James Blunt to serenade Jakarta

Laura Davis ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 05/17/2008 11:15 AM  |  Headlines

British crooner James Blunt is heading to Jakarta to give a performance sure to set female fans swooning.

Blunt's concert will be held at Central Jakarta's Tennis Indoor Senayan center on May 21 and is the last stop on the Southeast Asian leg of his 2008 Lost Souls world tour.

Starting in Glasgow, Scotland, in January this year, Blunt's promotional tour of his second album, All the Lost Souls, has taken him around the UK, the U.S., Europe, North Asia and Australasia.

There will be no supporting act for Blunt's concert. His touring band consists of Paul Beard on keyboard, Ben Castle on guitar, Malcolm Moore on bass and Karl Brazil on drums.

Blunt himself plays a variety of instruments, including the guitar and piano, with his music best described as a mixture of pop, folk, soul and rock. His work has been compared to that of Damien Rice and David Gray; but his extraordinarily high, melodic voice sets him apart from others.

Before embarking on a musical career, Blunt served as an officer in the Life Guards, a regiment of the British Army, and eventually earned the rank of captain. He also served as a member of the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo in 1999. He left the army in 2002 after having served for six years.

The singer-songwriter first gained critical acclaim with the hit "You're Beautiful", from his 2004 debut album Back to Bedlam. With this album, Blunt became the first British act to top the American singles chart in nearly a decade; Elton John was the last with "Candle in the Wind" in 1997.

In 2006, Blunt was nominated for five Grammys, including Best New Artist and Record of the Year, but was left empty-handed. However, he did go on to win two Brit Awards for Best Pop Act and Best British Male, as well as a host of other international accolades.

The single "1973" from his latest album became a global number-one hit in October last year.

After Wednesday night's performance, Blunt will head to South Africa for a further four concerts and will end his tour in Iceland in June. He is scheduled to tour with U.S. singer Sheryl Crow from July 2008.

Tickets for the 75-minute Lost Souls concert are priced between Rp 550,000 and Rp 650,000.

To win free tickets and the chance to meet James Blunt in person, go to javamusikindo.com.

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