Young was born in Wokingham, Berkshire, UK, with a non-identical twin, Rupert. He was educated at Horris Hill preparatory school and Wellington College.
He then attended the University of Exeter where he read Politics. At university, some of Young's old haunts included Timepiece, The Old Firehouse, and Harry's, where he used to work. In September 2001, he became a student at the Arts Educational School in Chiswick, London, starting a three-year course in musical theatre with a scholarship.
In February 2002, Young came to national prominence by singing in and winning the ITV singing contest/reality tv show Pop Idol.
Contrary to popular belief, Will was not a surprise winner when beating Gareth Gates in the final show; in fact, he gained the most votes nearly every week throughout the entire finals. A lot of 'casual' viewers of Pop Idol may have been surprised at Will's victory because Gareth had got a lot of publicity (partly) due to his stutter, perhaps creating the illusion that he was more likely to win than Will.
Young's first single was a double A-side featuring Westlife's song "Evergreen" and "Anything Is Possible", a new song written for the winner of the show by Cathy Dennis. This became the fastest-selling debut in UK chart history selling 403,027 copies on its day of release. It went on to sell over 1.4 million copies and in the official list of the all-time best-selling singles in the UK issued later that year, it appeared 12th. Will subsequently made headlines by revealing he was gay. He went on to win the Brits Best Breakthrough Act Award and a plethora of other awards, including most recently Best Artist in the Digital Music Awards October 2004. Early singles of note include "Light My Fire" (done José Feliciano style), "Leave Right Now", and "Friday's Child". The latter is the title of his second album, which was largely self-penned, went five-times platinum, also receiving awards and critical acclaim.
Young received his second Brit Award in February 2005 for his co-written single "Your Game". Following sell out theatre and arena tours in 2004, he toured again at outside festival venues in Summer 2005. On July 6, 2005, he performed at Edinburgh 50,000 - The Final Push, the final concert of Live 8, where he did a duet with James Brown on "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag". His third album, Keep On was released in November 2005, together with the first single from same, "Switch It On".
On 29 September 2008, Young's fourth album, Let It Go, was released, and peaked at #2 in the UK albums chart. It was preceded by the single "Changes" on 15 September, which peaked at #10. His next single "Grace" was released on 1 December 2008, and peaked at #33 on the UK Singles Chart. Will's third single taken from the album will be "Let It Go", was released on 2 March 2009 in the UK, and peaked at #58 on the UK Singles Chart. The fourth and final single was "Tell Me the Worst", and was released on July 5, 2009 only in the UK. It served as a club promo, and featured some Fred Falke remixes.
A greatest hits collection, The Hits, was released on the 16th of November 2009. contains twelve songs from Young's first four studio albums, and two new tracks. The first is new single "Hopes & Fears", and the second is a ballad called "If It Hadn't Been for Love". The album will be released as a standard edition and a deluxe edition, which will include a DVD of all the music videos.
Songfacts reports that Jealousy, the first single from Young’s fifth studio album Echoes is a dance pop track produced by Richard X (Sugababes, Annie). The song will be released on August 21, 2011.
Young has been nominated for Ten BRIT Awards [4 x Best British Male - 4 X Best British single - Best pop Act- Best Breakthrough] . In May 2006, he was voted the UK's favourite artist ever in a poll conducted by commercial radio. In May 2007, he was voted the UK's favourite artist of all time for the second consecutive year.
Young has also broadened his repertoire by launching an acting career, taking a role in the BBC film, Mrs. Henderson Presents, starring Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins, with Will playing the character of 'Bertie'. The film went on release in the UK on 25 November 2005, and received excellent reviews, not least for Young's performance as actor and singer in the movie. It includes a scene in which he appears naked.
Will Young supports the charity Women's Aid, about which he wrote: "I am proud to put my name beside this cause and hope that I may be able to help more people affected by the terrors of domestic violence as well as help to create a wider awareness within our society."
Will also supports Mencap and Positive Action Southwest (PASW) for which he performed at his first solo concert in July 2003 at Killerton Hall, Exeter.
Official Website: http://www.willyoung.co.uk/global/home
Cry
Will Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can be half way, your going no where
I can't respond to your negativity
Refrain from leaving your despair.
