At the time of his victory on Britain's Got Talent, he had been working in The Carphone Warehouse, but following his win he has been signed by the show's judge Simon Cowell to record an album.
Potts has previously worked in unpaid opera productions from 1999 to 2003, however, illness in 2003 brought an end to his amateur opera career
On June 9,2007, Potts' audition of Simon Cowell's new search-for-a-star show Britain's Got Talent was televised on ITV in UK. The actual audition was held at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on March 17, 2007. Paul sang a condensed version of Giacomo Puccini's "Nessun dorma", which impressed the judges and received a standing ovation from the audience of 2,000 people. Potts' rendition of this has currently been viewed on video upload site YouTube tens of millions of times and exists among Youtube's all-time most viewed videos.
In the semi-final on June 14, 2007, Potts performed main verses of "Con te partirò" with praise from the audience and judges. He progressed to the final after receiving the highest public vote in that show. He performed a full-length "Nessun dorma" for his final on June 17, 2007 as well as an encore after he won the competition. Potts defeated co-favourite with the bookmakers, Connie Talbot and received the highest public vote out of 2 million votes cast to win Britain's Got Talent, winning the chance to perform at Royal Variety Performance in front of the Queen.
In the United States, he was profiled on a National Public Radio programme called "Day to Day" on Friday June 15, 2007. NPR is a non-commercial network that reaches several million people every day in the U.S. On Monday, June 18, 2007, a commercial US Television network, NBC, highlighted Potts's victory on its broadcast network's NBC Nightly News and on its Cable news outlet MSNBC. Then on Thursday, June 21, 2007 he appeared live on NBC's programme Today.
On July 8, 2007, Potts performed at a Katherine Jenkins' concert at Margam Park, "Katherine In The Park". Jenkins extended an invitation for him to sing his rendition of "Nessun Dorma" at the concert.
Passione, his second album, was released in 2009. Potts spent nearly a year recording Passione in Prague and Stockholm.
Nessun dorma
Paul Potts Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nessun dorma
Tu pure, o Principessa
Nella tua fredda stanza
Guardi le stelle che tremano
D'amore e di speranza
Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me
Il nome mio nessun saprà
No, no, sulla tua bocca lo dirò
Quando la luce splenderà
Ed il mio bacio scioglierà
Il silenzio che ti fa mia
Il nome suo nessun saprà
E noi dovrem, ahimè, morir, morir
Dilegua, o notte
Tramontate, stelle
Tramontate, stelle
All'alba vincerò
Vincerò, vincerò
The lyrics of "Nessun dorma" tell a story of unrequited love and sacrifice. The singer addresses a princess who is watching the stars in her cold chamber. He describes the stars as trembling with love and hope, while his own mystery is kept within him, with his name being unknown. He decides to reveal his name only to the princess when the light shines and his kiss breaks the silence that keeps her from him. No one shall know his name but her, and alas, they will both have to die for their love.
The song conveys the theme of life and death, love and sacrifice, and the power of secrets. The princess is in her cold chamber, far from the singer's warmth and love. Yet, he will die for her, and he is willing to keep his identity a secret to protect her. The lyrics also suggest the beauty and fragility of life, as the singer acknowledges the fleeting nature of love and hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Nessun dorma
Nobody shall sleep
Nessun dorma
Nobody shall sleep
Tu pure, o Principessa
You too, O Princess
Nella tua fredda stanza
In your cold room
Guardi le stelle che tremano
You gaze at the stars, trembling
D'amore e di speranza
With love and with hope
Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me
But my secret is hidden within me
Il nome mio nessun saprà
No one will know my name
No, no, sulla tua bocca lo dirò
No, no, I will say it on your mouth
Quando la luce splenderà
When the light will shine
Ed il mio bacio scioglierà
And my kiss will dissolve
Il silenzio che ti fa mia
The silence that makes you mine
Il nome suo nessun saprà
No one will know his name
E noi dovrem, ahimè, morir, morir
And we will have to, alas, die, die
Dilegua, o notte
Fade away, oh night
Tramontate, stelle
Fade away, stars
Tramontate, stelle
Fade away, stars
All'alba vincerò
At dawn, I will win
Vincerò, vincerò
I will win, I will win
Lyrics © Public Domain
Written by: Giacomo Puccini
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind