Celebrities use technology in many ways, but despite having a Mac, a MySpace account, an iPod, and being an engineer himself (he studied Aerospace Manufacturing Engineering before joining the British Army), James Blunt tells me he prefers to talk to people face to face. He made his U.S. debut two years ago with his album Back to Bedlam, which sold over 10 million copies worldwide. His mega-hit "You're Beautiful" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006, making him the first British artist to top the American singles chart in nearly a decade since Elton John. So after five Grammy nominations and two BRIT awards, James Blunt is back in the spotlight promoting his follow-up album All the Lost Souls and gearing up for an upcoming tour. I wanted to find out how James uses technology in his everyday life, so I asked him a few questions about his new album, his favorite gear, and how he plans to stay in touch during his next tour. Here's what he had to say:

Your latest CD is being sold through MySpace, where fans can listen to the entire album and get a CD in the mail when they purchase the digital version. Can you tell me how that idea came about, and if you plan to do the same with future album releases?

Yes, why not. It's all about embracing the digital world. I mean, it's such an exciting time now, isn't it? The way you can window shop from your own home, and you can shop from your room. It's just a good opportunity to be able to get your music to people like that. At the same time with the nervousness that record companies have of the illegal downloading industry, it's just a great way of making people recognize the great value there is in this art form of music. It's just about embracing what we have, what we can now do.

Do you personally prefer to download music or buy CDs?

I still like to have the CDs because I just like to get involved in the artwork as well. I spend hours involved in the artwork, and the artwork is a great indication of what it's all about. So that's what I do. But you know, along with getting out and having something that I can have myself, I then transfer it to an iPod.

What are music companies and artist themselves doing to add to the CD? I know you mention artwork, but is there anything else you're adding to steer people toward buying the CD instead of downloading one song off the Internet?

The album's got 10 songs, and they're all relevant to each other, and to me, that is all of our souls in this album. These 10 songs connect to each other. You can press play, and it plays out through the emotional journey from A to Z. It's like a book in that way. I wouldn't want anyone to read just chapter seven in the form of one song. You have to listen to the whole thing. So when we put this album out, I spent a lot of time, a lot of thought in the whole thing. And for me, it's great to receive the album in the last few days and be able to hold it up. In fact, the whole artwork is a skull made up of all these small pictures of myself from childhood to adulthood. I wanted a skull to be the main cover, but it scared too many people. But alongside, we obviously recognized that some people will want more, will want to just get further and go deeper into the album, its background, its influences, the artist, and such, so we put it out on MVI (Music Video Interactive) and on vinyl as well. It just ties up all the loose ends of an album.

That's great to know because a lot of artist don't always do that, and with downloads, people don't really know if you've added all these extras.

Yeah, exactly. I think it's worth getting it across to people what they have unoffered to them. Some people would just want more of a straight album buy. Other people will really want to delve into it still deeper and for them there's the MVI.

I noticed on the MVI you have a preview of "Return to Kosovo," which I thought looked really interesting. Can you tell me more about your visit back to Kosovo, and when we can expect the DVD in stores?

Yes, I filmed some stuff while I was there in the war, and over the months—'cause obviously we were a little bit busy. I was invited to go back to play for some British soldiers, so I went back. I also played for some Serbs and some Kosovo Albanians. It was really nice to have a chance to do something that would connect human beings in the form of music. To have three different races, cities, and personalities in one room all connected through a common bond of music. It was great. I wish the soldiers got a little bit of heart relief from that day. I took a film crew back, because I wanted to try to document the change for my brothers that I had some years previously. It was an amazing journey to try to work out whether we made a difference, whether it had all been worthwhile. There were some very positive things, and some incredibly negative things about the experience. I think it took me by surprise, which wasn't easy in the documentary.

Are you planning to visit with American troops at some point?

Being from the British Army, I do get to go. I'm still in talks about where I'm going next. I think for me, whatever the politics aside, the people in the Army, in the armed forces, are regular men and women in uniforms. They're fine human beings, and they're doing the best job they can. They truly deserve our support.

When are you starting your tour?

I start in the New Year, and I'll probably be here (U.S) in about February.

How do you stay connected when you're on the road?

We all have laptops, so we're online. Now with video we can speak to our friends and family and see their faces while we're speaking to them as well. That's how we stay in touch.

What's the most expensive piece of technology you've ever owned?

My laptop.

Mac or PC?

Mac

Any favorite TV shows? What do you watch when you're on the road?

You know, we don't watch very much at the end of the day. We wake up and do sound checks. Then we go out to check out the city that we're in for a little while, 'cause you know for traveling distance, we want to see the days. We go to afterparties to try to meet the people from the cities that make up the character and soul of any place. Then normally we pass out. All that time we listen to music a great deal, and so we try to listen to the music of that particular city. We want to check out the music that comes from there, and obviously we do that using our technology as well.

What are you listening to right now?

I enjoy singer/songwriters from the '70s and a couple of modern singer/songwriters. Cat Power is a great singer/songwriter, and Elliot Smith. I really enjoy the Killers' Hot Flash album, but haven't got a chance to get their second album yet.

Do you frequent social networks?

I have a MySpace page and I have my own .com site which I designed and run with my friends. That's what I'm currently involved with it.

And that's at JamesBlunt.com?

Yes, that site. But if I haven't gone to social networking is because I think it's kind of nice to speak to someone face to face, so you can see the light in their eyes and the smile on their face. I think that technology is amazing, but I think we still need to connect to human beings on an even level.

What are you currently working on?

I've just gotten out of the studio. I'm kind of busy promoting the album at the time, and going out on tour, but along the way I'm messing around with more music and looking forward to getting back and having a chance to sit down and write again along the way. But before that I need a little life experience.

Thanks for the interview James! I'll keep my eye on those tour dates. If you can't get enough James Blunt, make sure you pick up the album in the new MVI (Music Video Interactive) DVD format, which contains the full album, along with exclusive interviews, videos, and interactive computer features like wallpapers and ringtones. Pretty sweet!

Check out these other Star Power interviews:

Star Power: A.J. Buckley Talks About CSI and His Real Geek Lifestyle

Star Power: Elizabeth Rohm Loves Her Helio Ocean