page_title: Will Young
section_title: 2008–2010: Let It Go and The Hits
hierarchical_section_title: Will Young / Career / 2008–2010: Let It Go and The Hits
caption_attribution_description: English: Will Young at Guilfest on the Ents24 stage.
context_page_description: William Robert Young 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 the single "Light My Fire" written by the band The Doors.
  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 which went straight to number one. Friday's Child followed and enjoyed greater success, eventually going platinum five times in the UK and spawning three top five singles. His following albums Keep On, Let It Go and Echoes also went multi-platinum and his most recent release 85% Proof became his fourth UK number-one album.
context_section_description: On 29 September 2008, Young's fourth album, Let It Go, was released. It peaked at Nº2 in the album charts, having been preceded by the single "Changes", which was released on 15 September and peaked at Nº10 in the UK Singles Chart. His next single "Grace" was released on 1 December 2008, and peaked at Nº33 on the UK Singles Chart. The third single taken from the album, "Let It Go", was released on 2 March 2009 in the UK, and peaked at Nº58 on the UK Singles Chart. The fourth and final single, "Tell Me the Worst", was released in the UK only, on 5 July 2009. It served as a club promo, and featured some Fred Falke remixes.
  In April 2008, Young again appeared at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Vanguard Big Band. Young is to perform at various festivals during mid-2008, including Glastonbury, T in the Park in Scotland and Bestival on the Isle of Wight.
  On 24 August 2008, Young appeared at the Olympic Party which took place in the Mall, London. He performed his latest single Changes and I Can See Clearly Now, which was originally sung by Johnny Nash.
  On an interview with Digital Spy, Will Young revealed that he was working on a Dance-Pop album, which might be released in late 2009. He also confirmed that he was working with British duo Groove Armada, Superbass, who remixed his UK Top 10 single "Changes", and Gregg Alexander, who has previously worked with British pop singers Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Geri Halliwell. He also confirmed that he is working on an album covering songs by Noël Coward, which is as yet in its very early stages and he "doesn't know if it will end up". Young performed in a sell-out theatre tour, commencing on 16 November 2008 and continuing until 13 December 2008 with two dates at the Roundhouse in Camden, London.
  Young was the featured singer on the X-Factor programme on ITV1 on Saturday 1 November 2008. He also mentored the remaining contestants. On 31 December 2008, Young was featured as a guest on Elton John's Live New Year show at the O2 Arena in London along with that year's X Factor winner Alexandra Burke. He joined Sir Elton in the song "Daniel". Young was one of the performers at the BBC's "Live at Blackpool" programme on BBC Radio 2 on Saturday 5 September 2009.
  Young's greatest hits collection was released on 16 November 2009. It included two brand new songs, one of them the single "Hopes & Fears". The album was a success on the charts, being certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. In 2010 Will Young collaborated with Groove Armada on their album Black Light, singing vocals on the track 'History'. As part of his 2010 outdoor summer tour, it was announced that he would be a special guest and play on the Queen's Sandringham Estate, Sandringham in Norfolk. Pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor was his supporting act for his 2010 tour.
  His 2003 song "Leave Right Now" was featured on American Idol as the "departing song". He also performed live on the programme on 25 May 2010. Young gave his first US concert on 26 May at West Hollywood's Ultra Suede nightclub. He was also featured on the cover of the US magazine Instinct.
  Young was told by someone at the record company to re-record his hit single "Leave Right Now" because he sounded too gay on the track. He didn't realize this but he was made to re-record the song until the record executives were satisfied with it.
caption: Young performing at Guilfest in 2009
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