William Robert Young (born January 20, 1979), is a British singer and actor… Read Full Bio ↴William Robert Young (born January 20, 1979), is a British singer and actor. He catapulted to fame after winning the inaugural UK Pop Idol contest in 2002.

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

Save Yourself
Will Young Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Couldn't stand the city
I had to get away
Drive myself down to the coast
For a couple of days

Love to take you with me
But I'm sure you'd never come
Don't know how you stay alive

Without seeing the sun
Look what you've become

Save yourself, just yourself
Don't think about no-one else
Save yourself, just yourself
I can't help you

Let them go, let them go
You're gonna get through alone
Save yourself, just yourself
Please

Said, "He was a junkie"
Everybody got involved
'Cause they're only trying to help
You would not be told

Wake up every morning
Try to show you what is good
But on the sly you go and try
Anything you could
How's that for gratitude?

Save yourself, just yourself
Don't think about no-one else
Save yourself, just yourself
I can't help you

You let them go, let them go
You're gonna get through alone
Save yourself, just yourself

Save yourself, just yourself
You think about no-one else
Save yourself, just yourself
I can't help you

You gotta save yourself, no no no
You think about no-one else

Save yourself, just yourself
I can't, I can't, I can't

Overall Meaning

In the first verse of Will Young's song Save Yourself, he expresses his desire to escape from the hustle and bustle of city life and seek solace at the coast. He suggests that he would love to take his companion with him, but he understands that they would not be interested since they seem to be indifferent to the beauty of the sun. He laments over what they have become and advises them to save themselves. The chorus of the song emphasizes that one should always prioritize their goals and objectives over others.

In the second verse, Young narrates a story of a junkie who everybody tried to rescue but who refused everyone’s suggestion. He states that he attempted to show him the right path but he still continued to indulge in drugs. Young emphasizes on the need for the man to save himself and that sometimes, all you can do is to let go and let someone figure their way out.

Overall, the song carries a message of self-preservation and the need to prioritize oneself over others. It is a reminder that one should always prioritize their mental and emotional well-being and take care of themselves before taking up responsibilities of others.

Line by Line Meaning

Couldn't stand the city
I couldn't bear living in the city anymore

I had to get away
I had to escape from the city

Drive myself down to the coast
I went to the coast by driving myself

For a couple of days
I stayed there for a short period of time

Love to take you with me
I wish you could come with me

But I'm sure you'd never come
But I don't think you would like to come with me

Don't know how you stay alive
I don't understand how you manage to live

Without seeing the sun
Without seeing sunlight

Look what you've become
See how you have changed

Save yourself, just yourself
Take care of yourself, only yourself

Don't think about no-one else
Don't worry about anyone else