Will Young, Budding Photographer

Radio 1 caught up with Will Young and asked the Pop Idol victor if he was a talented photographer.

“You know what, I try and take photographs and I did it today. I went to my nephew’s sports day… I think I’m taking genius photographs but I take really shocking ones,” he explained.

“I take photos of a Coke can thinking it will be a still life and it turns out like a dreadful photo of a Coke can. I’ve been getting better. I’ve been taking a lot of self portraits.”

Will Young In A Relationship With England Soccer Star

Reports that Pop Idol champ Will Young is reportedly striking up an intimate same-sex relationship with a Premiership soccer star.

“It’s well known at the player’s club that he is gay, but what he keeps very quiet are the circles he hangs around in,” a source revealed.

“They met while Will was in his home town and things have gone from there. They get on really well and have got a lot of friends in common. Unfortunately, though, they fear they will never be able to come out properly because he is a footballer and it’s not the done thing to admit this.”

Nitin Sawhney Collaborates With Will Young

Will Young and Nitin Sawhney have secretly been collaborating to produce music that might end up in Young third album. The move might see the pop singer and former Pop Idol winner take a different and more eclectic direction with his music.

Five secret tracks have been made and there is speculation they might also end up on Nitin Sawhney’s next album. Sources in the music industry have reported that Young had been a huge fan of Sawhney and approached him initially to work together.

From what was originally planned to be a one-track collaboration eventually led to five tracks being produced. Sawhney is also planning to work with singers Raghav and Deeyah in the near future.

His lates album of remixes, All Mixed Up, is out on 25th October, with the studio album expected next year. In November he will lead the orchestra on stage in Birmingham, Brighton, Cambridge and the Royal Festival Hall in London with an extraordinary line-up of classical, jazz and world musicians. The programme will feature music ranging from the Bollywood sounds of AR Rahman through to Steve Reich’s rhythmic minimalism.

Will Young Lands Movie Role?

Pop Idol victor Will Young has landed his first movie role in a raunchy nude musical called Mrs. Henderson Presents. It also features Dame Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins.

“Will really impressed the production company. He isn’t just a brilliant singer, he is also a capable actor,” a movie insider revealed.

“It would be a dream for Will to star alongside stars like Judi Dench and he is really keen to finalize the negotiations.”

Playing for real

Arctic Talent Management (ATM) is organising The Global Battle of the Bands, the first-ever worldwide talent competition for pop and rock bands.

Forget about artificial Pop Idol-style competitions, this is the real deal with real bands playing real music – live. Encompassing all musical genres, The Global Battle of the Bands will strive to bring the best un-manufactured new talent in the world to a wider audience. Throughout each year, beginning in 2004, local qualifying heats and national finals will be organised in countries around the world, with the eventual winners of these going forward to The Global Battle of the Bands, which will be held in a different major city each year.To kick off the competition, we are organising a ‘soft launch’ of the concept with the European Global Battle of the Bands on January 20 2004 at London’s Mean Fiddler (formerly Astoria II). This will feature 16 invited bands from around Europe chosen on the strength of their music and live performances by our network of scouts and industry experts. The winning band on the night will win the BOB Awards’ Best New Band in Europe title and $10,000. The best bands on the night will be also eligible to go on to The Global Battle of the Bands World Final, to be held in a major world city as yet to be decided in November 2004 and which carries a first prize of $100,000 and the BOB Awards’ Best New Band in the World title.

We already have hundreds of entries but we still want more. We are seeking as many exciting new signed or unsigned bands as we can find for consideration. Any band entering the competition has to be able to perform live on stage at the European Global Battle of the Bands at London’s Mean Fiddler on January 20 2004. A band can have up to eight members and there is no age limit.

For any band to be considered we will need to receive a music CD (or MP3) with two or three songs, band information and a photograph (or hi-res jpg). From this initial introduction we will make further enquiries about suitable candidates locally through our agents. Further details can be found at www.bobawards.com All material should be sent to: Arctic Talent Management, 7 Willow Road, London NW3 1TH, United Kingdom or by email to: music@arctictm.com

Meanwhile, Arctic Talent Management is currently recruiting promoters around the world to help organise local and national The Global Battle of the Bands events in their country/territory. For further details contact: info@arctictm.com

Will Young Told To Be Straight For American Audiences

Will Young claims record bosses have told him not to mention he is gay if he wants to crack the US.

