You're Beautiful

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"You're Beautiful"
Single by James Blunt
from the album Back to Bedlam
Released	May 30, 2005 (UK) May 2005 (Europe) September 2005 (North America)
Format	CD single (worldwide) 7" single (UK) Digital download (U.S.)
Genre	Pop/Soft rock
Length	3:34
Label	Atlantic records
Writer(s)	James Blunt S. Skarbek A. Ghost
Producer(s)	Tom Rothrock
Certification	Platinum (BPI) Platinum (RIAA)
Chart positions
#1 (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, U.K., U.S.) #2 (Argentina, Australia, Germany, Switzerland) #4 (New Zealand) #5 (France) #6 (Austria)
James Blunt singles chronology
"Wisemen" (2005)	"You're Beautiful" (2005)	"High" (re-release) (2005)

"You're Beautiful" is an adult contemporary song co-written by British singer James Blunt, Sasha Skarbek and Amanda Ghost^[1] for Blunt's debut album Back to Bedlam (2004). It was released as the third single from the album in 2005. In the UK and Australia the song reached number one and number two respectively. When released as the debut single from Back to Bedlam in Canada and the U.S., it reached number one on both charts and received widespread airplay. In 2006, the song won an Ivor Novello award for airplay.^[2]

Contents 1 Writing and inspiration 2 Chart performance 3 Criticism 4 Parodies 5 Formats and track listings 6 Charts 7 References 7.1 Notes

[edit] Writing and inspiration

Newspapers have claimed that "You're Beautiful" is about a former girlfriend of Blunt's, Dixie Chassay,^[3] casting director for the Harry Potter films. On March 8, 2006 episode of the Oprah Winfrey program, Blunt said of the song, "It's kind of miserable. It was about seeing my ex-girlfriend on the Underground in London with her new man, who I didn't know existed. She and I caught eyes and lived a lifetime in that moment, but didn't do anything about it and haven't seen each other since."^[4] Several versions of the song exist. One lyrical version has the explicit lyrics "fucking high" which were released on Back to Bedlam and most of the "You're Beautiful" singles. The radio edit of the song replaces the explicit lyrics with "flying high". Acoustic, live and DVD versions have also been released.

When asked about the song, Blunt responded, "It's probably one of the least meaningful songs on the album and by no means people's favourite. The album is like a book covering various aspects of life in a specific order."^[5]

The music video for "You're Beautiful" was directed by Sam Brown. Some have assumed this video alludes to suicide.^[6] Blunt removes the upper portion of his clothing in a cold, bare, snowy setting and places all of his personal belongings on the ground. Whilst he does this, seagulls circle overhead like buzzards.^[7] At the end of the video, he jumps off a cliff and lands into the depths of icy water while he sings the lyrics: "But it's time to face the truth, I will never be with you". A follow-up video first played at the BRIT Awards in February 2006 shows three beautiful mermaids swimming underwater. Suddenly, Blunt is shown to be jumping into the water with them. They frolic together for the duration of the song; however, at the line "But it's time to face the truth/I will never be with you," Blunt returns to the surface, leaving the mermaids behind. The video is now played during Blunt's live performances during the singing of "You're Beautiful".

[edit] Chart performance

"You're Beautiful" was Blunt's first hit and his most successful single release to date, reaching number one in ten countries across the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Canada, and the Netherlands. The song peaked within the top five in Australia, and Germany.

"You're Beautiful" accomplished a feat rarely seen on the modern UK Singles Chart by ascending the chart following its début. Released on May 30, 2005, it entered at number twelve on June 5th and reached number one six weeks later where it remained for five consecutive weeks. The last song to début outside of the top ten and climb to number one was The Outhere Brothers' "Boom Boom Boom" (1995). The song reached #1 in several other countries, and was in the top-10 on most major charts.

In November 2005, "You're Beautiful" was released in North America where it achieved widespread success. In Canada, it ascended to number one (where it remained for four consecutive weeks) twenty-two weeks following its début on the BDS Airplay chart. In the United States, it débuted at number eighty-eight before reaching number one seventeen weeks later. It replaced Beyoncé's "Check on It" and itself was replaced by Ne-Yo's "So Sick".^[8] This also became the first single by a British artist to reach number one since Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" (1997).^[9] It achieved success on the Billboard Pop 100, Hot Digital Songs, Adult Contemporary, and Adult Top 40 formats.

