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
Outsider
Will Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wondering how,
I'm back here now again,
My feet wont run,
I've slowed right down in my mind,
The clocks are on strike,
They will not tell the time.
And every face still looks the same to me,
I can't hear the words,
Wont hear the signs they speak of.
Oooh Oooh.
I'm an outsider,
Standing on the lonely ground,
It doesn't matter what you say,
It doesn't matter who you've found,
Traded in my past,
Traded in my old ways,
Now I'm an outsider standing on the lonely ground,
Oooh Oooh.
Standing on the lonely ground,
Standing on the lonely ground.
Will Young's "Outsider" is a song about feeling disconnected from the world around you. The lyrics speak of the singer's struggle to find happiness and his feelings of isolation despite being surrounded by people. He sings about how he's slowed down in his mind, no longer running from his problems, but stuck in his own head. The clocks are on strike and won't tell the time, which represents how the singer feels like time has stopped and he's stuck in one place. The chorus reveals that the singer feels like an outsider, standing on lonely ground. He's traded in his past and old ways, but despite his attempts to change, he still feels disconnected from those around him.
The second verse continues to explore the singer's feelings of disconnection. He sings about how every face looks the same to him, and he can't hear the words or signs they speak of. This could represent how he feels like people are talking, but nobody is really listening to him. The repetition of "Oooh Oooh" in the chorus adds to the feeling of loneliness and isolation. The song ends with the singer continuing to stand on the lonely ground, emphasizing the fact that he's still an outsider despite his attempts to change.
Overall, "Outsider" is a poignant and relatable song about feeling disconnected from the world around you. The lyrics speak to the struggle of trying to fit in and find happiness, even when it feels impossible.
Line by Line Meaning
Taking my time to find a new smile on my face,
Slowly searching for happiness after feeling lost and down.
Wondering how,
Pondering about how things went wrong.
I'm back here now again,
Realizing that he has returned to a difficult situation.
My feet wont run,
Feeling unable to escape the issue at hand.
I've slowed right down in my mind,
Feeling mentally stuck and unable to find a solution.
The clocks are on strike,
Feeling as though time has stopped and there is no progress being made.
They will not tell the time.
Feeling as though the days and weeks have no meaning or value.
And every face still looks the same to me,
Feeling as though he is stuck in the same place and surrounded by the same people.
I can't hear the words,
Feeling unable to truly connect with those around him.
Wont hear the signs they speak of.
Feeling oblivious to the hints and messages given by others.
I'm an outsider,
Feeling like he doesn't fit in or belong.
Standing on the lonely ground,
Feeling isolated and detached from others.
It doesn't matter what you say,
Feeling as thought no one can truly understand or help him.
It doesn't matter who you've found,
Feeling as though others have found happiness and moved on while he is still struggling.
Traded in my past,
Choosing to move forward and leave old habits and patterns behind.
Traded in my old ways,
Choosing to grow and change in order to find a better path.
Now I'm an outsider standing on the lonely ground,
Despite his efforts to change and move forward, still feeling alone and disconnected from others.
Standing on the lonely ground,
Repeating the feeling of isolation and detachment.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: WILL YOUNG, DANIEL CAREY, KAREN POOLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind