Who the Hell is James Blunt and Why Have I Never Heard of Him

I guess its a true sign of becoming an olf fart when you lose track of the popular culture. For me, it probably started with "hip-hop". I didn't get it and I still don't. But as some youngster said, in a particularly appropriate comment, "its not for you!" Nevertheless, I'd at least heard of many of the so-called artists.
But James Blunt. Gimme a break. I've noticed Adelphia pay-per-view has been offering a James Blunt concert for $9.95 and that the newspaper listed a James Blunt CD among the top sellers for the past few weeks. Why don't I know this guy? It turns out I'd heard his song "You're Beautiful" on the radio a bunch of times and thought it was simplistic and sappy; but, the singer had a pleasant vioce and the style did not hurt my ears. I thought it was some one-hit wonder. Nobody told me this guy was so popular.
My older two kids used to keep me somewhat up to date (my youngest operates in a whole different sub-culture), but they've moved out and I can't keep track of the kinds of entertainment they're into. Me, I'm still listening to Stevie Ray Vaughn, Lynyrd Skynyrd and a bunch of other guys who are long dead.