Post by Helen on May 7, 2004 21:21:06 GMT
The reluctant pop idol
May 7 2004 Daily Post
IT MAY be an age of soundbites, but the title "OG" is not something you would naturally associate with the winner of the first Pop Idol competition.
But in the USA, where he has built on his successes back home, its the label that has been attached to Will Young.
For those not acquainted with American street slang, and that includes the singer himself, it stands for Original Gangster. Will is a far cry from the image of a Eminem-style character - he's much too British for that. Still, when confronted by it, he took it all in his stride.
He says: "In America, they seemed rather amused by the idea that I was the first Pop Idol.
"'You're the OG!' they kept telling me. They thought I needed to show more attitude - I felt very English."
Unassuming and quietly spoken, it is easy to understand how he has won the hearts of the UK and US record-buying public. But Will is in fact as anti a pop star as you can find and he oozes intelligence.
He has a degree in politics, reads The New Statesman and will eloquently discuss topics such as the "iconography of fame" or "Pop Idol as an example of functioning capitalism" - just as long as he isn't in the teen magazines.
The fact he managed to win the television competition still seems to raise a wry smile.
He says: "Even when I went into the competition, I never thought 'I want to be famous and go to premieres and ride in a limousine'. I just wanted a chance to sing. I remember thinking, who's ever going to vote for a middle class, gay, slightly eccentric student who sings jazz and soul?"
Will's vocal ability, his charm and his outspoken attitude in dealing with the barbed criticism of Simon Cowell were to win over the great British public.
"You have to be positive in life," he says. "There are so many challenges. You need to take things on in an optimistic light or you'll just fail.
"I believe you can take people's negativity and use it to drive yourself. You turn it around, turn it into a strength, to prove them wrong. I think that's the way to deal with nastiness and criticism. If I'm walking along the street and someone shouts abuse, I just wave, 'thank you very much. I'll be waving at you when I get another Brit!'. It's saying 'f--- you' in a very proper way."
After clinching the Pop Idol crown, Will broke records with the biggest selling first day debut UK single, going on to score four more number one hits and shift 850,000 copies of his debut album, From Now On. He performed for the Queen at Buckingham Palace, won a Best Newcomer Brit Award, enjoyed top five hits throughout Europe and became a style icon in Italy, where he has headlined festivals and been feted by ultra-hip magazines L Uomo Vogue and Cafe Latte.
But, as 2002 drew to a close, Will resisted pressure to go on hawking his wares to the Asian market.
He says: "I wanted to concentrate on the writing craft. That year was the whole fame and promotional experience, it was all a bit crazy, and I felt it was time for me to try and mature as an artist. I wouldn't have been able to have done that if I was going 'hi, I'm everywhere.'"
Instead, he worked on his songwriting and singing, the result being a second LP called Friday's Child.
"I felt like I was starting from scratch, age 24," he says. "I had the whole rise to success but it wasn't very well balanced and the musical side had to catch up.
"Now I feel like I have my own sound. There's space on this album. If you can sing, you don't need to fill it with whizzes and bangs. You can hear the voice and it just makes more sense."
The subject matter is, he says, "optimistic" because "I am quite a positive person."
His new lyrics are essentially philosophical in nature. "I wanted to get away from relationship and love songs.
"I did that a lot on the last album, and I've never even been in a relationship. I have written about things going well and that is actually really personal to me.
"I've had times like everyone else, and I'm having quite good times now, and its cool to be able to articulate that. They're good songs. And I'd say that to anybody.
It's a whole body of work and to be able to put an album out and go 'I don't care what you say, cos I think they're fantastic' is a great feeling."
Will has tried to improve himself, not resting on his laurels. He has been working hard on his vocal technique.
He says: "I think the voice has improved. I gave up smoking, and my range has gone up as a result, so it's good news. My falsetto has come on a lot and I'd like to work on that even more.
"I think if you're a good singer you can con people, you can do the easy work, but you need to push yourself. I always used to think 'impress them, belt it out!' But on this album, there are some very quiet songs and that intimacy can draw people in, so that's something I've taken on board. The voice is in good shape, definitely."
Will is clearly fired up and eager to get out and show people what he is really made of - as part of this determined effort he is playing Liverpool's Summer Pops in July.
He adds: "People voted for me on Pop Idol, they put me in this position and I think there's a bit of a responsibility there and I don't think I've fulfilled it yet..
"It's interesting, people come up to me and say 'I've got your album, I love it, I voted for you, but when are you going to sing something a bit more Will'?
"And it really excites me because on this one, I feel like I can say to people, 'yeah, I've done it'!"
