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Just under seven years ago, Will Young became the first ever winner of Pop
Idol, edging out the more-fancied Gareth Gates in a gripping final. Fast
forward to 2008 and Young has just released his fourth studio album, Let it Go
which has yet again, arrived to critical acclaim. So how has Will managed to
maintain his popularity where so many other talent-show winners have failed? I
caught up with Will to discuss success, stereotypes and Simon Cowell...
CM- Hi Will, you said you’ve had a busy week, tell me what you’ve been upto?
WY- I’ve been upto loads! I’m going on Top Gear so I went to have a two-hour practice at Silverstone with my
brother so that I
’m not crap when I go on! I’ve also just been filming with really big horses for my next single, ‘Grace’. On Monday I spoke at the Oxford Union which was all very scary and then I’ve got X-Factor this week- it’s all very varied, but I love it.
CM- You of course were the Pop Idol winner and the most successful male single
artist to win it. Tell me
how have you managed to maintain your popularity?
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(Note MP3 format, total size: 16MB)
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WY- I think it’s about timing and the material- if you don’t have the right song, it’s not going to last. For example Leona Lewis is a fantastic singer and has
fantastic songs. It doesn
’t matter if you don’t write your own songs as long as you have good ones. I think it’s about luck and what music’s being enjoyed at the time. No career will just go up and up and up.
CM- So the new album, ‘Let it Go’, full of quite a lot of love songs. What’s your favourite song on the album and do you mind falling into a Phil
Collins-like
chasm?
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WY: ‘Grace’, the next single is my favourite so I was chuffed when that was announced as a
single. It
’s a great pop song and I’m proud of it as musically it’s very good. I like writing love songs and that’s where I get my inspiration from. This album has been received the best of all
of them. There
’s musicality in there and it’s a very personal album. If I end up being in that category then there are worse
places to be.
CM- Some have compared it to ‘Older’ by George Michael, do you think that’s a fair comparison?
WY-Well funny enough I listened to that album recently, it’s an amazing comparison but I think his is very effortless and just better. It’s a great comparison- but maybe because we’re just gay artists. You’re both solo singers who are both gay, but I’d much rather be compared to George than Phil Collins.
CM- How do you feel about going back to see Simon on X-Factor, who many would
argue did not believe in your ability to win, despite winning 6/9 of the phone
votes against Gates?
WY- I think it’s brilliant, the Simon Cowell thing is like fine. That’s so history and it just adds a bit of fun to it. In fact I feel quite
nostalgic, and I was really nervous but now I
’m quite nostalgic as I’ve done the mentoring and I’m going to perform ‘Grace’ on the Results Show. I feel quite chuffed with myself actually, it’s been seven years, I’m still around and I get asked to mentor. Whenever I’ve seen him since Pop Idol he’s always been very generous- if he didn’t like me he wouldn’t have me on.
CM- Would you ever consider leaving music to pursue something else just for
awhile?
WY- I actually get a lot of satisfaction from teaching people how to sing- it’s my favourite thing to do in life. I took a break from music when I did a play
in Manchester- I had fallen out of love with the music industry as it felt more
like a business. All the talking that I do is worth it as it enables me to do
what I love- sing and tour and as long I love what I
’m doing, I won’t give that up. CM
(c) ChrisOnline.biz 2008
