Will Young Chats To FemaleFirst

11-11-2008This Month 11th Nov 17:28

Polite and unassuming, Will Young has become something of a national treasure. Ever since he won Pop Idol back in 2002, his fate has been sealed and he is now regarded as one of the most popular and current recording artists on the music market.

After a brief break away from the music scene, Will is back with his latest album 'Let it Go' and a brand spanking new single, Grace.

We caught up with Will to chat about his up and coming projects, why he's not a bitter bloke and just why he's been learning to ride a horse.

Hi Will, Oh my god it's great to talk to you I'm so excited!

Hello Laura, it's nice to talk to you.

Right down to business, professional mode now! What have you been up to recently?

Well, I'm actually en-route to a photo shoot now, so it's a bit hectic at the minute.

Where are you going to have the photo shoot done?

Burberry, So I'm heading there to have it done with Christopher Bailey, he's the designer.

Wow! You''re a bit of a fashion icon Will!

Yeah, yeah, hardly- you should see me first thing in the morning!

So what else is new?

Well loads actually, I did a video at the end of last week which involved horse riding, dressage and horse jumping so I had a lot of riding lessons, I've just started riding and I rode some amazing horse, that was in Braveheart the film. This gorgeous Russian Stallion which I was a little bit terrified about, but I did that and on Monday I spoke at the Oxford union, erm which was terrifying again but actually ended up being really fun. And then I'm doing XFactor this week, so yeah loads of things, and ooohh- I'm doing Top Gear next week too. Lots of varied things! It keeps me from getting bored.

So which do you prefer Strictly or XFactor?

I watch both of them yeah, I sky plus them. It's quite sad my addiction with both of them on a Saturday night really...

I know what you mean, I'm addicted too! You're one of the main success stories to come out of a reality TV show, did you always know you are going to make it and would you go down that route again?

I would go through that route again if I had to because everyone will try anything to get what they want and you're silly if you don't, so yeah I would, and I always felt like I was going to sing for a career, I think that was just self belief, so yeah I always felt that I would end up being a star I guess.

Have you got any favourites on the XFactor this year?

I do have favourites but I'm not going to say! I have to be diplomatic.

Speaking of the XFactor and Simon Cowell, have you ever wanted to just go Ha! To him, or are you someone who just gets on with it?

Well no not really, because I don't think it was about that really. To be honest it was only a moment at the beginning of the show that actually changed and I don't think I'd ever say that to him, no. Maybe to some other people...

Ooo tell us more!

No! It's better not to say really, Actions speak louder than words, it's much better to leave it like that or it becomes you're doing something in life to prove someone else wrong, you want to be doing it for yourself otherwise they're taking something away from you. So I've always tried to do something for myself than for other people, otherwise they've won.

That's very inspirational, I like that!

Why thank you!

Tell me about your new album Let it Go, is it a different sound to anything you've done before?

I think it's the most concise album and people have really picked up on that. I think actually it's the most poppy album too, I think I've really embraced pop in this album I found it quite hard to say what the style is, I don't know why. I just do them really, I guess it's a bit soul with some pop songs.

What was your inspiration behind it?

Inspiration was...erm, well I mean I think again it was just trying to write songs that were musically pleasing and lyrics that were honest and had depth to them and tell a story and that was the inspiration really.

You were away from the music scene for a while, what did you get up to?

I was doing a play in Manchester for 4 months and then I went away for a bit and then I started the album, so it may have seemed like a long time but I was still doing things, and I loved doing the play but I'm glad to be back doing music.

Would you ever give up music completely to go into acting or is this where your passion lies?

No, I mean my passion lies in both of them and I think you can do all these things and it's what keeps life excited and interested in your work. You know, my passion definitely lies in both of them.

See, I thought you were great in Mrs Henderson Presents..

Wow thank you, thank you very much.

Are you excited about your upcoming tour?

Yes, I'm really excited I haven't toured in ages so I did the festivals, but it's great to do something every night for a month and do a lot of the new stuff, I'm really looking forward to it and it will be a great run-up to Christmas.

What's your favourite track to sing live?

At the moment it's Grace..

When is the best time to listen to that track, because it's described as being uplifting...?

I think it's a good one in the car actually.. yeah just in the background.

What's on your i-pod on the moment?

Erm I've just got the new Emily Tartini album, so I've just literally put it on my pod last night.

Finally, we ask everyone we interview to come up with a question for the next person we interview and John Ilsley from the Dire Straits asks you- Do you think Barack Obama will make a good president?

Er... I think he... well, I don't know everything about his policies but I think that he is definitely a better leader than McCain. He's more charismatic, and yeah it's not just about being a politician anymore. Anyone can be better than the last one!

Well good luck with Burberry and everything!

Thank you so much, byeeeee!

FemaleFirst- Laura Terry