Will Young facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Will Young
Young performing at Glastonbury in 2016
Born	William Robert Young (1979-01-20) 20 January 1979 (age 46) Wokingham, Berkshire, England
Alma mater	University of Exeter
Occupation	Singer songwriter actor
Years active	2001–present
Musical career
Genres	Pop electro
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	19 Jive Island Cooking Vinyl

William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He became famous after winning the 2002 Pop Idol TV talent show. This made him the first winner of the worldwide Idol TV show series. His first song, "Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen", was released two weeks after the show's end. It became the fastest-selling first song in the UK. Young also placed fifth in World Idol, singing "Light My Fire" by the band the Doors.

Before becoming a singer, Young studied politics at the University of Exeter. He then moved to London to study musical theatre. Young paused his studies in late 2001 to join Pop Idol. After winning, he released his first album, From Now On (2002), which quickly reached number one. His next album, Friday's Child (2003), was even more successful. It sold five times platinum in the UK and had three songs in the top five on the UK singles chart.

His later albums, Keep On (2005), Let It Go (2008), and Echoes (2011), also sold many copies. 85% Proof (2015) became his fourth UK number-one album. Many of his songs have reached the top ten in the UK, with four going to number one. Young has also done many concert tours. He has won several awards, including two Brit Awards, and has sold over eight million albums worldwide.

Besides music, Young has acted in movies, on stage, and on TV. For his role in the 2013 London musical Cabaret, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. He has also helped charities and written books. In January 2022, he appeared on The Masked Singer as "Lionfish." In May 2022, he released a collection of his best songs called 20 Years: The Greatest Hits.

Early Life and Education

Young was born in the English market town of Wokingham.

Will Young was born on January 20, 1979, in Wokingham, Berkshire. He is the second child of Robin Young, an engineering firm director, and Annabel Young, a plant nursery gardener. He was born six weeks early and was ten minutes older than his twin brother, Rupert, who passed away in July 2020. He also has an older sister named Emma.

Young's family has a history of public service. His great-great-great-great-grandfather, Colonel Sir Aretas William Young, joined the British Army in 1795. He served in Ireland and Egypt before fighting in the Peninsular War. Aretas later became the sixth Governor of Prince Edward Island in 1831. One of Aretas's sons was Sir Henry Young, who became the fifth Governor of South Australia.

Young grew up in Hungerford, West Berkshire. He first went to Kingsbury Hill School in Marlborough. Then, from ages eight to thirteen, he attended Horris Hill Preparatory School in Newbury. His first time on stage was at age four, playing a fir tree in a school play. At Horris Hill, Young was the head singer in the school choir and learned to play the piano at age nine.

At thirteen, Young and his brother became boarders at Wellington College in Crowthorne, Berkshire. Young appeared in many school plays and often gave speeches. During this time, he became interested in sports. He dreamed of competing in the Olympic Games in the 400-meter sprint. He was captain of the school's basketball and athletics teams. He also played triple jump, long jump, football, and rugby for the school.

Young left school with ten GCSEs. After getting lower A-Level results than he hoped, he re-took his exams at d'Overbroeck's College, Oxford. He also worked part-time as a waiter. He became interested in environmental issues and joined a group called the Eco Society. He passed his A-Levels the second time. In 1998, Young began studying politics at the University of Exeter. He also took women's studies and considers himself a feminist. His interest in performing arts continued, and he joined a theatre group called Footlights. He got the main role of Curly in their play Oklahoma!. He also had a work experience job at Sony Records to learn about the music industry. He graduated in 2001. After university, Young wanted to be a professional singer. In September 2001, he became a student at the Arts Educational Schools in Chiswick, London.

Music Career Highlights

Early Auditions and Pop Idol

In 1999, while at university, Young saw a competition on the TV show This Morning to find members for a new boy band. He sent in an audition tape and was chosen as one of 75 people to audition in London. He performed "I'll Be There" by the Jackson 5 for judges, including Simon Cowell. Young was selected for the boy band, but it did not become successful and soon broke up.

On June 20, 2001, Young saw an ad for Pop Idol, a new TV talent show. The winner would get a £1 million recording contract. He applied and was accepted for an audition on September 5, 2001. He sang "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" by Aretha Franklin and moved to the next round. For his third audition, he sang "Blame It on the Boogie" by the Jacksons for the main judges: Simon Cowell, Nicki Chapman, Pete Waterman, and Neil "Dr Fox" Fox. The judges thought his performance was average, but they let him go through to the Final 50.

The first episode of Pop Idol aired on October 6, 2001. Young's audition was shown on October 20. The next part of the competition had five heats. In these heats, the public voted for their favorite singers. Young competed in Heat 4 on November 24. He sang a jazz version of "Light My Fire" by the Doors. Most judges liked it, but Cowell called it "distinctly average." Young famously told Cowell that he was "wrong," which made him stand out to viewers. The public agreed with Young, voting him into the next round with 41.5% of the votes.

Young continued to do well, singing jazz and soul songs. He often received the most votes. In the semi-final, he competed against Gareth Gates and Darius Danesh. Young received the most votes (39.8%), and Gates got the other spot in the Grand Final.

On February 9, 2002, over 13 million viewers watched Young and Gates in the Grand Final. Both sang "Anything Is Possible" and "Evergreen". Young also sang "Light My Fire" again. A record 8.7 million votes were cast. Young was announced the winner, receiving 4.6 million (53.1%) votes, about 500,000 more than Gates. Young was very surprised to win. He later called Pop Idol "the best ever experience for me, ever."

Pop Idol Performances and Results

Debut Album Success: From Now On

Young's first song, "Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen," was released in March 2002. It became the fastest-selling first song in UK chart history. It sold over 400,000 copies on its first day and over 1.1 million in its first week. It went on to sell over 1.7 million copies. In 2008, it was named the biggest-selling song of the 21st century so far. "Anything Is Possible" won an Ivor Novello Award for Bestselling Song of 2002.

In October 2002, Young released his first album, From Now On. It included "Evergreen," which was nominated for a Brit Award. The album had three singles: "Light My Fire," "The Long and Winding Road" (a duet with Gareth Gates), and "Don't Let Me Down"/"You and I" (released to help Children in Need). In February 2003, he won his first BRIT Award for Best British Breakthrough Act. Young also sang "Try Again" for the 2003 Disney movie 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure.

Continued Music Journey: Friday's Child and Keep On

Young performing at G-A-Y, 2006

Young's second album, Friday's Child, came out in December 2003. It featured the song "Leave Right Now", which was nominated for a Brit Award and won an Ivor Novello Award in 2004. Other songs from the album included "Your Game" (which won Young his second Brit Award in 2005) and "Friday's Child". In November 2005, Young released his third album, Keep On. This album included the song "All Time Love", which was nominated for a Brit Award in 2007. Other songs from Keep On were "Switch It On" and "Who Am I".

In May 2006, he sang at the Prince's Trust 30th Birthday event at the Tower of London. From September to October 2006, Young toured the UK with his Keep On Live Tour. In October 2006, Young sang at Nitin Sawhney's concert as part of the BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms. He then performed in South Africa for Nelson Mandela's Unite of the Stars charity concerts.

In July 2007, he performed at the Concert for Diana at the new Wembley Stadium. Young was the main act at the Proms in the Park in Hyde Park in September 2007. In September 2007, Young performed at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. Young also took part in the Little Noise Sessions, which were small, acoustic concerts for the charity Mencap.

Later Albums: Let It Go and The Hits

Young performing at Guilfest in 2009

On September 29, 2008, Young's fourth album, Let It Go, was released. It reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. The first song from the album, "Changes", came out on September 15 and reached number ten on the UK Singles Chart. His next song, "Grace," was released on December 1, 2008.

