Will Young

Will Young
Will Young performing in 2011
Background information
Birth name	William Robert Young
Born	(1979-01-20) 20 January 1979 (age 38) Wokingham, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, actor
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2001–Present
Labels	19, RCA, Jive, Island Records
Website	www.willyoung.co.uk

William Robert "Will" Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor from Wokingham, England, who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the worldwide Idol franchise. His double A-sided debut single "Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen" was released two weeks after the show's finale and became the fastest-selling debut single in the UK. Young also came in fifth place in World Idol performing his single "Light My Fire".

As a teenager, Young studied politics at the University of Exeter before moving to London, where he studied musical theatre at Arts Educational School. Young put his studies on hold in late 2001 to become a contestant on Pop Idol. After winning the competition the following year, he released his debut album From Now On (2002) which went straight to number one. Friday's Child (2003) followed and enjoyed greater success, eventually going platinum five times in the UK and spawning three top five singles. His following albums Keep On (2005) and Let It Go (2008) and Echoes (2011) also went multi-platinum and his most recent release 85% Proof (2015) became his fourth UK number-one album. His albums have spawned many songs that have accomplished top ten positions in the UK, four of which went to the number one spot. Young has also undertaken numerous concert tours. He has also accumulated multiple honours, including two BRIT Awards from 12 nominations, and the estimated worldwide sale of over eight million albums. Young's net worth was estimated at £13.5 million in April 2012.