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GRACE AND FAVOUR CONTINUES FOR WILL YOUNG
We talk to the former Pop Idol winner about the song and recent fourth album, Let It Go, and his continued success.
When Will Young was crowned Pop Idol in 2002, no one looked more surprised than the Berkshire boy himself.
It had looked like Gareth Gates would take the title throughout the competition, so when the cameras cut to Will he looked visibly shocked and quite unprepared for the moment.
In the weeks that followed, he revealed to the public he was gay, had a No. 1 single and waved goodbye to the life hed known for the past 23 years. He went from university graduate to celebrity pop star in a matter of months.
Six years later, hes managed to do something very few talent show contestants have done, and build a successful career in the music industry with his dignity and integrity still very much intact.
So much has happened in that time, seven tours, a film, a play, festivals, going to Africa for a programme on Gorillas, doing a programme on homelessness, having a premiere in LA, all the videos, its just wonderful because so much has led on from that show for me and its still continuing, 29-year-old Will says.
Never one to distance himself from his Pop Idol beginnings, hes more than aware that the show could have led to a very different outcome.
For many, choosing this route to fame hasnt gone quite to plan. Names like Gareth Gates, Michelle McManus, David Sneddon and Steve Brookstein are stark reminders of the fickle nature of fans who watch and vote for talent and reality show celebrities, only to forget about them when the next series begins.
Wills got his own ideas on why hes been able to maintain his success.
I think it was stubbornness, not giving in, he says.
I think a big turning point for me was having Steve Lipson produce my second album, which was really my first proper album. He had done Annie Lennoxs albums - which I grew up listening to - and worked with Trevor Horn who was big back in the 80s, and I think he gave me direction.
Becoming an overnight celebrity didnt come easily to Will and he admits that it took him a while to be able to accept his new status.
It probably took about five years or four years and a lot of therapy, he jokes.
Yeah I do accept it now - well, I dont really think about it now. The great thing about it is you can use it, like my brother has got this new charity called The Mood Foundation, he struggled with depression for years and the publicity weve got has been wonderful and thats now changing peoples lives. To have that ability to use your celebrity to bring attention to things like that - real life things. The red carpets
are all frivolous but fun. The rest Im not really a part of. I dont really get followed - there are other people that are more interesting than me and Im quite happy with that. I can just get on and do what I want and use the fame for the right things.
Even so, Will concedes that celebrity does have its upsides. This year, for example, he was finally able to fulfil a life-long dream and play at Glastonbury instead of attending as a fan.
It was my seventh time [at Glastonbury] but first time performing, and now I want to do it every year.
Playing festivals this summer also gave Will the chance to showcase his new material before he released his fourth album Let It Go. He says it was a great confidence builder.
When I released the album I wasnt as nervous as I thought I was going to be, but I dont think that was complacency.
We started promoting the album in June with Glastonbury and then all the festivals throughout the summer. It was like the proper way of doing an album, which is breaking it live, so I felt more relaxed about it than I would have done.
It wasnt complacency or arrogance - maybe I was just enjoying it so much and I thought well I can only do as much as I can do and theres no point worrying about something over which I have no control.
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