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.
A Mi Manera
Paul Potts Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ya ves, yo he sido así, te lo diré sinceramente
Viví la intensidad y no encontré jamás fronteras
Jugué sin descansar y a mi manera
Jamás viví un amor que para mí fuera importante
Tomé solo la flor y lo mejor de cada instante
Viajé y disfruté, no se si más que otro cualquiera
Si bien, todo eso fué a mi manera
Tal vez lloré, tal vez reí
Tal vez gané o tal vez perdí
Ahora sé que fuí feliz, que si lloré también amé
Y todo fué, puedo decir, a mi manera
Quizás también dudé cuando mejor me divertía
Quizás yo desprecié aquello que no comprendía
Hoy sé que infierno fuí y que afronté ser como era
Y así logré seguir, a mi manera
Porque ya sabrás que el hombre al fin
Conocerás por su vivir
No hay porque hablar, ni que decir
Ni recordar, ni hay que fingir
Puedo llegar hasta el final, a mi manera
The lyrics to Paul Potts's song "My Way" are full of personal reflection and introspection. The song starts off with the Spanish phrases "El fin muy cerca está, lo afrontaré serenamente" which can be translated to "The end is very close, I'll face it calmly." This line sets the tone for the rest of the song, which is essentially about living life on your own terms and facing the end with peace and acceptance.
Paul Potts tells the listener that he has lived his life in his own way, even if it was different from what others expected of him. He has lived with intensity, played without resting, and loved as he saw fit. The lyrics also acknowledge that he may have made mistakes along the way, but he doesn't regret them because each experience helped shape him into the person he is today.
Throughout the song, Potts repeats the phrase "a mi manera", which translates to "my way". This phrase acts as a mantra, reminding the listener that living life on their own terms is not only possible, but also desirable. In the end, Potts's message is one of acceptance and self-love, encouraging the listener to fully own who they are and how they choose to live their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
El fin muy cerca está, lo afrontaré serenamente
I am ready to face the end calmly, as it is inevitable.
Ya ves, yo he sido así, te lo diré sinceramente
I have always been true to myself, and I will honestly admit it.
Viví la intensidad y no encontré jamás fronteras
I experienced life to the fullest without any limitations.
Jugué sin descansar y a mi manera
I always played by my own rules and without any breaks.
Jamás viví un amor que para mí fuera importante
I never had a love that held enough significance in my life.
Tomé solo la flor y lo mejor de cada instante
I only took the beauty and joy from each moment I experienced.
Viajé y disfruté, no sé si más que otro cualquiera
I travelled and enjoyed life, not sure if I did it more than others.
Si bien, todo eso fue a mi manera
Regardless, all of it was done in my unique way.
Tal vez lloré, tal vez reí
Maybe I cried, maybe I laughed.
Tal vez gané o tal vez perdí
Maybe I won, maybe I lost.
Ahora sé que fui feliz, que si lloré también amé
Now I know I was happy, and if I cried, that means I also loved.
Y todo fue, puedo decir, a mi manera
All of it happened in my own way.
Quizás también dudé cuando mejor me divertía
Perhaps I also doubted myself when I was enjoying life the most.
Quizás yo desprecié aquello que no comprendía
Maybe I looked down upon things I did not understand.
Hoy sé que infierno fui y que afronté ser como era
Today, I know that I struggled, but I faced it and was true to myself.
Y así logré seguir, a mi manera
And that's how I managed to keep going, my way.
Porque ya sabrás que el hombre al fin
Because as you know, in the end,
Conocerás por su vivir
You will know a person by how they lived their life.
No hay porque hablar, ni que decir
There's no need to talk or say anything about it.
Ni recordar, ni hay que fingir
There's no need to remember or pretend anything.
Puedo llegar hasta el final, a mi manera
I can reach the end, my way.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Claude Francois, Gilles Thibaut, Jacques Revaux
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jenniferdixon7633
Blacklist brought me here. What a GREAT version.
@dianah7742
Just heard this on Blacklist…. So beautifully done ! What a pleasure to listen to your beautiful voice!
@dancarpentieri7762
Better Call Saul brought me here.
@tereechenique534
Beatifull
@christinalogan311
Oh this is so very emotive. Beautiful.
@valkiriaaddona5712
It's an absolute pleasure listen to you! It makes me happy your talent had its chance to flourish and get known and admired. Greetings from Argentina!
@wkmillard
You did it your way, you charted each and every course and may I say, not in a shy way, Well done sir
@LuisAlvarez979.
Excelente paul, felicitaciones desde chile ojalá sacaras mas temas en español
@soledaddelarosa4508
Just beautiful , heard a version of this song on the blacklist .
@julianpineyro7932
No había escuchado a Paul. Su voz es excelente. My way es mi canción preferida y con Paul se convierte en una que quiero escuchar siempre. Gracias