Heat speaks to Will as he recovers from the biggest night
of his life, then jets off to Cuba for a few days' relaxation, before making
the video for his first single...
On Saturday 9 February William Young's life changed
forever. Until then he'd been just another anonymous bloke - a politics
graduate from Hungerford in Berkshire who had recently begun a musical theatre
course at The Arts Educational School in Chiswick, west London. But at 10.20pm,
as Ant and Dec announced that Will had won Pop Idol, it was very clear that his
life would never be the same again. His student days were over - and his
pop-star days were just beginning.
Will's transition into a bona fide pop idol began the day
after he won the competition when he jetted off to Cuba to make the videos for
his debut double A-side single, still struggling to comprehend what had
happened to him.
But if you were worried that William would start being all
pop-starry and complaining about invasions of privacy, then don't fret - he's
spilled the beans on every detail of his first fantastic week as a Pop Idol to
heat...
Sunday
"We didn't stop until about 1am on Saturday night and then I had my
family and friends back to the hotel and we stayed up chatting until about 6am.
I had two hours sleep then woke up with one minute to pack all my stuff!"
At first no one in the airport noticed Will, but as he
walked through the X-ray scanner he was recognised and ended up signing
autographs for the staff and a few passengers. "Then I flew to Cuba
with my management representative. It was a 12-hour flight but we were in
business class - very exciting. I slept all the way. We arrived in Havana that
evening and checked into the five-star Nacional Hotel - very swish!"
Monday
After settling into his swanky hotel, Will had a late breakfast, then set off
to explore Havana. "I have a few days off to recover and relax - work
doesn't really start until Thursday. Today I visited lots of local tourist
attractions and national parks. It was amazing."
Tuesday
After a rather late night in the hotel, Will had a well-deserved lie-in before
getting back to nature. "Today I climbed a mountain and drank fresh
coconut juice. I found out the Buena Vista Social Club are playing at the hotel
on Wednesday night so I'm over the moon."
Wednesday
By this point Will must have been thinking that there's really not much to this
pop star lark, but today was his last day off - and he made sure it was a good
one. "Spent the whole day relaxing and the evening enjoying the
fantastic Buena Vista Social Club. Went to bed at a reasonable hour because
work starts tomorrow."
Thursday
That's enough relaxation - today the real work starts. Video shoots may seem
glamorous but in reality they are very long, drawn-out days with lots of
waiting around between takes. "I spent all day shooting the video for
Anything Is Possible," says Will. "It was hard work but great
fun."
Friday
Although he was tired from yesterday's filming schedule, Will had to get up
early and do it all over again. "Today we shot the video for Evergreen
in a closed location. I'm flying home late Saturday night, arriving in London
on Sunday."
Ó Heat
Magazine