James Blunt News

The singer defended his music at an awards ceremony last week by telling his critics to switch over if they didn't like his songs.

Now a radio station has gone one better by banishing him from the airwaves. Essex FM is responding to listeners who say they are sick of hearing Blunt's hits "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover" everywhere they go.

"We don't have anything against James Blunt and we're pleased he has been so successful, but we really need a break," said program controller Chris Cotton.

"While his songs have been very popular, there is a tremendous amount of industry pressure to play certain artists frequently. Often this can be out of step with the audience's tastes, which results in songs being overplayed.

"We're happy to stand up to this pressure and follow the strong message listeners have given us. We encourage other radio stations to take the same step."

Love him or hate him, Blunt has been a phenomenal success since he burst onto the music scene last year. "You're Beautiful" topped the charts in 25 countries and at the Ivor Novello songwriting awards last week it was named Most Performed Work and International Hit Of The Year.

In March, Blunt became the first U.K. artist to top the U.S. Billboard chart in nine years. His album Back To Bedlam has sold more than 7million copies worldwide.