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
Disconnected
Will Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Won't turn your face to me
Stuck in a space
It's totally silent
People are staring
Wanna get out of here
And go somewhere
We gotta talk baby boy
This cannot go on
Supposed to be in love
We got to get a long (so wrong)
Why are we disconnected
This can't be right
Love should be easier
Should be the time of our lifes
You know it could be incredible
So that's not fine
Love should be easier
Should be the time of our lifes
Of our lifes
Stop walking away from me
Too far away from me
I got things to say
And you're just ignoring
The fact that I'm trying here
To make it better
We're in a crystal
So you think it's boring
We gotta talk baby boy
This cannot go on
Supposed to be in love
Well does it feel so wrong (so wrong)
Why are we disconnected
This can't be right
Love should be easier
Should be the time of our lifes
You know it could be incredible
So that's not fine
Love should be easier
Should be the time of our lifes
Of our lifes
All we need is so it's here
To help each other
And melt the breeze
Why are we disconnected
This can't be right
Love should be easier
Should be the time of our lifes
You know it could be incredible
So that's not fine
Love should be easier
Should be the time of our lifes
Why are we disconnected
This can't be right
Love should be easier
Should be the time of our lifes
You know it could be incredible
So that's not fine
Love should be easier
Should be the time of our lifes
Of our lifes
The song "Disconnected" by Will Young is about a couple who are struggling in their relationship, feeling that they are disconnected from each other. The lyrics express the frustration and sadness of one person who is trying to connect with their partner but finding it difficult. The opening lines "You're looking away from me, won't turn your face to me" suggest that the partner is avoiding eye contact, a sign of emotional disconnect. Later, the lines "I got things to say and you're just ignoring" show that the person is trying to communicate, but their partner is not listening.
The chorus repeats the theme of disconnection and emphasizes the idea that love should be easy: "Why are we disconnected? This can't be right. Love should be easier, should be the time of our lives." The lines "All we need is so it's here to help each other and melt the breeze" suggest that the couple could work together to make their relationship stronger if they were able to communicate effectively.
The song is a poignant reflection on the challenges of maintaining a loving relationship and the sense of loss that comes when that connection is lost. The lyrics are simple yet powerful, conveying a message that many people can relate to.
Line by Line Meaning
You're looking away from me
You are unwilling to look at me
Won't turn your face to me
You won't look at me
Stuck in a space
We are stuck in a place
It's totally silent
It is completely quiet
People are staring
Others are watching us
Wanna get out of here
I want to leave this place
And go somewhere
I want to go somewhere else
Somewhere you're gonna listen
Somewhere you will hear me out
We gotta talk baby boy
We need to have a conversation
This cannot go on
This situation cannot continue
Supposed to be in love
We are supposed to be in a romantic relationship
We got to get a long (so wrong)
We need to get along, but we currently are not
Why are we disconnected
Why are we not connecting
This can't be right
This situation is not correct
Love should be easier
Romantic relationships should be simpler
Should be the time of our lifes
This should be the best time of our lives
You know it could be incredible
You are aware of how amazing this could be
So that's not fine
So the current situation is not okay
Stop walking away from me
Please stop moving further from me
Too far away from me
You are too distant from me
I got things to say
I have things I need to express
And you're just ignoring
But you are choosing to ignore them
The fact that I'm trying here
I am making an effort here
To make it better
To improve our situation
We're in a crystal
We are in a situation that is very delicate
So you think it's boring
So you find our situation uninteresting
All we need is so it's here
Everything we need is already here
To help each other
To support one another
And melt the breeze
And dissolve the tension between us
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, O/B/O CAPASSO, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: WILL YOUNG, ARET KOMLOSY, PADDY BYRNE, KAREN POOLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind