James Blunt created a classic moment on The Voice when he did a cheeky blind audition, pranking the judges to see how they would react. The English folk-pop star dropped into the German edition of the show to perform his hit “Goodbye My Lover”, but the judges were left out of the loop as they were facing away from the stage.
Blunt impressed the judges right from the get-go with his deft touch on the piano, as they speculated whether the beautiful piano part was being played live or not. Once they heard the iconic voice that sold 20 million albums, it was all over, with the first judge hitting his buzzer before Blunt even managed to finish the first line. The second judge hit his buzzer immediately afterwards, and the final two judges soon followed suit.
It’s not clear whether the judges knew it was actually Blunt just from his voice, or whether they turned their chairs on the basis of his performance on the day. Either way, the audition definitely showcases how incredibly unique and talented Blunt is as a performer. His voice is so distinctive and he really gives 110% to every performance, putting his soul into every word.
At the end of the song, the judges gave Blunt a standing ovation, and then he showed off his linguistic skills by thanking them in German. His family has a history of military service going back to the 10th century, and due to his father’s military posting, he spent two years living in Soest, Germany, which explains his skills in this area. Another memorable live show from Blunt was his appearance at The Nobel Peace Prize Concert, where he sang “You’re Beautiful” and “Bonfire Heart.”
Fans had plenty of praise for Blunt’s blind audition, adding comments such as, “How many hundreds, maybe thousands, of times has he performed this song? And every single time he still puts every single ounce of emotion he has into it. Just unbelievable” and “There’s no way you could mistake that voice even if it was only the second time you heard it. So unique and emotional.”
“Goodbye My Lover” was the fourth single from Blunt’s debut album, Back to Bedlam. The song came hot on the heels of the third single, “You’re Beautiful”, which went to number one in the UK and became the singer-songwriter’s commercial breakthrough. “Goodbye My Lover” also made a big impact on the charts, hitting the UK top 10 and going Platinum.
Blunt wrote “Goodbye My Lover” with British producer Sacha Skarbek, who also co-wrote “You’re Beautiful”. The ballad was produced by Tom Rothrock and Jimmy Hogarth, and in a quirky turn, was recorded in the home of Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher – in her bathroom, no less.
Blunt has described Fisher as his “American mum”, and following her passing he spoke on The Nightly Show about her support for him when he was still an emerging artist. “She was an amazing woman, Carrie,” he said. “I met her in London in a restaurant through mutual friends. She asked me ‘what do you do’? I said ‘I’ve just left the Army – I’ve got a record deal and I’m going to move to Los Angeles to record an album.’
“She said, ‘Well then you’re going to need a place to stay – come and live with me’. Literally like that. And I lived in her house, recording three of those albums and whenever I’ve been in Los Angeles that’s my home. I recorded ‘Goodbye My Lover’ in her bathroom, because everyone has a piano in Hollywood.”
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