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Will Young is one of the few winners of the whole Simon Cowell reality show (Pop Idol, X-Factor) phenomenon to emerge from it all with a career. Not only that but he’s become accepted as an artist in his own right rather than merely the winner of Pop Idol 2002. Well, at least until folk like me mention it in reviews of his new single.
Apart from the glamorously dull Leona Lewis, Young is really only Cowell manufactured artist to stand the test of time. Where are the likes of Gareth Gates, Steve Brookstein, and Michelle McManus now? Hell, forget them, whatever happened to last year’s winner Leon Jackson?
This new song is titled simply Changes, and it’s probably Will Young’s best song since Leave Right Now, which was incidentally written in collaboration with the same guy. Both the song and the video are quite inspiring, and leave you with a floaty happy feeling that your life isn’t so bad after all.
The song is actually quite subtle, with each verse being suitably downplayed in preparation for the uplifting and radio-friendly chorus which gets in your ear and stays there for a good few hours. The bassline follows the same pattern, lulling you in to a false sense of minimalist security before the big chorus punches you in the back of the head.
The video is a strange one, showing Young in a gas station, then in his house, before finishing with him frolicking in the hay as everything burns down around him. It ends with him getting struck violently with lightning, before he experiences a kind of rebirth in to the new man he clearly wants to become.
Changes is a classic slice of pop that proves that Will Young isn’t going anywhere, any time soon. The single was released on September 15th, 2008 in the UK, and is the forerunner to his new album, Let It Go, which is due out on September 29th. On this showing, it should be a fine record.
Song: 9/10
Video: 8/10
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[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]
