Live From Abbey Road, a show that begins its second season on Thursday, June 19th at 10pm E/P on the Sundance Channel, wants to give you a chance to do more than just see James Blunt (and a BUNCH of other awesome artists) in an intimate performance at a legendary setting — they want to give you a chance to WIN stuff. Win stuff while evoking the oh-so-heartfelt spirit of Blunt himself.

In honor of this new show (which features “36 top artists in 1 legendary setting” … awesome), we at CC have teamed up with the promoters of Live From Abbey Road and have decided to give away a cool-ass gift bag worth $180. How does a fateful reader such as yourself win such a bag? Well, originally you did it by  writing a love letter using only Blunt lyrics, but it seems that you  ladies aren’t that into love letters. It’s ok; we like it better when the boys write them for us, too.

So, we changed the rules of the game. Forget the letter; tear it up. Yes, even if you composed it on paper scented with your favorite, Chanel No. 5. Instead, tell us what you would say to James Blunt if you were snuggled up next to him on his piano bench. And he was playing one of his infamous oh-so-romantic songs for you. Swoon.

What sweet nothings would you whisper into his ear?

Submit your messages in the Comments. We’ll choose our favorite (and what we imagine would totally win over Mr. Blunt) on Thursday, June 19. The winner will receive a prize pack that includes an awesome bag, speakers, a rad t-shirt, and other things! And, of course, we will try to pass that message on to Mr. Blunt. It’s a total win/win.

So, what are you waiting for? Get your “Beautiful” on! And don’t forget to check out Blunt’s performance THIS Thursday at 10pm on the Sundance Channel.

As I write this, I’m sitting in a tiny room, surrounded by instruments and coffee cups and crumpled paper a few people practicing for an upcoming show. I’m here because I have to be—an end of the school year stage managing gig—but now that a few of the dudes in this place have opened up their mouths and started singing, I no longer mind the cramped space and the fact that every time someone opens the door they slam me and my chair and my left arm. Really fucking hard.

The boys in question, singing in perfect harmony as I put these words down, are not exactly the hottest things I’ve ever seen. I mean, they’re not bad. One of them is actually a little bit famous, but it’s not because of his slightly nondescript face and strange habit of squinting whenever he hits high notes.

It’s because he’s a musician.

It’s the Musician Factor.

Dudes who wouldn’t turn your head in a crowd suddenly become hotter than the desert sun with a guitar in their hands. Even slightly ugly guys morph into an extremely do-able fantasy when they get in front of a mic and start belting out sexy tunes.

As someone who’s spent most of her teens and twenties around musicians, I’ve had some time to think about it (as well as some time to date them. Which isn’t so important except for the singular thing I’ve learned and wish to pass on: many, without their trusty instrument, will undoubtedly slide back into unattractive land. Every time). If you want my honest opinion, the Musician Factor is about more than mad guitar or drum skills (although those things don’t hurt). It’s about words and emotions.

“Love”, “forever”, “I need you”, “my heart”…such is the language of the musician. A singer will utter words like these (perhaps even these specific 4 in a single sentence) many times over the course of a set. They’ll utter them and embody them, throwing their entire being into the lyrics. Sometimes they’ll mean the words so deeply that they’ll close their eyes, or grab the microphone, or pick a trembling lady out of the crowd and pierce her with their wounded, emotional eyes.

And so it goes. And the set ends. And women trudge back to the men in their lives, living weeks or even months without hearing a sentence resembling anything close to “baby, you’re all that I need”. And so maybe they get lonely. And so they turn on the radio or click on the Ipod, and sink back into the sultry, arousing voice of someone who isn’t afraid of wearing their heart on their sleeve.

And that, friends, is the Musicians Factor.

We love these men because they’re the fantasy. It’s not just because they’re talented, it’s because they tell us what we want to hear in song after song. He knows me, we think. He understands what’s going on in my heart! He’s sensitive! He must be! See how he’s grabbing the mic and crying?!

Something about that rush of Man Emotion makes us forget that the dude we’re mooning over isn’t really that cute. Something about seeing them cry, or pause in the middle of a song to take a shaky breath, makes us blind to the fact that a guy who cries all the time is sorta wimpy. Listening to them scream in tight leather pants somehow makes us believe that tight leather pants on guys is okay. It’s the Musician Factor. Which is Man Emotion.

