Will Young: Grace and favour continues

When Will Young was crowned Pop Idol in 2002, no one looked more surprised than the Berkshire boy himself.

It had looked like Gareth Gates would take the title throughout the competition, so when the cameras cut to Will he looked visibly shocked and quite unprepared for the moment.

In the weeks that followed, he revealed to the public he was gay, had a No. 1 single and waved goodbye to the life he'd known for the past 23 years. He went from university graduate to celebrity pop star in a matter of months.

Six years later, he's managed to do something very few talent show contestants have done, and build a successful career in the music industry with his dignity and integrity still very much intact.

At the beginning of November, with his fourth album finished and preparing for another tour, he returned to the studios where it all began to appear as a special guest on X Factor.

Mentoring the new crop of wannabe stars has given him time to reflect on the whirlwind that has swept through his life.

"So much has happened in that time, seven tours, a film, a play, festivals, going to Africa for a programme on Gorillas, doing a programme on homelessness, having a premiere in LA, all the videos, it's just wonderful because so much has led on from that show for me and it's still continuing," 29-year-old Will says.

Never one to distance himself from his Pop Idol beginnings, he's more than aware that the show could have led to a very different outcome.

"Because of where I came from you can see how much of it was in the balance, I don't take it for granted and I just love it," he says.

"I love what I do and I am very grateful to Pop Idol, because of that show it's kept me more grounded and kept my enjoyment of it."

For many though, choosing this route to fame hasn't gone quite to plan. Names like Gareth Gates, Michelle McManus, David Sneddon and Steve Brookstein are stark reminders of the fickle nature of fans who watch and vote for talent and reality show celebrities, only to forget about them when the next series begins.

Will's got his own ideas on why he's been able to maintain his success.

"I think it was stubbornness, not giving in," he says.

"I think a big turning point for me was having Steve Lipson produce my second album, which was really my first proper album. He had done Annie Lennox's albums - which I grew up listening to - and worked with Trevor Horn who was big back in the 80s, and I think he gave me direction.

"If it wasn't for Steve I probably wouldn't be around to be honest. I really do think he focussed me and became a second dad. I'd written a bunch of songs and he basically said 'They're crap! You need my help or you're not going to have a career,' and really I do attribute a lot to him and having great management and a great record company people around me that aren't going to say yes to everything and that's the most important thing."

Becoming an overnight celebrity didn't come easily to Will and he admits that it took him a while to be able to accept his new status.

"It probably took about five years or four years and a lot of therapy," he jokes.

"Yeah I do accept it now - well, I don't really think about it now. The great thing about it is you can use it, like my brother has got this new charity called The Mood Foundation, he struggled with depression for years and the publicity we've got has been wonderful and that's now changing people's lives. To have that ability to use your celebrity to bring attention to things like that - real life things. The red carpets are all frivolous but fun. The rest I'm not really a part of. I don't really get followed - there are other people that are more interesting than me and I'm quite happy with that. I can just get on and do what I want and use the fame for the right things."

Even so, Will concedes that celebrity does have its upsides. This year, for example, he was finally able to fulfil a life-long dream and play at Glastonbury instead of attending as a fan.

"It was my seventh time [at Glastonbury] but first time performing, and now I want to do it every year."

Playing festivals this summer also gave Will the chance to showcase his new material before he released his fourth album Let It Go. He says it was a great confidence builder.

"When I released the album I wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be, but I don't think that was complacency.

"We started promoting the album in June with Glastonbury and then all the festivals throughout the summer. It was like the proper way of doing an album, which is breaking it live, so I felt more relaxed about it than I would have done.

"It wasn't complacency or arrogance - maybe I was just enjoying it so much and I thought well I can only do as much as I can do and there's no point worrying about something over which I have no control."

Will is now finishing off another year in the pop world by releasing the single Grace. He describes it as "a song about someone getting their comeuppance".

The single, which is released on Monday December 1, is already a favourite with his fans and Will says it's the song he's most looking forward to playing on his current nationwide tour.

"I'm really excited, it's been a long time since I've done a regular tour and five years since I've done a theatre tour. They're big venues but more intimate than arenas. Definitely when I was writing the album I thought about playing live. Just to get into the regular slot of singing which I haven't done for ages should be really good."

WILL YOUNG'S UK TOUR DATES

November 25 City Hall, Sheffield

November 27 New Theatre, Oxford

November 28 Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham

November 30 Guildhall, Portsmouth

December 1 Colston Hall, Bristol

December 3 Regent Theatre, Ipswich

December 4 Dome, Brighton

December 5 St David's Hall, Cardiff

December 7 Symphony Hall, Birmingham

December 8 Symphony Hall, Birmingham

December 9 Pavillions, Plymouth

December 10 Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball, London

December 11 International Centre, Bournemouth

December 12 Roundhouse, London

December 13 Roundhouse, London

Will Young releases his single, Grace, on Monday December 1.