Post by willfan on Jan 4, 2004 9:38:10 GMT 10
I found this article for any Wills or anyone interested in the transition that our Idol had to go through to be in the position he is in (a respected artist with a great, brilliantly selling 2nd album)
This was printed in the telegraph, a middle class anti PI paper. It was printed in November
Hail the president of pop
(Filed: 13/11/2003)
Clever, charming, interested in politics - Pop Idol winner Will Young always stood out from his starry-eyed TV rivals. Now his second album, filled with wonderfully audacious white-boy soul, signals his arrival as a major musical talent. Neil McCormick meets him
Had I a hat, I would probably be contemplating eating it right now. As readers of this column will be aware, I have not been a fan of Pop Idol and was highly sceptical of whether such a sadistic, lowest-common-denominator talent show could produce anything of musical value, let alone a pop career that could extend much beyond the inevitable post-series hysteria.
Will Young: 'I don't look back
with bitterness'
Yet, in recent weeks, I have been listening with something approaching incredulity to an advance copy of Friday's Child, the second album by Will Young, winner of the original Pop Idol series. And the thing is, it is really very good. Indeed, some of it is better than good. At least five tracks (Your Game, Stronger, Very Kind, Free and Friday's Child) are absolutely wonderful: sweeping, modern, rhythmically compelling, high-class, white-boy soul music, with intricate yet highly contemporary arrangements; offbeat minor-chord melodies; intelligent, emotive lyrics all topped off with technically audacious, jazz-inflected singing of real skill and personality.
The odd thing is, I don't think Will Young was ever anyone's idea of a pop idol. Not even his own. "When I went into the competition, I remember thinking, 'Who's ever going to vote for a middle-class, gay, slightly eccentric Frank Spencer lookalike student who sings jazz and soul?' " says the actually rather charming singer.
Immensely polite, well-mannered, modest, clean-cut and just ever so slightly camp, Young is hardly the epitome of urban, streetwise pop culture. Young went to public school, studied politics at university and is, by his own admission, more likely to be found reading the New Statesman than Smash Hits.
"The politics degree has been a big help, I think, from a business perspective," says Young. "You have to be able to talk, to argue, to put your point succinctly, politely, relevantly. And you've got to stand up in front of people. You've got to believe in something."
So what, I wonder, does Young believe in?
"Democracy," he says, tentatively, then jokes: "Actually fascism might suit the music business better. Everybody must listen to me!"
I suggest that pop's favourite model of state might be the monarchy. Stars are always assuming titles like the King of Rock and Roll or the Princess of Pop. "I could be the first Prime Minister of Pop," says Young, excitedly. "Actually, that sounds a bit naff. It would have to be President of Pop!"
Such a title, however, would suggest a sense of ruthless ambition almost entirely absent from Young. Although he professes to have always loved singing above all else, he nurtured his musical talent in secret. At university, he practised singing in a car park.
"It had great acoustics," he says. "I used to go there when I was pissed off. It was a release for me." Fame, he convincingly claims, has never been part of his motivation. "If I was in this to be famous, I would feel like, 'Oh fab! I got on the cover of Heat!' " he declares, somewhat archly. "I just wanted a chance to sing. It sounds naff, but it's true."
Young certainly stuck out among the starry-eyed stage-school wannabes on Pop Idol. For one thing, he was outspoken, standing up to the criticism of TV's favourite villain, Simon Cowell.
"I remember talking to my dad before going on and him saying to me, 'I didn't bring you up to take rudeness.' I don't think the judges were particularly rude to me, but I just went in all guns blazing anyway. I was so surprised by what that brought out in me. It made me realise that I had strength and determination. It was quite liberating."
Young sang beautifully from the outset, but in a jazzy style ill-suited to much of the manufactured pop material he was being asked to perform. "I don't think they really expected someone like me to win it," he says.
Even when it came down to a dramatic head-to-head showdown against teenage pretty boy Gareth Gates, the powers behind the show seemed convinced Gates would be the victor. The track pre-recorded for the winner's debut single, Evergreen, was a cover version of a song by boy-band Westlife. "That dreadful, dreadful song," as Young refers to it. "I had never sung a song like that throughout the entire show, so I think it was obvious it wasn't for me."
The single went on to sell 1.1 million copies. "It was a song that had eight months of promo. I was never arrogant enough to think, 'This is me getting a number one!' But I don't look back on it with bitterness or distaste. I've had three number one singles, sold 850,000 albums and won a Brit. It's all good."
But that should have been it for Will Young, surely? His rival, Gareth Gates, heavily backed by Simon Cowell, made the cover of every teen magazine, had a string of hits and an ill-judged fling with glamour model Jordan, but his second album recently failed to dent the Top 10. And that would seem to be the pattern for TV talent show winners, as Hear'Say, One True Voice and David Sneddon might testify. There is a new Pop Idol show being broadcast now. Why should the public be interested in last year's model?
But the politics student, it transpires, has been playing a long game. "Maybe I was jumping through hoops, but I think it has been a necessary progression. Perhaps people don't think I had a part in creating the last album, but I co-wrote six songs. I don't know if I was saying everything I wanted to say, but it was hard work just trying to keep my head above water. This year, I really wanted to take time off to concentrate on the writing and the music."
What he was particularly adamant about was that this album would reflect his own musical priorities and character. He immersed himself in the music of his idols, Bill Withers and Nina Simone. And he selected his co-writers carefully, travelling widely to work with musicians he admired.
"I can tinkle away on the piano a bit, but, when I'm co-writing, I need to get with people who have great grooves, because essentially I'm a melody and lyric man. If you've got a groove, the rest will come!" He is quietly confident that the results should satisfy what might be considered his constituency.
"People voted for me in Pop Idol; they put me in this position. I think there's a bit of a responsibility there, and I don't think I've fulfilled it yet. I'm predominantly a soul-jazz singer, and that's what I always did on the show. And the last album really wasn't either of those things.
"But the people who supported me have been patient. 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?' "
'Friday's Child' (BMG) is released on Dec 1.
This was printed in the telegraph, a middle class anti PI paper. It was printed in November
Hail the president of pop
(Filed: 13/11/2003)
Clever, charming, interested in politics - Pop Idol winner Will Young always stood out from his starry-eyed TV rivals. Now his second album, filled with wonderfully audacious white-boy soul, signals his arrival as a major musical talent. Neil McCormick meets him
Had I a hat, I would probably be contemplating eating it right now. As readers of this column will be aware, I have not been a fan of Pop Idol and was highly sceptical of whether such a sadistic, lowest-common-denominator talent show could produce anything of musical value, let alone a pop career that could extend much beyond the inevitable post-series hysteria.
Will Young: 'I don't look back
with bitterness'
Yet, in recent weeks, I have been listening with something approaching incredulity to an advance copy of Friday's Child, the second album by Will Young, winner of the original Pop Idol series. And the thing is, it is really very good. Indeed, some of it is better than good. At least five tracks (Your Game, Stronger, Very Kind, Free and Friday's Child) are absolutely wonderful: sweeping, modern, rhythmically compelling, high-class, white-boy soul music, with intricate yet highly contemporary arrangements; offbeat minor-chord melodies; intelligent, emotive lyrics all topped off with technically audacious, jazz-inflected singing of real skill and personality.
The odd thing is, I don't think Will Young was ever anyone's idea of a pop idol. Not even his own. "When I went into the competition, I remember thinking, 'Who's ever going to vote for a middle-class, gay, slightly eccentric Frank Spencer lookalike student who sings jazz and soul?' " says the actually rather charming singer.
Immensely polite, well-mannered, modest, clean-cut and just ever so slightly camp, Young is hardly the epitome of urban, streetwise pop culture. Young went to public school, studied politics at university and is, by his own admission, more likely to be found reading the New Statesman than Smash Hits.
"The politics degree has been a big help, I think, from a business perspective," says Young. "You have to be able to talk, to argue, to put your point succinctly, politely, relevantly. And you've got to stand up in front of people. You've got to believe in something."
So what, I wonder, does Young believe in?
"Democracy," he says, tentatively, then jokes: "Actually fascism might suit the music business better. Everybody must listen to me!"
I suggest that pop's favourite model of state might be the monarchy. Stars are always assuming titles like the King of Rock and Roll or the Princess of Pop. "I could be the first Prime Minister of Pop," says Young, excitedly. "Actually, that sounds a bit naff. It would have to be President of Pop!"
Such a title, however, would suggest a sense of ruthless ambition almost entirely absent from Young. Although he professes to have always loved singing above all else, he nurtured his musical talent in secret. At university, he practised singing in a car park.
"It had great acoustics," he says. "I used to go there when I was pissed off. It was a release for me." Fame, he convincingly claims, has never been part of his motivation. "If I was in this to be famous, I would feel like, 'Oh fab! I got on the cover of Heat!' " he declares, somewhat archly. "I just wanted a chance to sing. It sounds naff, but it's true."
Young certainly stuck out among the starry-eyed stage-school wannabes on Pop Idol. For one thing, he was outspoken, standing up to the criticism of TV's favourite villain, Simon Cowell.
"I remember talking to my dad before going on and him saying to me, 'I didn't bring you up to take rudeness.' I don't think the judges were particularly rude to me, but I just went in all guns blazing anyway. I was so surprised by what that brought out in me. It made me realise that I had strength and determination. It was quite liberating."
Young sang beautifully from the outset, but in a jazzy style ill-suited to much of the manufactured pop material he was being asked to perform. "I don't think they really expected someone like me to win it," he says.
Even when it came down to a dramatic head-to-head showdown against teenage pretty boy Gareth Gates, the powers behind the show seemed convinced Gates would be the victor. The track pre-recorded for the winner's debut single, Evergreen, was a cover version of a song by boy-band Westlife. "That dreadful, dreadful song," as Young refers to it. "I had never sung a song like that throughout the entire show, so I think it was obvious it wasn't for me."
The single went on to sell 1.1 million copies. "It was a song that had eight months of promo. I was never arrogant enough to think, 'This is me getting a number one!' But I don't look back on it with bitterness or distaste. I've had three number one singles, sold 850,000 albums and won a Brit. It's all good."
But that should have been it for Will Young, surely? His rival, Gareth Gates, heavily backed by Simon Cowell, made the cover of every teen magazine, had a string of hits and an ill-judged fling with glamour model Jordan, but his second album recently failed to dent the Top 10. And that would seem to be the pattern for TV talent show winners, as Hear'Say, One True Voice and David Sneddon might testify. There is a new Pop Idol show being broadcast now. Why should the public be interested in last year's model?
But the politics student, it transpires, has been playing a long game. "Maybe I was jumping through hoops, but I think it has been a necessary progression. Perhaps people don't think I had a part in creating the last album, but I co-wrote six songs. I don't know if I was saying everything I wanted to say, but it was hard work just trying to keep my head above water. This year, I really wanted to take time off to concentrate on the writing and the music."
What he was particularly adamant about was that this album would reflect his own musical priorities and character. He immersed himself in the music of his idols, Bill Withers and Nina Simone. And he selected his co-writers carefully, travelling widely to work with musicians he admired.
"I can tinkle away on the piano a bit, but, when I'm co-writing, I need to get with people who have great grooves, because essentially I'm a melody and lyric man. If you've got a groove, the rest will come!" He is quietly confident that the results should satisfy what might be considered his constituency.
"People voted for me in Pop Idol; they put me in this position. I think there's a bit of a responsibility there, and I don't think I've fulfilled it yet. I'm predominantly a soul-jazz singer, and that's what I always did on the show. And the last album really wasn't either of those things.
"But the people who supported me have been patient. 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?' "
'Friday's Child' (BMG) is released on Dec 1.
Maybe then. you'd be in a better position to make an informed decision.....