Young performed at various festivals in mid-2008, including Glastonbury, T in the Park in Scotland, and Bestival on the Isle of Wight. On August 24, 2008, Young performed at the Olympic Party in the Mall, London. He sang "Changes" and "I Can See Clearly Now".

Young's collection of greatest hits, The Hits, was released on November 16, 2009. It included two new songs, one of which was "Hopes & Fears." The album was very successful and was certified Platinum. In 2010, Young worked with Groove Armada on their album Black Light. Pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor was his opening act for his 2010 The Hits Tour.

His 2003 song "Leave Right Now" was used on American Idol season 9 as the "departing song." He also performed live on the show on May 25, 2010. Young had his first US concert on May 26 in West Hollywood.

Recent Music: Echoes, 85% Proof, Lexicon, and Light It Up

Young performing at Castle Concerts at Rochester Castle Gardens, 2011

In early 2011, Young shared clips from his new album, Echoes. It was released on August 22, 2011, and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. This was Young's first number one album since Friday's Child in 2003. The first song from the album, "Jealousy", was released on August 21, 2011, and reached number five. Young went on a 23-date Echoes Tour in the UK in Autumn 2011. The second song from Echoes was "Come On", released in November 2011.

On November 8, 2012, it was announced that Young had left his record company and signed with Island Records. On Good Morning Britain, Young announced he was recording his sixth studio album. On March 25, 2015, he announced the album would be called 85% Proof. It was released on May 25. The last song from 85% Proof was "What the World Needs Now", released in late 2015. It was part of WWF's campaign to raise awareness about declining wildlife.

Young's album Lexicon was released on June 21, 2019. He also released the main song "All the Songs" from the album that same day. He announced a tour in October 2019 to support the album.

On March 26, 2021, Young announced his eighth album, Crying on the Bathroom Floor, released on August 6, 2021. He said he wanted to celebrate modern female pop artists he admired. "Daniel" was the main song from the album, released on April 26, 2021. The second song was "Elizabeth Taylor," a cover of a Clare Maguire track.

On October 25, 2021, Young announced the album 20 Years: The Greatest Hits for release on May 27, 2022. This marked 20 years since he won Pop Idol. The album included his greatest hits and two new songs. Young also announced the 20 Year Tour for October 2022. In January 2022, Young competed on The Masked Singer as "Lionfish" and was unmasked in the third episode.

From February 22 to March 11, 2023, Young starred in the play Song from Far Away in Manchester. Critics praised his performance. In June 2023, Young performed at the Glastonbury Festival again. Young confirmed in an interview that he had started working on his next album, which was released in 2024.

On April 18, 2024, Young released the song "Falling Deep" with a music video. A second song, "Midnight," was released on June 7, 2024. The album, Light It Up, was released on August 9, 2024. It reached number 5 on the UK Albums Chart. Young toured the UK in September and October 2024 to support the album.

Other Activities

Acting Career

Young began acting in the BBC film Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), starring Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins. He played the role of Bertie. Young was also an executive producer for Ralph Fiennes' film Coriolanus.

Young performed on stage in the Royal Exchange Theatre's play The Vortex by Noël Coward from January to March 2007. He played the main role of Nicky Lancaster, and critics gave positive reviews. In 2012, Young appeared in the musical Cabaret in London, which was his West End debut. He won the What's on Stage Award for London Newcomer of the Year. He was also nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in 2013.

Young also appeared in the 2010 Marple drama "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side". He was a guest star in a 2010 episode of Skins. In 2011, he starred in a new drama series called Bedlam on Sky Living. Young was a guest on Top Gear during season 12, episode 2. On October 31, 2011, Young was also the guest host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

In November 2004, Young presented a documentary called Runaways for Children in Need. It highlighted the problems faced by young people who run away from home. In June 2007, Young filmed an episode for the documentary series Saving Planet Earth about saving gorillas in West Africa. In March 2009, the ITV1 arts program The South Bank Show showed a documentary about Young. In August 2011, ITV aired an hour-long program about Young called A Night with.... Will Young to promote his album Echoes.

