James Blunt is re-issuing his debut album Back to Bedlam. If he makes it back to number 1 in the charts, he wants to change his name. He lets the network decide what it should be called.
It’s been almost 20 years since James Blunt stormed the charts with his album “Back to Bedlam” and the single “You’re Beautiful”. The record stayed at the top of the British charts for ten weeks in 2005. Now the Brit wants to repeat the great success and is re-releasing the album.
To get more attention, he came up with a marketing gimmick that could backfire, to say the least: He promises to officially change his name to whatever social media users suggest gets the most likes.
“My name is James Blunt and you have the chance to completely ruin my life,” says the 50-year-old in a self-deprecating video that he shared on his social media pages.
If you believe James Blunt, there should be no backing down
The most liked suggestion on both X and Instagram after around 20 hours was “Blunty McBluntface”. The users followed a pattern that has almost become a tradition in Great Britain when it comes to public calls for name suggestions.
After a public call in 2016, the “Boaty McBoatface” proposal received the most votes for a research vessel from the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc). At that time, the organization reserved the final say on the name of the ship and ultimately chose the world-famous nature documentary filmmaker and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough as its name.
If you believe James Blunt, there should be no backing down. But he emphasized: “I’ll let the people decide. But if it doesn’t end up at number 1, I won’t change my name,” said Blunt.
In Great Britain, name changes can be made via a so-called “deed poll” by declaration. Cost: 49.32 pounds (58.50 euros). There are only restrictions if copyright is violated or the name could be offensive, for example if it is offensive or sexual in nature. The step can also be reversed very easily.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
