Will Young on love, gardening and early fame: ‘Even though I was out as a gay man, I couldn’t be myself’

Roisin O'ConnorThu, October 1, 2026 at 1:20 PM UTC

0

Will Young has reflected on the media circus surrounding his Pop Idol battle against fellow singer Gareth Gates, as well as the intense scrutiny he faced over his personal life in the years that followed.

The “Evergreen” star, who won the inaugural reality contest in 2002, has just announced a 25th anniversary tour to celebrate his career to date, which will take place next spring.

Young proved himself to be a memorable contestant from the beginning of Pop Idol, starting with his audition of “Blame It on the Boogie” by the Jacksons, and then the moment he stood up to judge Simon Cowell, who described his rendition of “Light My Fire” by the Doors “distinctly average”.

As Cowell’s fellow judges expressed shock at his remark, Young endeared himself to viewers at home by telling Cowell he believed he was wrong, and that he was pleased he had the opportunity to say that as “we’ve all been dying to say something to you”, in reference to his fellow contestants.

Appearing on The Independent’s Good Vibrations podcast, Young said he felt “very protective” towards the other aspiring singers on the show, while also crediting his dad with teaching him to stand up for himself.

He continued with this attitude after winning the show, explaining how he would stand up to industry figures trying to tell him how to act or what to do. “It’s much harder to forge your own path, and I could have just gone to these awful writing camps,” he said.

Will Young is the latest guest on Roisin O'Connor's Good Vibrations (Press)

He recalled his first solo tour, where he refused to do arena shows because he wanted to play theatres. Young also remembered being pitched ideas for the “Leave Right Now” music video involving him and a female love interest, despite the fact that he’d publicly come out as gay by this point.

“I just remember thinking, ‘If you don’t like me because I’m gay, I don’t want you to listen to my music,’” he said of choosing to come out.

Advertisement

There were “moments” of homophobia towards him in the press, he said, however: “I think because I’d ‘owned’ it, they couldn’t get me. I think then they were clambering around for like, ‘Who’s he sleeping with’...”

“I still felt asexual,” he revealed. “Even though I was openly gay, I couldn’t be myself. [At the time it was like] if you’re straight and you take your top off then you’re sexual, but if you’re gay and you take your top off, you’re camp. So I felt like I couldn’t embrace being sexual, like I was trying to be ‘acceptably gay’, if you know what I mean. I felt a bit like a Ken doll.”

Will Young performing with Kelly Clarkson on 'American Idol' (Getty)

Young confirmed that he was asked to re-record a take of “Leave Right Now” because he supposedly sounded “too gay” on the track – according to someone at his record label. Instead, Young’s producer Steve Lipson sent back the same recording, which was apparently met with immediate approval.

Talk later turned to Young’s experiences of being single and how hard he had to work through some issues when he first began dating his partner of two years: “I wouldn’t go on a third date with someone because I didn’t like their shoes!”

He also reflected on how his passion for gardening, which he documents on social media, has presented challenges when dealing with his agoraphobia, but had also been hugely beneficial for his mental health.

Elsewhere, Young revealed he has been writing new music: “It’s not like I’m having a resurgence of my career, but internally I feel like that,” he said during the podcast chat. “I think my relationship to the music before wasn’t always pure, I would take on criticisms of the music too quickly.”

“I don’t feel like I’m done yet,” he said of his music career, having previously suggested he might retire from the music industry when he turns 50. “I still think that could be a possibility at any hour of the day, with me. But as you get older as an artist – and it is fun to talk about your back catalogue, and I’m lucky to have songs that people love – but I don’t want to become my own tribute.”

Young said he’d recently had a revelation that he “still has a lot to give” when it comes to music. “You provide a service as a pop star… but you can maybe grind to a halt, and the love of creation can go, and I’ve re-found that,” he said. “It’s really nice to not give a s***. I don’t mind if nobody likes it.”

The full episode of Roisin O’Connor’s Good Vibrations with Will Young is out on 2 October. Tickets to Will Young’s Evergreen 25th Anniversary Tour go on sale at 10am on Friday 2 October.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”