James Blunt paid £2,000 so his fans could have a drink at one of his gigs.

The 49-year-old singer played to a crowd of 320 at London’s Omeara on Wednesday (09.10.23) and reportedly put a chunk of cash behind the bar for the audience after declaring that they were one of the best he had ever played to.

According to The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column, he said: "Of all the audiences, you’ve definitely been one of the better in the world!"

James enjoyed immense success with the chart-topping ballad 'You're Beautiful' upon its release in 2005 and previously explained that he was able to buy a house with the royalties he earned from it, so would "never entertain" the idea of not performing it at a gig.

He told the Radio Times magazine: "It riles me immensely when people say I must be bored of it. Why on earth would I be? It's the cornerstone of my career - it bought me this house! It's not necessarily the biggest moment of the concert, because fans have their own favourites, but I would never entertain the notion of dropping it. There'd be a ton of men going, 'Well, I was only here for that one...'"

Meanwhile, James served as a judge on the seventh season of 'The X Factor Australia' in 2015 alongside Chris Isaak, Guy Sebastian, and Dannii Minogue but admitted he "didn't enjoy" the experience because it was "quite painful" to see bosses chasing ratings rather than talent.

He said: "I didn't enjoy it, and I struggle with The X Factor, because it's more TV show than music competition. The winners are always the judges' choices rather than the ones who do best each week. Seeing these hopefuls with their 15 minutes, and their dreams shattered for ratings, I find quite painful."