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
Home
Will Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We move on, we will never be replaced
And I can't even think about the next
It's too far away
First I must forget, by leaving
I am a different man
I didn't have the picture
For the perfect frame
We traveled streets unknown
Been away too long
Now it's time to go...home
Back with our love
We should never be strangers
You should never pass me on the street
Would you please remember me as I remember you?
Looking back we were strangers in the night
We were told that we let our hearts collide
And I swear I had the time of my life
Wish I could stay, it just wouldn't be right
I know you
You turn the light off last
You let me sleep to dream
You let me wake up first
I believe in you and that will never change
But I must turn away
Now it's time to go...home
Home, back with our love
We should never be strangers
You should never pass me on the street
Remember me, please
Now it's time to go...home
The song "Home" by Will Young is a heart-warming song that talks about the bittersweet feeling of leaving a place, yet carrying the memories and love with you. The opening lines of the song reflect the central theme that revolves around the idea of leaving someone or something behind, and moving on to the next phase of life. The singer seems to be lost in thought, wondering how they fell into their current situation, and how they will never be replaced. However, the idea of the future is too far away, and they must focus on the present moment of leaving to forget and become a different person.
The song has a nostalgic tone that reminisces about the past, where the singers travelled streets unknown and had the time of their life. They were once strangers who collided and ended up falling in love but now face the uncertainty of separation. The lines, "You should never pass me on the street/Would you please remember me as I remember you?" imply the hope that the love shared between the two is strong enough to be carried forward, and they do not become strangers again.
Overall, the song's lyrics beautifully capture the emotions tied with leaving a place, someone or something behind, and the hope that what was once lost can be rediscovered again, no matter how much time passes.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell me how did we fall into this place
How did we end up in this situation?
We move on, we will never be replaced
We continue with our lives but never forget the memories.
And I can't even think about the next
I cannot even think about the future.
It's too far away
The future is too far to predict.
First I must forget, by leaving
In order to move on, I need to leave and forget the past.
I am a different man
I have changed as a person.
I didn't have the picture For the perfect frame
I did not have the perfect life.
I know that
I am aware of that fact.
We traveled streets unknown
We went to places we have never been before.
Been away too long
We have been away from each other for a long time.
Now it's time to go...home
It is time to go back home.
Back with our love
Reunited with the person we love.
We should never be strangers
We should never act like we do not know each other.
You should never pass me on the street
You should never ignore me when you see me on the street.
Would you please remember me as I remember you?
Please remember me the way I remember you.
Looking back we were strangers in the night
Looking back, we were strangers who met at night.
We were told that we let our hearts collide
We fell in love with each other.
And I swear I had the time of my life
I am sure that I had the best time ever with you.
Wish I could stay, it just wouldn't be right
I wish I could stay with you, but it is not the right thing to do.
I know you
I am familiar with you.
You turn the light off last
You always turn the lights off after I am asleep.
You let me sleep to dream
You let me sleep so I can dream.
You let me wake up first
You let me wake up before you.
I believe in you and that will never change
I will always believe in you.
But I must turn away
But I have to leave.
Now it's time to go...home
It is time to go back home.
Home, back with our love
Home, reunited with the person we love.
Remember me, please
Please remember me.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JONATHAN JAMESON, MATTHEW VASQUEZ, KELLY WINRICH, WILL MCLAREN, BRANDON YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind