What is Will Young doing now and what are his biggest songs?
SINGER Will Young was a pioneer of reality TV pop industry success after his epic battle with Gareth Gates.
Over 20 years on and his life has changed a lot - and in 2022 he bravely opened up about his brother's suicide.
Who is Will Young?
Will Young is a 43-year-old British singer born January 20, 1979, in Wokingham.
The star, who comes from a family with strong ties to the British government and the military, was a natural sportsman at school.
He then became interested in singing and performing while studying politics at the University of Exeter.
In his second year at uni in 1999, he saw a This Morning TV ad inviting viewers to audition for a boy band, which kicked off his journey to global fame.
How did Will Young find fame?
Originally Will's audition for the This Morning contest saw him placed in a band with Lee Ryan, Andy Scott-Lee and Declan Bennett.
His boy band career was unsuccessful, but he'd impressed panellist Simon Cowell during his 1999 audition.
In 2001, Will applied for new TV show Pop Idol and successfully got through every round, despite initially underwhelming judges Simon, Nicki Chapman, Pete Waterman and Neil Fox.
Will clashed with Cowell throughout the series after the music boss kept giving his performances poor reviews.
Eventually, Will found himself in the final and just managed to best his rival Gareth Gates, getting 53.1 per cent on the phone vote overall.
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What are Will Young's biggest songs?
After winning the series, Will released double A-side single with Evergreen and Anything Is Possible, before his debut album came out in 2002.
Shortly after that he came out as gay and denied ever hiding the fact.
Will's most famous hit Leave Right Now came out in 2003, and he's also known for his cover of Light My Fire and his dance hit Jealousy.
He has had four No1 albums, From Now On, Friday's Child, Echoes and 85 Percent Proof.
Hi 2019 album, Lexicon, was his third to be pipped to the top spot, after Keep On and Let It Go also reached No2.
His first nine singles featured in the top five in the UK singles chart.
What other TV shows has Will Young appeared in?
Will was supposed to be judging on the first series of The Voice UK in 2012 but was replaced by Danny O'Donoghue at the last minute.
However, he did make a major return to reality TV with Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, on which he was paired up with Strictly professional Karen Clifton.
Sadly for Will, he pulled out of the series after three weeks, citing "personal reasons" for leaving.
Will also stunned critics in a stage production of Cabaret in 2012, which earned him a best newcomer award from What's On Stage.
He's also had film roles in BBC film Mrs Henderson Presents, teen drama Skins and a Miss Marple mystery for telly called The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side.
What is Will Young doing now?
In May 2022 Will bravely opened up about his twin brother's suicide.
The singer took part in a Channel 4 documentary called Will Young: Losing My Twin Rupert, where he talks about Rupert's death in 2020.
You can watch the doc on May 10, 2022 at 10pm.