowledges how much everyone hates You’re Beautiful

Name: James Blunt.

Age: 42.

Status: Back.

Oh, Christ, I though we had got rid of this nimrod long ago. Ah, I see you’re demonstrating a fundamental misunderstanding of Blunt. Let me ask you a question: do you like him as an artist?

Of course not! He sounds like Uni from the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon injured and lost in a meadow. I see. The trouble is, you’re talking about the old Blunt.

Really? Has he suddenly transformed into a brave and credible contemporary singer? Well, no, not quite.

What, then? Well, um, he’s quite good at Twitter.

What? No, really. On Twitter, Blunt is arch, self-deprecating, self-aware and often very funny indeed.

What has this got to do with anything? He was recently interviewed about his new album. However, rather than dwell on the album itself, the interview focused on how good Blunt is at tweeting.

Seriously, though, so what? Piers Morgan is good at Twitter, but I’d still rather smash my teeth out with a hammer than buy his album. That’s beside the point. Blunt is a good egg. Carrie Fisher was his child’s godmother, you know.

Was she? Yes. He stayed at her house when he was recording his debut album. He wrote Goodbye My Lover in her bathroom. She kept a cardboard Princess Leia standee outside his bedroom to keep him safe.

Really? They were friends? They were excellent friends. And everyone loved Fisher for her no-nonsense attitude towards life, which means that Blunt must have something going for him. Perhaps it’s time for us all to put our heads together and give Blunt a second chance.

Fine, then. Tell me about his new album. It contains knowing references to how much everyone hates You’re Beautiful, plus it is said to be very slightly clubbier than his usual fare. In fact, many of the tracks on the new album were co-written with Ed Sheeran and …

Nope, too late, you’ve lost me. I’m out. Yeah, fair point. He is good at Twitter, though.

Do say: “How refreshing to hear about a pop star who is genuinely nice and normal and funny.”

Don’t say: “Shame all his songs stink, really.”