In October 2007, Young narrated an audio version of the Roald Dahl novel Danny, the Champion of the World. Young was made a "Companion" of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in 2009. In January 2023, Young returned to the theatre in the one-man show Song from Far Away in Manchester.

Charity Work and Other Interests

On October 27, 2008, Young spoke at the Oxford Union. He was invited to appear on Question Time in February 2009 and March 2012.

Young supports the charity Women's Aid, which helps people affected by domestic violence. He also supports Mencap, a charity for people with learning disabilities. He helps to break down misunderstandings and unfair ideas about people with learning disabilities. Young also supports The Children's Society Safe and Sound Campaign. He has been an ambassador for the Prince's Trust since 2002.

Young appeared in advertisements for Oxfam during Christmas 2007. Young is an ambassador for Mood Foundation, a charity that helps people with depression. He is also an ambassador for Catch22, a UK charity that supports young people in difficult situations. In April 2011, Young ran the London Marathon for Catch22, and again in 2012.

On April 18, 2012, Young announced he would release his first autobiography, Funny Peculiar, on October 11, 2012. In August 2016, Young was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing. He left the show on October 11 for "personal reasons."

Young is a long-time supporter of wildlife charities, including WWF. He released "What the World Needs Now" in late 2015 to raise awareness and money for declining wildlife populations. In November 2021, Young joined a protest at Camp Beagle.

After his twin brother Rupert passed away, Young presented a Channel 4 documentary called Will Young: Losing My Twin Rupert. The documentary aired on May 10, 2022. Critics praised Young for being open about Rupert's struggles. In August 2024, Young shared his desire to start a family by fostering children.

Discography

• From Now On (2002)
• Friday's Child (2003)
• Keep On (2005)
• Let It Go (2008)
• Echoes (2011)
• 85% Proof (2015)
• Lexicon (2019)
• Crying on the Bathroom Floor (2021)
• Light It Up (2024)

Tours

Headlining

• Will Young Live (2004)
• Keep On Live (2006)
• Let It Go Tour (2008)
• The Hits Tour (2009–2010)
• Echoes Tour (2011–2012)
• Love Revolution Tour (2015)
• An Evening with Will Young (2019)
• An Intimate Evening with Will Young (2021)
• 20 Years Tour (2022)

Co-headlining

• Pop Idol Tour (2002) (with Jessica Garlick, Korben, Zoe Birkett, Gareth Gates, Hayley Evetts, Laura Doherty, Aaron Bayley, Darius Danesh and Rosie Ribbons)
• Will & Gareth Live (2002) (with Gareth Gates)

Film and Television Appearances

Awards and Nominations

BT Digital Music Awards

These awards started in 2002 and were held every year in the UK.

Brit Awards

The Brit Awards are annual music awards from the British Phonographic Industry.

British LGBT Awards

Gay Music Chart Awards

Camerimage

Camerimage is a film festival in Poland that celebrates filmmaking.

D&AD Awards

Design and Art Direction (D&AD) is a British charity that promotes great design and advertising.

Popjustice £20 Music Prize

This is an annual award given by the music website Popjustice for the best British pop song of the year.

Silver Clef Awards

Smash Hits Poll Winners Party

This was an awards show held every year by the British magazine Smash Hits.

The Record of the Year

This award was voted on by the UK public.

Top of the Pops Awards

These awards were given out every year by the TV show Top of the Pops.

UK Music Video Awards

These awards recognize great music videos and moving images for music.

Laurence Olivier Awards

The Laurence Olivier Award is given each year to celebrate excellence in professional theater in the UK.

See also

In Spanish: Will Young para niños

• List of British actors