Until everyday guys start writing love poetry on a weekly basis (which would make them stalkers. Admit it.), dudes like John Mayer and Mick Jagger will remain hot. Justin Timberlake is never going to be a slightly skinny guy with a girl voice, and women everywhere are going to ignore the fact that James Blunt is fugtastically fugly. Man Emotion trumps everything.

I’d get more detailed on you, but the guy next to me is starting to sing about how I’m the sexiest woman in the world. I mean…the song’s not really about me. I’m just pretending it is.

And believing every word.

Yes, the rumors are true and here are the pictures to prove it. According to Hollywoodbackwash.com, in addition to Ms. Lohan’s love for the White Lady, she is reportedly quite accomplished in the art of Star F@#$ing. Shortly after these pictures were taken, Lindsay is said to have rattled off a list of her Hollywood sexual conquests that include James Blunt, Jude Law, Calum Best, Joaquin Phoenix, Benicio Del Toro, Jared Leto and James Franco. So many boys, so many drugs, so little time… to blow them all. It is a shame acting is not an excessive habit for the young starlet. If it were, she just might be good at it.

More photos

Will Lilo’s coke whore image hurt her career?

When Lindsay Lohan said rehab, what she really meant was a few weeks to rest up so I can party even harder.

According to everyone’s favorite gossip whore, Lindsay Lohan was recently caught—on tape—celebrating St. Coke’s Day in a bathroom stall at Teddy’s nightclub in Hollywood’s Roosevelt Hotel.

The person who taped Lohan doing things such as shoving a finger up a friend’s nose to help her snort a few bumps is an alleged “friend” who is worried Lohan’s ways are going to buy her a one way ticket to that movie theater in the sky. The “friend” leaked the video to the press “So the world can know what Lindsay has been doing and she can’t lie about it to herself or anyone else.”

In addition to sometimes snorting “20 big lines” of cocaine by herself, Lindsay is an apparent sex manic, claiming to whoever will listen that she’s slept with “James Blunt, Jude Law, Calum Best, Joaquin Phoenix, Benicio Del Toro, Jared Leto and James Franco”, as well as messing around with Leonardo DiCaprio.

—How that girl was able stomach James Blunt naked I’ll never know. Guess snorting and drinking yourself into oblivion is the only way—

Who knows if this rumor is true. But if it is, let me be the first to say that I’m officially turning in my Lindsay Lohan fan card. I know, I can’t believe I’ve liked her this long either, but there’s no way I’m supporting a lush who blows her cash on drugs and spends more time sleeping with dudes than she does choosing good scripts. From now on, no one is allowed to call her “brilliant” anymore. If she’s really stupid enough to blow her looks and fame and “talent” (which is still up for discussion) on drugs and trysts with James “pasty” Blunt, than she’s about as far from “brilliant” as a person can get.

According to this story, Lindsay Lohan and James Blunt were recently seen getting all touchy feely in a club and then leaving together. The article says everyone’s favorite AAer was seen “trying to hide from onlookers under her coat” as she exited the club with the skinny weirdo. Hell, I’d want to hide under my coat if he was on my arm too. Girl probably just wanted a booty call and took anyone who happened to be within reach. I mean, we’ve all had that less-than-attractive-hook-up. Unfortunately, cameras were flashing during Ms. Lindsay’s.

How on earth does this man get play? He weighs about three pounds, is as pale as my inner thigh, and looks about as manly as the 10-year-old I used to babysit who liked to wear his hair in pigtails. Plus, that voice. That horrible, horrible voice. He’s made a career out of bitching and moaning.

“Yeah, she caught my eye / as we walked on by / …and I don’t think I’ll see her again / but we shared a moment that will last till the end”

Excuse me? Putting aside the fact the lyric is lame, he sounds creepy and delusional. If some guy wrote that lyric about me I’d tell him to get a life…and then I’d get a restraining order.

And yet…he dated a model. And may now be in a…I shudder to even think…a relationship with my favorite Lohan. Look, I understand the allure of musicians as much as the next girl, and have dated a few in my time, but I don’t date someone simply because they’re a musician. I’m not blind. I know they seem more sensitive because they pour their feelings out onto the page but, come ON. I’m a redhead, its winter, my inner thigh is PALE, girls!

Am I missing something? Give a shout out to the comment section and let me know. I really don’t think I can be convinced, but I’m always up for a good debate – or a rousing, collective agreement!