SUroot
Extreme Android User
Notice you were also much closer to the subject in the second picture than in the first. That makes a huge difference.
There has to be a big difference in the distance to your subject and the difference to the surroundings in order to blur with larger aperture numbers (more closed). That's why I said you need a wide open aperture to accomplish what you want to do.
Yes a larger aperture (Smaller F.Stop Number) is always recommended for portraits in the magazines I've read. Never really had much chance to test it out.