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
Let It Go
Will Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's somehow typical of being a man - I know
But I woke in the night
My body full of fright
Could I provide for you?
Everything you've ever wanted
Could I really be the man I promised I would be
And support you tenderly
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
'Cause it's out of my control
Let it go let it go
Don't have to have it all
Grips so tight it shatters
Only thing that matters
Only got one life
Heaven knows
What I'm stressing for
Let it go let it go
It's the simple things in life that bring me down
Like always being right
It leads to fights - oh no no
I'm running low on energy
The world keeps bugging me
And I keep thinking baby
How we gonna stay together
Can I really make a vow I'm never gonna keep
See that's what's bothering me - eee - eee
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
'Cause it's out of my control
Let it go
Let it go
Don't have to have it all
Grips so tight it shatters
Only thing that matters
Only got one life
Heaven knows
What I'm stressing for
I've let it go
I know you tell me that I always think too much
And all that stupid stuff
Well, I've thought enough
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
'Cause it's out of my control
Don't have to have it all
Grips so tight it shatters
Only thing that matters
Only got one life
Heaven knows
What I'm stressing for
Let it go
Let it go
The song "Let it Go" by Will Young is a beautiful and soulful ballad that speaks about the struggles of being in a relationship and being able to let go of the stress and fear that comes with it. In the opening verse, Young speaks about never being afraid of being alone, but waking up in the middle of the night filled with fear about whether he can provide for his partner and be the man he promised he would be. He questions whether he can support his partner tenderly and provide everything she has ever wanted. These are questions that linger in his mind, and he realizes that it is something he cannot control, hence he urges himself to let go.
The chorus of the song is a powerful one, where Young repeats the mantra of "let it go." It is a reminder to himself that he does not have to have it all together and that he needs to loosen the grip that he has on the things he cannot control. The second verse speaks of the simple things in life that bring him down, like always wanting to be right, which leads to fights. He realizes that he is running low on energy and the world keeps bugging him, but there is a question in his mind of how he and his partner are going to stay together. He wonders if he is going to be able to keep the vow of being together, which is what is bothering him.
Overall, the song is about relinquishing control and learning to let go. It is about accepting the fact that there are some things that we cannot control, and we need to let go of the stress and fear that comes with those things. It speaks to the power of being vulnerable and accepting the things that we cannot change.
Line by Line Meaning
I have never been afraid of being alone
I'm not someone who's scared of being by themselves.
It's somehow typical of being a man - I know
This fearful attitude is often associated with masculine stereotypes.
But I woke in the night
But in the middle of night,
My body full of fright
I felt extreme fear throughout my body.
Could I provide for you?
Could I take care of you?
Everything you've ever wanted
Give you everything you desire.
Could I really be the man I promised I would be
Can I truly live up to the expectations I set for myself?
And support you tenderly
And care for you tenderly.
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
'Cause it's out of my control
Release your grip and let it be because I cannot control this situation.
Don't have to have it all
I don't need to have everything figured out.
Grips so tight it shatters
Holding onto things extremely tightly can break them apart.
Only thing that matters
The most important thing is to live life to the fullest.
Only got one life
We only have one life to live.
Heaven knows
What I'm stressing for
Heaven knows why I'm even stressing over this.
It's the simple things in life that bring me down
The small stuff gets to me.
Like always being right
Being correct all the time is a burden.
It leads to fights - oh no no
Being right can often lead to arguments.
I'm running low on energy
I'm getting tired and drained emotionally.
The world keeps bugging me
I'm constantly feeling pestered by the world (problems/pressure).
And I keep thinking baby
How we gonna stay together
I'm constantly worried about how our relationship will stay strong.
Can I really make a vow I'm never gonna keep
Can I really promise something I know I won't fulfill?
See that's what's bothering me - eee - eee
This thought is what's causing me grief.
I know you tell me that I always think too much
I'm aware you think I overthink things.
And all that stupid stuff
You think it's all foolish.
Well, I've thought enough
I've let it go
I've had enough thoughts, I'm letting go now.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Andrew Williams, Jeremy Gregory, Shelly M Peiken
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
poppymouse
Revisiting this after a few years. Have to say this is probably one of the most beautiful videos I've seen. Stunningly shot and very touching - beautiful song too.
Zuno Park
Such an emotional song and video. His acting seems so genuine for the video as well. Such a talent.
B. Cause
Bitter-sweet love song. Simple yet refined.
Christine Crawford
lovely to revisit this again, still such a gorgeous song and a great video, can't believe I've been a fan for over 13 years, where has the time gone?
marcyboy
It's all too easy to dismiss this as it's not one of his best known songs but boy I wish I'd paid more attention to this when it was released! I love Will's music but I don't know how or why I just never paid any attention to this when it's so beautiful! At least I'm here now...
Jay C
Heard this 10 years ago 😊 still today simply Incredible 👌 It is Perfect and I love it 😍 Let It Go 😍👌😊🙌
Otto Nutt
So refreshing to type "Let it Go" and find this instead of that Frozen garbage.
Dolly Shelley
how true that is the simple things in life bring you down pity this lovely song didnt do better x
Michael Foley
I keep coming back to Will's videos because there is so much to see in them -- juxtapositions of narrative, social commentary, and creative explorations of the theory of psychoanalysis. Really. I think he's tapping into something deeper than just his music with all of this. And the music is actually really, really good.
aligary
@LocksAndChains I think that Will hasn't had the experience of happy endings and his honesty comes through in these clips. He is an upbeat happy person in his real life though. Although I believe he's a little despairing of the homophobia which makes life difficult. He gives good hugs!