All the things that you did and said to me
You drag me down with your lies and never got to me
All the dreams and all the wasted opportunities cos you played my mind
All your fears will be turned it to reality
Yeah yeah yeah
You been playing with my mind
When it feels like love is giving you up and your heart starts letting you down
And you're down on your own ability 'cause the blues are coming around
When the world starts spinning 'cause you're down on life
And it feels like there's dirt in your eye
You repeating the word that you scream to me
I don't care if you cry
So now you find life a little bit tricky
You're left to devise this broken in two
Does he work for you
Now you feel the fool
It's all because you found a way to ignore your heart
All the things that you did and said to me
You drag me down with your lies and never got to me
All the dreams and all the wasted opportunities 'cause you played my mind
Now it's time you better play down the tears and maybe think again
All your fears will be turned it to reality
Yeah yeah yeah
You been playing with my mind
When it feels like love is giving you up and your heart starts letting you down
And you're down on your own ability 'cause the blues are coming around
When the world starts spinning 'cause you're down on life
And it feels like there's dirt in your eye
You repeating the word that you scream to me
I don't care if you cry
Cry cry cry cry and you cry cry cry cry cry repeat cry
You been playing with my mind
When it feels like love is giving you up and your heart starts letting you down
And you're down on your own ability 'cause the blues are coming around
When the world starts spinning 'cause you're down on life
And it feels like there's dirt in your eye
You repeating the word that you scream to me
I don't care if you cry
You been playing with my mind
When it feels like love is giving you up and your heart starts letting you down
And you're down on your own ability 'cause the blues are coming around
When the world starts spinning 'cause you're down on life
And it feels like there's dirt in your eye
You repeating the word that you scream to me
I don't care if you cry
You been playing with my mind
When it feels like love is giving you up and your heart starts letting you down
And you're down on your own ability 'cause the blues are coming around
When the world starts spinning 'cause you're down on life
And it feels like there's dirt in your eye
You repeating the word that you scream to me
I don't care if you cry
The lyrics to Will Young's song Cry depict the struggles of a person who is stuck in a negative mindset and is dragging themselves down. The song starts with an encouragement to the listener to think more positively and not give in to negative thoughts. The lyrics offer a warning against letting negativity consume you and asks the listener to refrain from giving in to despair. The second verse describes the negative impact that someone's lies and negativity can have on a relationship leading to broken dreams and wasted opportunities. The chorus repeats the idea that even if the listener cries, the singer does not care because they should not let the blues bring them down.
The third verse takes an introspective twist as the singer asks the listener to examine their life and the brokenness that they may be experiencing. The lyrics question if their current actions are leading them towards happiness and whether they are doing things that make them feel like a fool. The song ends with another repetition of the chorus, emphasizing the importance of not giving in to the blues and to keep persevering.
Overall, the lyrics to Cry are a powerful message of encouragement and resilience in the face of negativity and personal struggles. The song conveys the struggle that many people face to stay positive and the importance of having a support system of people around you to lean on.
Line by Line Meaning
You can be more than you ever think about
You have the potential to achieve more than you believe is possible.
You can be half way, your going no where
You may feel like you're making progress, but if you're not moving towards your true goals, you're still stuck in the same place.
I can't respond to your negativity
I can't engage in your negative thinking or behavior.
Refrain from leaving your despair.
Don't let yourself become consumed by despair and hopelessness.
All the things that you did and said to me
The words and actions you directed towards me have had a negative impact on me.
You drag me down with your lies and never got to me
Your dishonesty and deception have weighed me down and prevented me from reaching my potential.
All the dreams and all the wasted opportunities cos you played my mind
Through manipulation and mind games, you caused me to miss out on many opportunities and lose sight of my dreams.
Now its time you better play down the tears and maybe think again
Stop crying and start thinking logically and rationally about your situation.
All your fears will be turned it to reality
If you allow fear to control you, it will manifest itself as real life obstacles.
You been playing with my mind
You've been messing with my emotions and thoughts.
When it feels like love is giving you up and your heart starts letting you down
When you feel like you're losing love and your emotions are betraying you.
And you're down on your own ability 'cause the blues are coming around
When you're feeling down and doubting your own abilities due to sadness or depression.
When the world starts spinning 'cause you're down on life
When everything seems to be going wrong and life feels overwhelming.
And it feels like there's dirt in your eye
When things feel uncomfortable or unpleasant.
You repeating the word that you scream to me
You keep repeating the same things that you've said to me in the past.
I don't care if you cry
Your tears don't affect me or change the situation.
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHRISTOPHER YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Pauline Ward
I have always wished that this was one of Wills single releases as an A side, the vocals, especially Will also backing this incredible song makes it incredible to me. One of my very favourite songs.
Jasper Ann
His voice is amazing!!! I will be buying his CD on Friday. Just seen him on American Idol last night and was blown away! Amazing!!!
Pauline Ward
Said it before, will say it again, I love this song so much, The layers on this song are incredible. The words are really meaningful. I wish this had been an A side!
Mischa Hof
DAMN!! this is a good song. I LOVE the lyrics, so perfect for me right now!!! LOVE IT!!! Go Will!!!!
Pauline Ward
The most amazing B side of Will's, fantastic singer, unique in every way.
FToniS
Listening to this again after a long time, I think it's one of my favourite B-sides by Will, or even generally. Could have been an album track. Thanks for this!
FToniS
I have probably commented on this before, but just have to say this is probably my favourite ever b-side of Will's. It's easily good enough to have gone on the actually album, but hey ho, at least we still got it recorded! Unlike some other gems, like Alibi of Love and Time Enough. :( Thanks for uploading, whild! :)
Beauty By Hannah-Skye
This is such a good song. I love all his songs.
piperkittykat
Wonderful Will....brilliant vocals!!!!
Movzhuru
the song is really great! спасибо! песня просто улетная!