James Blunt has shared his relief at not having to change his name after a social media campaign almost backfired. The 50-year-old artist had pledged to change his name to “whatever the public wants” if his debut album, Back to Bedlam, reached number one on its 20th anniversary.

In a humorous twist, the public voted for him to be renamed Blunty McBluntface, echoing the 2016 campaign where the UK’s polar research ship was named Boaty McBoatface. However, Back to Bedlam only reached number seven in the charts, meaning the singer didn’t have to follow through with the name change, reports the Express.

On social media, James expressed his relief. He said: “Thank You to everyone who helped get Back To Bedlam to No. 7 in the charts. It’s an amazing result after 20 years. “I’m glad I didn’t have to change my name – looks like you’ll all have to put up with ‘James Blunt’ for another few decades…”

Alongside the post, he shared a photo of his driver’s license under the name: “Mr. Divock Origi.” Fans responded with humour in the comments section, with one person writing: “IDK I think Divock Origi suits you.”

A second said: “Not disappointed that the press don’t have to call you Blunty Mcbluntface heading forward. It’s fine.” A third added: “I’ve very much enjoyed the journey over these last few weeks, cheers James!

James has since expressed regret about the potentially risky name change move, revealing that his family might have been behind having to buy multiple CDs to ensure it happened. Thankfully for James it did not.

During the promotion for the Back to Bedlam 20th anniversary release, James revealed that Blunt is not actually his surname. In fact, he is Blount. He made the revelation on Scott Mills’ BBC Radio 2 afternoon show, and made clear that despite the spelling, the surname is still pronounced Blunt – but his famous surname’s spelling is not what’s on his passport.