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
Jealousy
Will Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All that I said
It comes out to fast
So I
Just couldn't help
The way that I felt
Watching you walk
I followed you there
Standing too close
It's hurting.
I pictured the words
The warmth of your breath.
I started the fire
It's burning.
And it feels like jealousy
And it feels like I can't breathe
And I'm on, down on my knees
And it feels like jealousy.
Seeing a light
A face in the crowd
My lonely heart is racing.
And my whole world
Is under attack.
What kinda love am I facing?
Is it me that you want
Cos it's me you can have
Can you give me an answer?
I'm tired of waiting.
I'm tired of thinking.
And it feels like jealousy
And it feels like I can't breathe
And I'm on, down on my knees
And it feels like jealousy.
I'm tired of waiting.
I'm tired of thinking.
And it feels like jealousy (hey)
And it feels like I can't breathe (I can't breathe)
And I'm on, down on my knees (oh)
And it feels like jealousy
The song "Jealousy" by Will Young begins by the singer admitting that he has regretted saying something, that whatever he said was said too quickly and now he takes it all back. The singer couldn't help the feelings he had and was led to starting a fire, representing the passion he has. He then watches the person he desires walks away and follows them, standing too close, which causes him pain. The singer imagines the words they might say to each other, hearing the warmth of their breath and once again, he feels that fire burning inside him. He can't help feeling jealous, like he can't breathe, and is on his knees, consumed by the intensity of his feelings.
The lyrics do a great job of conveying the intensity of jealousy and the power of desire. The singer’s jealousy is so strong that it overshadows his ability to reason logically or think rationally. He is completely caught up in his emotions, which makes it difficult for him to think about anything else. The fact that he can’t breathe and is down on his knees emphasizes the overwhelming power of his emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
I take it all back
I regret everything I said before
All that I said
Every word that came out of my mouth
It comes out too fast
I speak impulsively without thinking
Just couldn't help
I had no control over
The way that I felt
My emotions and feelings
I started the fire
I ignited my own troubles
Watching you walk
Observing your movements
I followed you there
I trailed behind your steps
Standing too close
Invasion of personal space
It's hurting
Causing physical or emotional discomfort
I pictured the words
Mentally visualizing what was going to be said
The warmth of your breath
The sensation of exhaled air
It's burning
The situation is becoming intense
And it feels like jealousy
Sensation of envy, anxiety or suspicion
And it feels like I can't breathe
Sensation of suffocation, extreme emotions or anxiety
And I'm on, down on my knees
I am overwhelmed or desperate
Seeing a light
Spotting a glimmer of hope
A face in the crowd
One of many people
My lonely heart is racing
My heart is beating fast due to isolation or sadness
And my whole world
Everything around me
Is under attack
Feeling like everything is going wrong
What kinda love am I facing?
Questioning the nature of a relationship
Is it me that you want
Wondering if you desire me
Cos it's me you can have
If you want me, you can have me
Can you give me an answer?
Requesting clarification or solution
I'm tired of waiting
Having waited for too long
I'm tired of thinking
Exhausted of pondering over the same issues
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILL YOUNG, JAMES ELIOT, JEMIMA STILWELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Luiz Geesehinho
Lyrics 🎶
I take it all back
All that I said
It comes out too fast
So I just couldn’t help
The way that I felt
I started the fire.
Watching you walk
I followed you there
Standing too close
It’s hurting.
I pictured the words
The warmth of your breath.
I started the fire
It’s burning.
And it feels like jealousy
And it feels like I can’t breathe
And I’m on, down on my knees
And it feels like jealousy.
Seeing a light
A face in the crowd
My lonely heart is racing.
And my whole world
Is under attack.
What kinda love am I facing?
Is it me that you want
Cause it’s me you can have
Can you give me an answer?
I’m tired of waiting.
I’m tired of thinking.
And it feels like jealousy
And it feels like I can’t breathe
And I’m on, down on my knees
And it feels like jealousy.
I’m tired of waiting.
I’m tired of thinking.
And it feels like jealousy (hey)
And it feels like I can’t breathe (I can’t breathe)
And I’m on, down on my knees (oh)
And it feels like jealousy.
Midzy Blink Once
I love Will Young. His songs are so touching, and he isn't afraid to express his sexuality. Such a great singer. Super Talented!
Adrian Harcourt
Yeah he's brilliant.
Lucy Dharmasiri
SAME x
Arina
Are you still alive
Jean Murnane
Love him
Michael Morgan
Hello Midzy how are you doing?
Luiz Geesehinho
Lyrics 🎶
I take it all back
All that I said
It comes out too fast
So I just couldn’t help
The way that I felt
I started the fire.
Watching you walk
I followed you there
Standing too close
It’s hurting.
I pictured the words
The warmth of your breath.
I started the fire
It’s burning.
And it feels like jealousy
And it feels like I can’t breathe
And I’m on, down on my knees
And it feels like jealousy.
Seeing a light
A face in the crowd
My lonely heart is racing.
And my whole world
Is under attack.
What kinda love am I facing?
Is it me that you want
Cause it’s me you can have
Can you give me an answer?
I’m tired of waiting.
I’m tired of thinking.
And it feels like jealousy
And it feels like I can’t breathe
And I’m on, down on my knees
And it feels like jealousy.
I’m tired of waiting.
I’m tired of thinking.
And it feels like jealousy (hey)
And it feels like I can’t breathe (I can’t breathe)
And I’m on, down on my knees (oh)
And it feels like jealousy.
Kyle McAllister
We all need a bit of love in 2021 ! Who’s still listening to this underrated classic ! I hope
You all find the peace and security and love on your life after we get threw all of this terrible circumstances together !
I have had 4 brutal years of learning life , losing the love of my life and people treating me like dirt so hopefully I get the break I need ! Take care love from K
LoboalphaMASTER
Underrated on you country, because it frequently played on the biggest music radio station on my country, and in the rush hours
Bobble Bec
Take control of your own life......it’s your stage ❤️🤗