William (Will) Robert Young (born January 20, 1979), British singer, is best known for winning the British version of Pop Idol in 2002.

Contrary to popular belief, Will wasn't a surprise winner when beating Gareth Gates in the final show; in fact, he gained the most votes nearly every week throughout the entire finals.

His first single was a double A-side featuring Westlife's song "Evergreen" and "Anything Is Possible", a new song written for the winner of the show by Cathy Dennis. This became the fastest-selling debut in UK chart history selling 300,000 copies on its day of release. It went on to sell over 1.4 million copies and in the official list of the all-time best-selling singles in the UK issued later that year, it appeared 12th. Will subsequently made headlines by revealing he was homosexual. He went on to win the Brits Best Newcomer Award and a plethora of other awards, including most recently "Best Artist" in the "Digital Music Awards" October 2004. His largely self-penned, five times platinum second album Friday's Child has also gained awards and critical acclaim.

Will received his second Brit Award this year for his co-written single Your Game. With sell out theatre and arena tours in 2004 he will tour again at outside festival venues in Summer 2005.

Will is fast becoming recognised as one of the major popular music talents of the decade with every sign of longevity in his ability to sing across several musical genres. His latest venture amongst much diversity is a role in a BBC film, Mrs Henderson Presents, starring Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins. Production started late September 2004 with Will playing the character of 'Bertie'. Likely release date is September/October 2005.

External links

• Official website
• Ananova news stories
• Unofficial fansite
• Unofficial fansite