The original winner of the U.K. show Pop Idol (and the first singer on the show to come out of the closet long before there was a Gayken or a Glambatar) Will Young has unleashed his brand new music video for his single Jealousy, which was produced by none other than electro pop beat making icon Richard X (Kylie Minogue, Goldfrapp) In fact, Richard produced his entire new album Echoes, which finds Will diving head first into the world of electronic music, which is fitting because I didn't really care for his earlier Brit pop music that a lot of these singers from cheesy music competition shows often fall into. He also took a more hands-on approach to the songwriting, writing all but one track on the entire album. As far as lyrical content, he worked with some of the best songwriters in the game including Jim Eliot & Mima Stilwell (Kylie), Andy Cato (Groove Armada) and Pascal Gabriel (Ladyhawke).
What I love about Will now is that he's shredded the sweet, squeaky clean and non-threatening image if his earlier career and exudes a more sexual confidence and edge, something that has been missing from so many of our male pop stars. Far too often I see male singers downplay the sexuality on screen, or it usually comes across as forced whenever they have to shoot some expensive music video with some skinny model who's only source of food is cigarettes and Evian water. I feel in my gut that this will be the album that will catapult Will to the superstar he was born to be, simply because I can definitely feel he's hungry for people to see a different side of him that wasn't created by some head honcho label exec. I wasn't a big Will Young fan before, but based on the fact that Echoes was produced by Richard X and he's collaborated with some of the most creative minds in U.K. electronic music, I will most certainly be there to support him and his music.
Echoes will be in stores in August. Check out the video for Jealousy below which looks like a cross between the movies Trapeze meets Black Swan.
Will Young - Jealousy from Pop Labyrinth on Vimeo.
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