He has also been told to have his teeth straightened and whitened before he takes on America.

The singer says he may now turn down the lucrative deal.

He told the press “I’ve been offered a major deal but I’m in a dilemma.”

“They want me to keep quiet about my private life and, worse, they’ve told me to get my teeth straightened.”

“I thought they were joking but that is the bottom line.”

Will Young Inspires Gareth Gates

Despite their competition during Pop Idol, the show’s runner-up Gareth Gates is a big fan of the winner Will Young. Asked who his pop idol is, Gareth said, “Will Young, of course. I love him. It’s the way he does his own thing and the fact that he has such a unique voice. He’s an inspiration to me.”

When questioned if he was lying through his teeth, Gareth insisted he wasn’t. “Will and I are great mates. I love him genuinely and generously. We went out to a party together last night actually.”

“I’m very proud of him, he has really shone this last year, and his music is fantastic.”

Will Young Is Not Letting Fame Get To Him

Will Young is a man with worries. Skin worries that is. He’s so concerned about the state of his face that when he goes to photo shoots he takes his own special make-up artist, stylist and hairdresser to make him look good.

But he’s concerned this may make him seem a bit demanding and is apparently, “quite insecure about coming across as a diva.”

He said “I’ve seen horrid shots of me looking rough and spotty, so now I try to appear well-groomed.”

The vocalist is also determined not to lay it on thick when he’s away from home and staying in hotels. He asks that he only be booked into small rooms and not big luxury suites because, “Hey, it’s only me, I don’t need much space.”

Way to go, Will. Nice to know someone isn’t letting fame go straight to their heads unlike a certain runner-up.

Will Young To Do Duet With Kelly Clarkson

Will Young is planning to record a duet with American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. The pair sang together on the final of the US show last month.

But record boss Simon Cowell says they need to choose an amazing track for it to be a hit.

Simon told Heat magazine “I think it will happen, it makes sense. It would have to be something as good as the George Michael and Aretha Franklin duet ‘I Knew You Were Waiting For Me’.

“It simply has to be amazing, otherwise don’t do it.”

He adds that him and Will are still not the best of friends, after he publicly favoured Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates.

He adds “We’re not enemies. We respect each other, but he has a much closer relationship with Simon Fuller. In essence, I’m like a child, I want my own way. I’m always saying things I regret.”

Will Young To Release Self-Penned Charity Single

Pop Idol winner Will Young is set to donate all the profits from his new single, ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ to the Children In Need charity. Will wrote the track himself and it will be the Pop Idol winner’s first self-penned tune since the singles ‘Evergreen/Anything Is Possible’, ‘Light My Fire’ and his new duet with Gareth Gates, a cover of The Beatles’ ‘Long and Winding Road’.

Will’s new single is due for release in November and will be performed by Will at the Children In Need telethon on 15th of November. Will co-wrote the track with songwriters Richard Stannard, who has the Spice Girls listed in his work credits and Julian Gallagher, after telling his label bosses that he didn’t want to release another cover version. Good for him.

Will said “Since Pop Idol I have wanted to spend as much time as possible writing with some great songwriters in the studio. I have chosen to do this single for Children In Need as I know there is a huge demand for it so hopefully I can raise as much money as possible for such a good cause.”And a source close to Will added “He is determined not to be pigeonholed as a karaoke cover version singer and that is why fans have had to wait for this song.”

“It’s a fresh and cool laid back jazzy ballad plus he was adamant that he wanted the money to go to charity. It, hopefully, should raise millions and he wants to give something back to the community.”

S Club 7 were the last band to reach No 1 with a Children In Need single ‘Never Had A Dream Come True’.

‘Don’t Let Me Down’ will come out just six weeks after Will and Gareth’s Beatles duet is released.