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
Hopes & Fears
Will Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gotta help me out,
I'm losing my mind without a doubt!
Hopes and fears
Bring us all to tears
Babe, this will tear us apart
I don't even know what you want
There ain't no way of knowing
If we are coming or going
You just do what you want
There ain't no way of knowing
If we are coming or going
You're telling me what I want to hear
Hopes and fears
Bring us all to tears
Babe, this will tear us apart
I don't even know what you want
Hopes and fears
Bring us all to tears
They'll bring us to our knees,
So, baby won't you please, let go!
Let go!
In Will Young's song "Hopes & Fears", the lyrics portray a feeling of desperation and confusion in a failing relationship. The first two lines imply that the partner is neglectful and not taking good care of the singer, which is causing them to lose their mind. The chorus revolves around the theme of hopes and fears, which bring tears and ultimately destroy the relationship. The singer doesn't know what their partner wants, and there is uncertainty about the future of the relationship. The lines "There ain't no way of knowing/ If we are coming or going" suggest that the singer is uncertain about the direction the relationship is heading, and their partner is indecisive and unpredictable in their behavior. The partner tells the singer what they want to hear, giving them false hope, which only adds to the uncertainty and confusion.
The chorus repeats with the addition of the phrase "they'll bring us to our knees", implying that this situation is becoming unbearable, and the singer wants their partner to let go. The final plea of "let go!" is a desperate cry for their partner to release them from the emotional turmoil and pain.
Overall, the lyrics of "Hopes & Fears" accurately depict the emotional toll of a failing relationship, including feelings of uncertainty, desperation, and confusion.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't take care of me like you should
I don't feel like you're giving me the attention and care that you should be.
Gotta help me out,
I need your assistance in this situation.
I'm losing my mind without a doubt!
This situation is causing me to be extremely stressed and anxious.
Hopes and fears
Our aspirations and anxieties that we have in our relationship.
Bring us all to tears
They can cause emotional pain to both of us.
Babe, this will tear us apart
If we don't confront these issues in our relationship, it has the potential to lead to our separation.
I don't even know what you want
I am unsure of what you want from our relationship and what you're willing to give.
There ain't no way of knowing
It's impossible to predict or determine with certainty what will happen in the future.
If we are coming or going
Whether our relationship is advancing or regressing is unclear.
You just do what you want
You act according to your desires without considering how it affects our relationship.
You're telling me what I want to hear
I'm hearing things that I want to believe but I'm skeptical that they're actually true.
They'll bring us to our knees,
Our hopes and fears can completely overpower and overwhelm us.
So, baby won't you please, let go!
We need to let go of our unrealistic expectations and anxieties to move forward in our relationship.
Let go!
We must relinquish our grip on our hopes and fears to avoid them consuming us completely.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: DANIEL MOORE, DAVID BRAYLEY, STEWART JACKSON, YOLANDA QUARTEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@robertclatworthy1857
Will’s videos are brilliant and his diction is perfect, you can understand every word he sings. Well done Will ♥️♥️
@DestinyChance1
I actually really love this song, I always listen to this song at least once a day! I can't believe most people I know of don't know it. Personally, I think it is an absolutely gorgeous song! Lyrics and instrumental. But again, I adore Will Young! The video itself is a little strange but don't let it get in the way of this beautiful piece! GOSH!
@outtherelivinginthepub1973
Hi Destiny, here in 2021 after your message. You probably knew that the song is about pregnancy. Expectant Women and Fathers worrying how their pregnancy is going to go. I thought the video was quite funny when you think about. I didn't click in the beginning until I found out he has a big lubby stomach and he was in a yoga class. It made me giggle when he danced next to the cot near the end ♥️👣🚼🕺🤰😂 I thought at first before see "the bump" that he was singing about a potential partner. 🤷
@rishfordforever
This is brilliant! Should have done better in the charts but it did serve its purpose for promoting the hits collection! Good on him for trying a different song, and great video! The backing vocals are really good on this too. Jealousy should go to number 1 definetly! He deserves another number 1 single and album!
@solomangirl49
One of the best voices you will ever hear. Amazing. Could listen to him for ever and never tire of it .Beautiful.
@beautifultragedy1644
This song is amazing i love the instrumental
@fridayschild72
always a story to tell with..a beginning a middle and an end..thats what i love about Will's vids!! <3...GENIUS!
@FToniS
Why aren't there more views of this? It's a fantastic song!
@DorothyShelley
hes brilliant whatever he sings and you CAN hear his words x
@heatherquigley4363
love this guy wish we could here more of him