James Blunt finally made his debut Hong Kong appearance on Thursday night. He brought the house down with renditions from his two popular albums, appearing vulnerable during the melancholy numbers, and showing his spirited side when he hopped around the front of the stage to shake hands with excited fans.
For those who only know the singer and former soldier because of his song You're Beautiful, you may be surprised by Blunt's life story.
Serving in the army was more of a family tradition than a choice for the multi-platinum-selling Brit. He was born in a military hospital in Tidworth, southwest England, and the first Blunt soldier was listed as serving in 995AD. His family has served in some military capacity ever since.
Blunt got his pilot's licence aged 16 from the Royal Air Force, and later took up Aerospace Manufacturing Engineering at University of Bristol - by mistake. He was looking forward to flying planes when they taught at school how planes are put together.
And now that he's travelling as a star, he still doesn't get many chances to use his licence.
'[Nowadays] I don't fly the plane much - normally I'm just at the back of it,' he jokes.