15. Will Young
Before the careers of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, or Adam Lambert took off, there wasWill Young. In February 2002, Young rose to fame as the winner of the British television talent contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner ever of the now worldwide Idol franchise. Young’s first post-Idol single was a cover of Westlife’s “Evergreen,” which went on to become one of the fastest selling singles in UK history and one of the biggest selling singles of the 2000s, with over 1.8 million copies sold. In March 2002, right at the beginning of Young’s career, he publicly came out toNews of the World stating, “I feel it’s time to tell my fans I’m gay… For me it’s normal and nothing to be ashamed about. I’m gay and I’m comfortable with that. I really don’t know what the fuss is about.” Young became one of the first pop artists to begin his career out of the closet, and his openness about his sexuality proved not to cause any ripples whatsoever. In 2003, Young won his first BRIT award as Best Breakthrough Artist for the release of his debut album From Now On. Young’s second album Friday’s Childproduced the hit “Your Game” which earned him his second BRIT Award in 2005. Young has since established himself as far more than another reality television show winner, selling over eight million records from his four multi-platinum studio albums, with four Number One singles, and twice voted as the U.K.’s favorite artist of all time.
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