It was certified sixfold platinum in the U.S. for digital sales of 1,200,000 copies before the RIAA changed their guidelines for certification in June 2006. It is now certified one-fold platinum.^[10] As of early 2007 the song had sold almost 2 Million digital singles in the US alone.

[edit] Criticism

For MSNBC's "Year in Review: 10 Songs We Wish We Could Leave in 2006", Helen A.S. Popkin wrote:

If only this over-tenderized pop ballad was as meek and pitiful as it sounds – shyly playing only once over some traumatic love montage on The O.C. or even Scrubs. Maybe then it wouldn’t make unwitting listeners yearn to drive hot pokers into their ears. As it is, "You're Beautiful" has remained inescapable since it began its insidious reign. Get past Blunt's Bee Gees warble and it's soon apparent that this song is nothing more than a creepy stalker’s serenade: "She was with another man/But I won’t lose no sleep on that/'Cause I’ve got a plan." Yikes! As if this guy's voice isn't scary enough.[1]

[edit] Parodies

A parody of the song was made by the British sketch-show Dead Ringers. Entitled "It's Bloody Cold", it featured Jon Culshaw as Blunt sitting in the snow and jumping into a swimming pool in an attempt to be seen as cool by the other major British singers (Robbie Williams, Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Morrissey and Craig David are explicitly named among these). It also claimed that the name "James Blunt" is Cockney rhyming slang.

"Weird Al" Yankovic composed and recorded a parody of "You're Beautiful" entitled "You're Pitiful", intended for release on his twelfth album. Yankovic had done so with permission from Blunt himself. However, Blunt's label, Atlantic Records, chose to forbid Yankovic from releasing his parody. Yankovic removed the song from his album to avoid conflict with the record label, and in June of 2006 posted it as a free download on his own website. [2]

The Internet Sketch Comedy show Moron Life did a parody of the song entitled "My Testicles".

The song and video were parodied on the sketch show, MADtv. Nicole Parker played James Blunt and wore a prosthetic male torso when it came time to strip off her shirts during the song. MADtv renamed the song to "I'm Beautiful".

The song has also been parodied in an office setting: "My Cubicle", created by comedy website Morning Sidekick. Several versions are circulating, one audio-only, one with a video showing the lyrics on a blank background, and several fan-created music videos in which an actor acts out the actions in the lyrics. [3]

[edit] Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "You're Beautiful".

• UK CD 1

1. "You're Beautiful" [Album version]
2. "Fall at Your Feet" [Acoustic version]

• UK CD 2 / Australian/New Zealand CD single

1. "You're Beautiful" [Edited version]
2. "High" [Acoustic version]
3. "You're Beautiful" [Making of]
4. "You're Beautiful" [Music video]

• UK 7"

[edit] Charts

Chart (2005/2006)	Peak position[11]
UK Singles Chart	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40	1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	1
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	5
U.S. Billboard Latin Pop Tracks	40
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40	1
Argentina Top 40 Singles	2 [4]
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart	1
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	2
New Zealand Chart	4
Austrian Singles Chart	6
Swiss Singles Chart	2
German Singles Chart	2
Belgian Singles Chart	1
Irish Singles Chart	1
French Singles Chart	5
Swedish Singles Chart	1
Norwegian Singles Chart	1
Dutch Top 40	1
Latvian Airplay Top	1
Czech IFPI Chart	1

Preceded by "Check on It" by Beyoncé featuring Slim Thug	Billboard Hot 100 number one single March 11, 2006	Succeeded by "So Sick" by Ne-Yo
Preceded by "Ghetto Gospel" by 2pac featuring Elton John	UK number one single July 23, 2005 - August 26, 2005	Succeeded by "I'll Be OK" by McFly

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

v • d • e James Blunt
Albums: Back to Bedlam · Chasing Time: The Bedlam Sessions Singles: "High" · "Wisemen" · "You're Beautiful" · "Goodbye My Lover" Related: Atlantic Records · Custard Records