Nothing much, it seems, fazes Paul Potts. Whether being described as a humble man with a great talent, performing for thousands of people on stages around the world or singing for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance, the first-ever Britain’s Got Talent winner simply takes it all in his stride. Striving to live his life the best way he can amid all the ardour of recent years, Paul has managed to keep his feet firmly planted on the ground since the crucial day he signed on for the Britain’s Got Talent auditions.
Stumbling across the details of the talent contest while taking a break from working one night, Paul realized the competition website was closing very soon and that a decision needed to be made straight away. Rather than spending his precious time agonizing about what to do, Paul left the significant decision to the flip of a ten pence coin. If it landed on heads he would go ahead and press submit, if it was tails, he would cancel the application and forget about the whole thing. The gods must have been looking over him that day because the coin landed heads up.
The biggest hurdle was yet to come however - the live audition. Seeing this opportunity as the last time he would ever perform, Paul was a mixed bag of emotions - nervous, excited and disappointed that it would probably be his last ever performance. But once he got out onstage, the nerves disappeared and the magic he had become accustomed to over the years reappeared. He absolutely brought the house down and continued to do so for the remainder of the competition, until he was named winner of series one. He took the crown in front of 13 million television viewers, paving the way for future hopeful performers like Susan Boyle.
Paul was no stranger to singing. In fact, he had loved singing from a very early age when the sound of his own melodious voice became his only friend when he was bullied at school. As he got older, Paul’s love for singing, particularly opera, continued to grow stronger. When he was 30, he managed to scrimp and save the money for a trip to Italy where he learnt as much as he could about the art form. His life continued to shine when he met his wife in 2001 (he can still recite the details of their very first meeting - 10:08am Swansea Railway Station, Platform 3) and married her a year later.
Unfortunately, that wonderful patch of good fortune was to come to an end later that very year when Paul was involved in a cycling accident. This, combined with two major operations, meant he was unable to work for two years. He came to the conclusion that he would probably have to say goodbye to singing forever. He thought it was the best thing to do considering the financial position in which he and Julz had now found themselves. Thankfully, the storm clouds started to part the day Paul tossed that coin and the rest, as they say, is history.
Following the competition, Paul’s extraordinary appeal has seen him take part in festivals and notable gigs (such as the Sydney Opera House and the Royal Albert Hall) and meet some extremely impressive people. He sang for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance and Simon Cowell took him to meet the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown soon after his win. He has also met and performed for his idol, Jose Carerras twice who declared in 2009 that Paul has an ‘incredible instrument’. He also released his much anticipated first album One Chance, a critical and commercial success, debuting at number one in 15 countries. The phenomenal worldwide success of the album led him on an extended tour with more than 100 sell out shows around the globe. He has continued to forge full steam ahead, releasing his second album Passione in 2009 to much excitement. He has travelled around the world five times, taking him to countries from Australia to Peru to Canada to Switzerland to Hungary and has now sold in excess of four million albums worldwide.
Paul’s third album, Cinema Paradiso, is a movie-themed anthology inspired by his own love of films. Paul has brought great passion to all of the tracks which showcase the depth of his talent. He worked with Hollywood movie music producer Simon Franglen, who has excellent experience, having worked on the soundtracks of films such as Avatar, Titanic and Moulin Rouge. Franglen has brought his impressive musical skills to the wonderful sounds of Cinema Paradiso.
To get where he is today, Paul is eternally grateful to Britain’s Got Talent and the show’s three judges: Simon, Piers and Amanda, who first put him through to the live shows. He is also grateful to the people of Britain who picked up the phone and voted for him. He is forever mindful of how much he owes to the people who have continued to support him by buying his albums and concert tickets. Despite his fame and popularity, Paul has been absolutely determined to remain just as he is, regardless of what happens in his life. He uses the following words from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” for his philosophy on life: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same”. It’s something he aspires to do each day.
Click here to buy 'Passione' from:PLAY.COM
For Paul's latest blogs - go to the official site
Join Paul on Twitter here
Click Here to take the Paul Potts survey
