"I had a big hit. And then I had 12 years of aggression towards it. It was a strange experience. [These are] quite harsh words to hear at the top of a song, but that’s because it was quite harsh to receive that kind of feedback on a song that was just played a lot".
James Blunt, TIME
If you remember English singer-songwriter James Blunt, you'll almost definitely remember his massively successful 2004 single "You're Beautiful". While the song was too romantic for my liking and I did not really identity with its popularity - I remember enjoying MadTV's parody of it more than the actual track - I did not really register that James Blunt had inadvertently become 'the most hated man in pop'. While his fame and success sold many records across the world, his privileged upbringing has earned him a fair share of unpopularity in his home country and criticism for being too 'posh'. His unpopularity even inspired a lecture series by Professor Simon Frith, a music lecturer at Edinburgh University, titled 'The unpopular and unpleasant thoughts inspired by the work of James Blunt'.
In 2017, Blunt appears focused on taking control of his public image via his witty, self-deprecating Twitter account and his new album, The Afterlove, which will be out on 24 March. His lead single from the album, "Love Me Better", starts off by addressing the hate he's received since his early success:
'People say the meanest thingsYeah, I've been called a dick, I've been called so many thingsI know I've done some shit that I admit deserves itBut that...that don't mean it doesn't stingSaw you standing outside a barWould have said "you're beautiful"But I've used that line before'
Lyrics: Genius
But even if Blunt has left his trademark brand of overtly melancholic, guitar-driven and falsetto-laden ballads, the question of love and intimate connection is still his main theme. With an updated contemporary pop sound - cue the looped guitar riffs, the pitch-shifted harmonies, EDM-inspired drops - Blunt leaves his haters and all their negativity behind to bask in his hard-won, genuine romantic connection:
'Baby then you...You love, love, love me, love me betterYou love, love, love me, love me betterThere've been people that I've loved beforeBut they were something lesser, 'cause you...Love, love, love me, love me better
Love meLove me betterLove meLove me betterPeople say the meanest thingsYeah, but truth be told, I don't care what they thinkI got someone who is lying in my bed right next to meYeah she....love, love, loves meLove, love, loves me ... loves me better'
