James Blunt’s new book Based on a fictional story, starts with the sentence “I’m a one-hit wonder,” but I’m not entirely sure that’s true. Of course you can see how he came to this conclusion. He rose to fame in 2006 with the languid ballad “You’re Beautiful” – a record that sold 12 million copies in the US – and has struggled to make it musically ever since. But rather than fade into the background, it has since worked hard to maintain its relevance.
He not only continues to write new music (new album, Who we once werehis sixth release will be released today, the same day as Weak foundation), he has already written a book (2018). How to be a holistic and completely frank man, the hardback book you buy your dad from WHSmith on Christmas Eve). Perhaps most importantly, he has two million followers on X (formerly Twitter).
Far from the usual image of a one-hit wonder, Blunt is still a celebrity – perhaps not for the reasons he wants to be. Nor should we be impressed by the veracity of his opening statement: it says nothing else. Based on a fictional story Truth. In the somewhat convoluted premise of his memoir, Blunt has decided to write the story of his life through a series of episodes that, as he explicitly states at the beginning, are “inspired by true events” but “should not be interpreted as true.” “. or an accurate account of actual events that happened… In short, I made it up.”
I’m not sure if this is some kind of commentary on what a rock ‘n’ roll memoir is – there are a lot of references to drug trucks in the prologue, and later there are many more references to his glamorous girlfriends – but it’s a pretty destabilizing idea. If I pick up this book to read about James Blunt, how do I know what’s true? (He did serve in the army, and there’s a lot to be said about that, but was he really in a plane crash, and does his father really have eight fingers?) On the other hand, I’d like to read a little more carefully: Why I should see James Blunt in satirical work by the main character?
Then again, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised: this kind of wry postmodern humor is exactly what we’ve come to expect from Blunt. Apparently, he has spent the last fifteen years searching for his own name and responding to criticism by claiming intellectual or financial superiority over the people who talk about him, changing “your” to “You”, correcting and responding to a tweet from In 2021 written: “Do you think James Blunt has run out of money for his ‘You’re Beautiful’ yet?”: “Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! NO.”
He seems smart and sometimes it’s funny. The subtitle of his second book was The Diary of a Humble Social Media Sensation – but there didn’t seem to be much resistance to it. He was and remains truly committed to this: to create a brand for himself as a confident, self-deprecating soul, not a pathetic idiot who made a music video in which he took all his clothes off in the snow.
That’s fair enough. And this, of course, prevented him from becoming a true one-hit wonder. But it’s also the most annoying form of humor because there’s little room for the sincerity that actually builds connection. This would bother Blunt much less if it were unique to him, but his post-You’re Beautiful career coincides with the advent of social media and with it the rise of navel gazing and selfishness. An obsession that still keeps us all on our toes and fuels our thirst for self-deprecating irony.
On the Internet, self-confidence acts as a kind of armor. Blunt had always been a punching bag for music snobs, journalists (sorry) and players – it couldn’t have been easy, especially when he was so serious. It’s better to turn that sincerity on its head and avoid making jokes about the unfortunate rhyme of your last name (which isn’t actually his real last name, just a stage name) than to make people think you’re surprised. I knowledge “I suck,” he seems to keep saying—and he’s essentially making the joke for us.
This type of self-deprecation is widespread and is one aspect of online culture (which has also permeated IRL culture) that discourages people from actually interacting.
By showing “confidence” and revealing our flaws, such as calling ourselves “sloppy” or admitting that we are bothered by a signature, we must create an atmosphere of authenticity. It says: I am a whole person, and I will tell you about it! But like Blunt, we’re actually no wiser.
On some level you can’t help but like him, but on another level you don’t know if you like him. Based on a fictional story it’s a deliberate trick, an exercise in irony so strong that you have no idea where you stand.
Any possible criticism of Blunt or his music comes from him, because he’s probably already said it himself – or he can just correct your grammar. You can see how and why this thick armor was built, but it would be more interesting to hear what lies underneath it. And the same goes for the rest of us.
Source: I News
I am Mario Pickle and I work in the news website industry as an author. I have been with 24 News Reporters for over 3 years, where I specialize in entertainment-related topics such as books, films, and other media. My background is in film studies and journalism, giving me the knowledge to write engaging pieces that appeal to a wide variety of readers.