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
Won't Look Down
Will Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And every word seems to speak the truth
I'm trying not to feel the pain
Pretendin' I'm not listenin'
I know I should keep busy
But, fillin' time - it ain't, ain't that easy for me
(I'm) trying to mend a broken heart
If you give your love, give your love to someone (give your love)
Can you get it back or is it just long gone now?
This is what I need now is the strength to walk away
And rememeber who I am again
This has gotta get better
Surely time is all I need to mend
When I'm constantly reminded of the love that we had found
Gotta keep my head up high
I won't look down
I know it's part of the process
The fact that I, ooh I can't sleep at night
With nothing but the candle light
Nobody to hold me tight
(and I, I ask myself, who was in the form of knowing suddenly that hurt each other first ain't wrong) yeah ya do me wrong
That's why I've got to hold on
And rememeber who I am again
This has gotta get better
Surely time is all I need to mend
When I'm constantly reminded of the love that we had found
Gotta keep my head up high
I won't look down
No, I won't look down
At the shadows, all are lonely
And I will walk the right side of the street
And I will hold my head up high
I know my heart will show me how
Walk away
And rememeber who I am again
This has gotta get better
Surely time is all I need to mend
Constantly reminded of the love that we had found
Gotta keep my head up high
I won't look down
Walk away (won't look down again)
And rememeber who I am again
This has gotta get better
Surely time is all I need to mend
When I'm constantly reminded of the love that we had found
Gotta keep my head up high
I won't look down
The song "Won't Look Down" by Will Young speaks about the pain caused by a broken heart and the struggle to move on, even when constantly reminded of the love that was once shared. The singer tries to avoid facing the reality of the situation but ultimately, decides to take control of the situation and mend his heart. The lyrics convey a sense of hope, perseverance and self-discovery.
The opening line of the song refers to a love song playing on the radio, and how every word seems to speak the truth. The singer acknowledges that he is trying not to feel the pain caused by the breakup, but is “constantly reminded of the love that we had found". He tries to fill his time, but finds that it isn't easy for him. He continues to question if he can get back the love he gave or if it is lost forever.
The chorus of the song conveys the idea that the singer needs to take control and move on. He needs to walk away and remember who he is again. He believes that time is all he needs to mend his broken heart. Even though he is constantly reminded of the love he shared with his ex, he tries to stay positive and keep his head up high, without looking down.
Line by Line Meaning
The radio plays a love song
A love song is playing on the radio.
And every word seems to speak the truth
Every word of the love song seems true.
I'm trying not to feel the pain
The listener is trying to avoid feeling the pain of a broken heart.
Pretendin' I'm not listenin'
The listener is pretending not to hear the love song and its painful reminder of lost love.
I know I should keep busy
The listener knows that being busy would help ease the pain of a broken heart.
But, fillin' time - it ain't, ain't that easy for me
However, filling time is not easy for the listener.
(I'm) trying to mend a broken heart
The listener is trying to mend a broken heart.
Tryin' hard to figure out
The listener is struggling to figure out how to move on from a lost love.
If you give your love, give your love to someone (give your love)
The listener is contemplating whether giving love to someone else will help mend their broken heart.
Can you get it back or is it just long gone now?
The listener is unsure if they can ever recover the love they lost.
This is what I need now is the strength to walk away
The listener needs to find the strength to walk away from their lost love.
And rememeber who I am again
The listener needs to remember who they are and regain their sense of self.
This has gotta get better
The listener hopes that things will improve in time.
Surely time is all I need to mend
The listener believes that time will help heal their broken heart.
When I'm constantly reminded of the love that we had found
The listener is frequently reminded of the love they lost.
Gotta keep my head up high
The listener needs to stay positive and strong.
I won't look down
The listener is determined not to be brought down by their broken heart.
I know it's part of the process
The listener understands that healing from a broken heart takes time.
The fact that I, ooh I can't sleep at night
The listener is having trouble sleeping at night due to their heartbreak.
With nothing but the candle light
The listener is spending sleepless nights alone, illuminated only by candlelight.
Nobody to hold me tight
The listener is missing the comfort of someone to hold them tight.
(and I, I ask myself, who was in the form of knowing suddenly that hurt each other first ain't wrong) yeah ya do me wrong
The listener is trying to make sense of the pain caused by their lost love.
That's why I've got to hold on
Despite the pain, the listener needs to hold on and keep moving forward.
No, I won't look down
The listener is determined not to be brought down by their heartbreak.
At the shadows, all are lonely
The listener won't dwell on the loneliness of being without their lost love.
And I will walk the right side of the street
The listener will try to stay positive and walk the right path.
And I will hold my head up high
The listener will stay strong and keep their head held high.
I know my heart will show me how
The listener trusts that their heart will guide them forward.
Walk away
The listener needs to walk away from their lost love.
And rememeber who I am again
The listener needs to reconnect with who they are as a person.
This has gotta get better
Things will get better in time.
Surely time is all I need to mend
The listener believes that time will heal their broken heart.
Constantly reminded of the love that we had found
The listener is frequently reminded of their lost love.
Gotta keep my head up high
The listener needs to stay positive and strong.
I won't look down
The listener is determined not to be brought down by their broken heart.
Walk away (won't look down again)
The listener needs to walk away from their lost love and avoid being brought down by heartbreak.
And rememeber who I am again
The listener needs to reconnect with their sense of self.
This has gotta get better
Things will improve in time.
Surely time is all I need to mend
The listener believes that time will help heal their broken heart.
When I'm constantly reminded of the love that we had found
The listener is constantly reminded of their lost love.
Gotta keep my head up high
The listener needs to stay positive and strong.
I won't look down
The listener is determined not to be brought down by their broken heart.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: WILL YOUNG, KAREN POOLE, PADDY BYRNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind