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‘I know why people hate me’

April 17, 2014 11:23 am 4 comments Views:
No haters ... James Blunt has a unique and hilarious way of dealing with Twitter trolls.

No haters … James Blunt has a unique and hilarious way of dealing with Twitter trolls. Picture: Warner Music
Source: Supplied

TROLL sniper James Blunt has revealed he is aware why he’s one of the most hated men in music.

“It’s not that complicated,” Blunt said. “I had a song (You’re Beautiful) that was overplayed on the radio and that gets annoying. As time goes on, people associate being annoyed with not just the song but the artist. If I had to hear the same song on the radio all the time I’d feel the same way. Fortunately I don’t have to, I’m the one singing it.”

Blunt and Nickelback have become the most common punchlines for music snobs worldwide.

The former army captain in Kosovo shuts down Twitter haters and trolls with military precision and self-deprecating humour.

While many artists block or ignore haters online, Blunt actively searches for people mentioning his name and replies to the nastiest ones.

“James Blunt just has an annoying face and a highly irritating voice,” one user wrote. Blunt retweeted it and added “and no mortgage.”

Another asked “When did James Blunt get funny?” – he added “the moment I put out that song I was knee deep in funny.”

After his record company made him change his profile name from Dirty ‘Lil Blunt to James Blunt for “visibility” the singer now has 768,000 followers.

“Everyone has an opinion,’’ Blunt said. “Why would anyone take anyone’s opinions so seriously just because they’re on this noticeboard. Twitter’s like a school noticeboard you can walk past. We shouldn’t take it so f—ing seriously.”

Blunt does not believe in blocking trolls, and said commenting on their insults shuts them down.

“It totally defuses them. It is a cycle of people being horrid to each other, then someone’s horrid to them back, it’s this negative circle that humans do. What I try and do is say things with humour. I mock myself as much as I mock anyone I write to.”

Blunt admitted he has a trick to stop his fans abusing his haters after he’s outed them on his Twitter page.

“Twitter can be used by people who might be young or fragile, you just don’t know. If I retweet them, my followers often write abusive things to them. So you perpetuate this circle of bullying which isn’t a good thing to do. So I follow the person, they see I’ve followed them so they follow me back and then I direct message them and say ‘Hey, I hope you take this in good nature, it’s all good humour and said in fun, if anyone gives you any grief say that we follow each other and that we’re friends’. I prefer it to stay good humoured and no one to be offended or hurt or damaged.”

While Blunt realises his Twitter shutdowns have won him respect from people who would never normally offer him any he’s surprised by the fuss.

“The guy writing abuse to me is probably doing it in a darkened room with his trousers around his ankle. Why are we focusing on him? I’ve just been doing concerts all around Europe to 10,000 people a night who know all the words to the songs, they queued up for hours, spent time, effort, energy and money. No one focuses on them, we focus on the guy who wrote five words on Twitter with his trousers around his ankles. He didn’t even have the energy to pull his trousers up and come to the concert to tell me how much he doesn’t like my music.”

Blunt also spoke about his Australian tour — which has now seen a midnight show added in Sydney to cope with demand.

Blunt and his band will play two shows in one night — May 30 — meaning he’s doubling up on the first night of his Australian tour.

“My promoter obviously sees it as a way of making more money out of me. For me, I think it’s an entertaining thing to do. I’ve never done it before. I’m amazed they think they can sell tickets for a show that starts at midnight. Most of my friends are going to be hammered by that stage. It’s fun to try, let’s see if anyone turns up. When we come off stage I usually grab a beer, so this time I shall probably hold off due to the second show. It’s a Friday night, so I think it might be quite lively. I think we’ll change from the troubadour set to the full rock set.”

When the midnight show was announced, Twitter wags suggested it may be way past Blunt’s fans’ bedtime.

“I would ask the same question,” Blunt joked.

However ladies of Australia will need to back off; the singer confirmed to News Corp his recent engagement to girlfriend Sofia Wellesley, granddaughter of the Duke of Wellington.

James Blunt plays the State Theatre Sydney May 30 (x2) and May 31, Civic Theatre Newcastle June 1, Brisbane Convention Centre June 2, Darwin Convention Centre June 4, Adelaide Entertainment Centre June 6, Royal Theatre Canberra June 7, The Plenary Melbourne June 8, Derwent Entertainment Centre Tasmania June 10, Crown Theatre Perth June 12 and Riverside Theatre Perth June 13.

www.news.com.au/entertainment/music

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