The first Pop Idol champion tells MARION SAUVEBOIS about his sixth album and
how age has made him think about life differently in and out of the studio 

IN a youth-fixated world where pop stars guard their birth certificates like Gollum the One Ring, Will Young is a refreshing anomaly.

The singer offers his age unprompted before waxing lyrical about the joys of becoming a bona fide adult.

“I love getting older, I love it, it’s the best thing ever,” he booms. “I’m becoming more and more an adult. If at 36 I was still operating as a child that would be a bit worrying,” he laughs.”

The past three years heralded sweeping change for Young.

He took a protracted hiatus from music, penned an autobiography, was nominated for an Olivier Award for his performance in Cabaret, filtered his political views through his Huffington Post blog, and moved to a new label, Island Records.

His sixth opus, 85% Proof, is testament to this blessed upheaval and is an undeniable departure from more intimate and vulnerable albums, though in true Young form he still occasionally slopes inward.

“When I do an album I don’t really think about or try to do anything but looking back there are two really strong themes in this album, universally looking towards connecting people through love and happiness and looking more inward at addressing the fact that one can overcome certain difficulties by just seeing how great they are on the inside. It was more about embracing a wider net of what got me ticking.”

An eclectic blend of joyous, clap-heavy old school R&B, 1970s pastoral folk, country music, disco and straight pop ballads, 85% Proof is the fruit of a carefree experimentation where lyrics were written before the melody.

“We didn’t want to fit lyrics into melodies anymore, we wanted to write the words first and that’s how every song came about,” he says. “It was a completely different way of writing that I’d never done before.

“There are more song-writery kinds of songs, like Gold, Like A River and Thank You and then there’s the unashamed embracing of the three-minute pop song with Love Revolution and Joy. The two worlds collide.”

Returning to the studio after a long absence, by industry standards, was almost instinctive. The words poured out of him in a marathon 10-day session.

“It was very natural,” he adds obviously thrilled. “It sort of came out. Because I spent a long time away from writing songs, I was very refreshed and just ready to do it. That all ties into finding my voice, I was finding what I wanted to say.”

An outspoken campaigner who has fought to end gay bullying in schools, his political agenda is echoed in his boldest track to date, Brave Man, especially its video which features a transgender man walking naked through the streets impervious to abuse from passers-by.

And yet despite such an outwardly engaged piece he sidesteps any suggestions of activism instead getting down to the the song’s broader implications.

“It’s very much about being your own person and how often in life we’re not allowed to or not told we can actually be ourselves,” he explains. “We have to fit into a box and that means we’re more easily malleable in society. Brave Man is about not fitting into a bracket and that’s what I’ve always been driven to do and what I think anyone can do.”

For all his praise of the three-minute pop song, he insists he has no interest in churning out fleeting head-bobbing hits.

“The message should always be important. If you come from that position, it will translate to others.

“Whether it’s a song like Brave Man or Joy, my belief in each song is the same. I didn’t write Joy thinking ‘Oh that will be an easy lyric to sing’.

“I wrote it because I firmly believe in the power of joy in life. I wrote Brave Man because I believe in the power of audacity and being a brave person.”

The confidence and utter ease in his voice are a far cry from the self-doubt and deep-rooted anxiety that once dogged the Pop Idol winner. He credits experience and time for his new-found assurance and self-reliance. “I’ve been doing it for 14 years now. And there is a certain amount of respect which comes with that, which I hadn’t expected. As a pop singer just by definition sticking around shows a sense of resilience and now I feel very relaxed. I’ve realised that I’m actually quite good at what I do.”

Will Young will perform at the Oasis on November 25. For tickets visit www.livenation.co.uk/artist/will-young-tickets.