James Blunt Performs Acoustic Cover of Katy Perry’s ‘California Gurls’

James Blunt has given Katy Perry‘s ‘California Gurls’ an acoustic makeover for Billboard.com‘s Monday Mashup series.

The 37-year-old singer-songwriter slapped his British tenor on the the stripped-down rendition, resulting in a cheeky-yet-sophisticated take on lyrics like, “So hot, we’ll melt your popsicle.” Blunt says he chose the pop song for one good reason.

“I sing like a girl myself, so why not?” he joked. “Of course, I was trying the Snoop Dogg rap [too] and I think you’ll find it’s not on the track — particularly with an English accent it doesn’t really work.”

Fans of the troubadour will enjoy this new version of Perry’s hit, which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Songs chart last year. In 2010, the sunny song became a wildly popular anthem for the ladies of the Golden State, but Blunt is able to turn it into a sweet song of admiration in his latest live session.
The UK artist recently released his fourth single, ‘I’ll Be Your Man,’ from his third studio album, ‘Some Kind of Trouble.’ Blunt is currently supporting his latest LP on a European tour, which will continue through the summer into mid-October.