VIDEO - EXCLUSIVE: James Blunt pays tribute to Whitney Houston in the new acoustic video for Miss America

EXCLUSIVE: James Blunt pays tribute to Whitney Houston in the new acoustic video for Miss America 
 
 
 
Just as Elton John paid tribute to the tragic life of Marilyn Monroe - and later Princess Diana - James Blunt recalls the late Whitney Houston in his new single Miss America.
In the brand new track from his fourth studio album Moon Landing, James offers an acoustic ballad which speaks of the personal connection fans feel they have with singers, musicians and bands because of the media spotlight upon them.
Allowing the lyrics and melodies to work for themselves, the music video just shows Blunt, 39, with simply a grand piano as his accompaniment.
 
 

 
 
Tribute: James Blunt sings about Whitney Houston in his new single Miss America
The allusions to Whitney are clear from the first line which asks 'did someone give you something to help you ease the pain, like the liquor in a bottle we watched you slip away.'
 
 
Last year, on February 11, Houston was found unconscious and submerged in the bathtub of her her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of death was down to the 'effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use' according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.
 
 
 

 
New record: The single is taken from James's fourth studio album Moon Landing
 
 

 
Heartfelt: The song explores the way celebrity culture makes fans feel closer to the artist
 
 

Title: James said his choice of album name was because 'there¿s just something romantic, old-school and lonely about the moon landings'
Considered one of the greatest singers of all time, her loss was felt across the world, and just like the reaction to Princess Diana's death in 1997, Whitney's death caused global mourning for the people, like James, who felt like they knew her 'through the bars of a song'.
A sombre first release from Blunt's upcoming album, his following tracks will continue an emotionally charged theme.
 
The 39-year old singer worked again with producer Tom Rothrock - who worked with James on his multi-platinum selling debut Back To Bedlam - and also brought in Martin Terefe who has credits in the musical work of KT Tunstall, Martha Wainwright and Jason Mraz.
 
 
 
 
 

Elton John: The tribute song recalls the Rocketman's songs about Marilyn Monroe, and later Princess Diana
Discussing the album's name, James said: 'There’s just something romantic, old-school and lonely about the moon landings. A nostalgic memory of something huge that we can hardly believe we once achieved, and for some sad reason, can’t achieve again – like first love.
'This is a much more personal album, and also quite back to basics. It’s about me and Tom, the producer, finding where the story all started and where we are now.
 

Stripped back: James simply used a grand piano as accompaniment in the acoustic music video
 
 

Emotional album: Moon Landing is filled with ballads, and will be released in October
I’m not trying to prove anything, 'Blunt continued. 'I haven’t been trying to second-guess the audience or over-thinking things. It’s just me alone in a sound-booth, looking through the glass at Tom, trying to express myself simply and honestly. This is the album I would have recorded, perhaps, if Back To Bedlam hadn’t sold anything.'
The first single from the new record will be Bonfire Heart on October 7, with the album available on October 21.
 
 

Tragic: Whitney Houston sadly died in February last year due to the 'effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use'
 
 
 
 
By Hanna Flint

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2391651/James-Blunt-pays-tribute-Whitney-Houston-new-acoustic-video-Miss-America.html#ixzz2bsCYpuwf
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