May 7 2004 Daily Post
IT MAY be an age of soundbites, but the title "OG" is not something you would naturally associate with the winner of the first Pop Idol competition.
But in the USA, where he has built on his successes back home, its the label that has been attached to Will Young.
For those not acquainted with American street slang, and that includes the singer himself, it stands for Original Gangster. Will is a far cry from the image of a Eminem-style character - he's much too British for that. Still, when confronted by it, he took it all in his stride.
He says: "In America, they seemed rather amused by the idea that I was the first Pop Idol.
"'You're the OG!' they kept telling me. They thought I needed to show more attitude - I felt very English."
Unassuming and quietly spoken, it is easy to understand how he has won the hearts of the UK and US record-buying public. But Will is in fact as anti a pop star as you can find and he oozes intelligence.
He has a degree in politics, reads The New Statesman and will eloquently discuss topics such as the "iconography of fame" or "Pop Idol as an example of functioning capitalism" - just as long as he isn't in the teen magazines.
The fact he managed to win the television competition still seems to raise a wry smile.
He says: "Even when I went into the competition, I never thought 'I want to be famous and go to premieres and ride in a limousine'. I just wanted a chance to sing. I remember thinking, who's ever going to vote for a middle class, gay, slightly eccentric student who sings jazz and soul?"
Will's vocal ability, his charm and his outspoken attitude in dealing with the barbed criticism of Simon Cowell were to win over the great British public.
"You have to be positive in life," he says. "There are so many challenges. You need to take things on in an optimistic light or you'll just fail.
"I believe you can take people's negativity and use it to drive yourself. You turn it around, turn it into a strength, to prove them wrong. I think that's the way to deal with nastiness and criticism. If I'm walking along the street and someone shouts abuse, I just wave, 'thank you very much. I'll be waving at you when I get another Brit!'. It's saying 'f--- you' in a very proper way."
After clinching the Pop Idol crown, Will broke records with the biggest selling first day debut UK single, going on to score four more number one hits and shift 850,000 copies of his debut album, From Now On. He performed for the Queen at Buckingham Palace, won a Best Newcomer Brit Award, enjoyed top five hits throughout Europe and became a style icon in Italy, where he has headlined festivals and been feted by ultra-hip magazines L Uomo Vogue and Cafe Latte.
But, as 2002 drew to a close, Will resisted pressure to go on hawking his wares to the Asian market.
He says: "I wanted to concentrate on the writing craft. That year was the whole fame and promotional experience, it was all a bit crazy, and I felt it was time for me to try and mature as an artist. I wouldn't have been able to have done that if I was going 'hi, I'm everywhere.'"
Instead, he worked on his songwriting and singing, the result being a second LP called Friday's Child.
"I felt like I was starting from scratch, age 24," he says. "I had the whole rise to success but it wasn't very well balanced and the musical side had to catch up.
"Now I feel like I have my own sound. There's space on this album. If you can sing, you don't need to fill it with whizzes and bangs. You can hear the voice and it just makes more sense."
The subject matter is, he says, "optimistic" because "I am quite a positive person."
His new lyrics are essentially philosophical in nature. "I wanted to get away from relationship and love songs.
"I did that a lot on the last album, and I've never even been in a relationship. I have written about things going well and that is actually really personal to me.
"I've had times like everyone else, and I'm having quite good times now, and its cool to be able to articulate that. They're good songs. And I'd say that to anybody.
It's a whole body of work and to be able to put an album out and go 'I don't care what you say, cos I think they're fantastic' is a great feeling."
Will has tried to improve himself, not resting on his laurels. He has been working hard on his vocal technique.
He says: "I think the voice has improved. I gave up smoking, and my range has gone up as a result, so it's good news. My falsetto has come on a lot and I'd like to work on that even more.
"I think if you're a good singer you can con people, you can do the easy work, but you need to push yourself. I always used to think 'impress them, belt it out!' But on this album, there are some very quiet songs and that intimacy can draw people in, so that's something I've taken on board. The voice is in good shape, definitely."
Will is clearly fired up and eager to get out and show people what he is really made of - as part of this determined effort he is playing Liverpool's Summer Pops in July.
He adds: "People voted for me on Pop Idol, they put me in this position and I think there's a bit of a responsibility there and I don't think I've fulfilled it yet..
"It's interesting, people come up to me and say 'I've got your album, I love it, I voted for you, but when are you going to sing something a bit more Will'?
"And it really excites me because on this one, I feel like I can say to people, 'yeah, I've done it'!"
