Paul Potts
Paul Potts |
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Paul Robert Potts (born 13 October 1970 in Bristol, England), from Port Talbot in South Wales, is a British tenor who in 2007 became the winner of the first series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent, singing an operatic aria, "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot. Potts had worked in unpaid opera productions from 1999 to 2003.
Biography
Potts was raised in Fishponds, Bristol, by his father Roland, a bus driver, and mother, Yvonne, a supermarket cashier.[2] He has two brothers and one sister. Potts attended St. Mary Redcliffe school, where he developed his love of singing.[3] He also sang with the choir at Chester Park Junior School and with the choirs at several Bristol churches, including Christ Church.
In the interview that was broadcast before his performance in the semifinal, Potts said that he had been bullied in school, and that experience may have had an influence on his lack of self-confidence. He made a similar remark in 1999 — that his voice had always been a source of solace in the past when bullied.[4]
Potts was on a six-month sabbatical as manager at Carphone Warehouse in Bridgend, a mobile phone store some eight miles from his hometown. On March 5, 2008, he resigned from his management position via email. [5]
He earned an Honours degree in 1993 from University College Plymouth St Mark & St John, majoring in Humanities, and was a Liberal Democrat councillor in Bristol from 1996 to 2003.[6][7]
Previous work and experience
Potts first sang opera in 1999 in a karaoke competition, dressed as Luciano Pavarotti.[4] That same year he appeared in the Michael Barrymore talent show My Kind of Music. Although he did not take first place, he won £8,000 — enough to help pay for vocal lessons in Italy, during which he was selected to perform in front of singers Pavarotti and Katia Ricciarelli.
For the Bath Opera of Bath, Somerset, an amateur company, he performed leading roles on four occasions, after beginning in 1999 in the minor roles of The Prince of Persia and the Herald in Puccini's Turandot: Don Basilio in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro in 2000; Don Carlos in Verdi's Don Carlos in 2001; Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni in 2003; and Radames in Verdi's Aida in 2003. [8][9][4] He also performed the role of the Chevalier des Grieux in Puccini's Manon Lescaut for the Southgate Opera Company in London, an amateur company, in May 2003. Additionally, he sang with a small ensemble from the Royal Philharmonic in front of an audience of 15,000 and toured Northern Italy as a soloist as part of his music classes there.[8]
In several interviews, Potts revealed that he performed Aida despite doctors' wishes to remove an adrenal tumor they had discovered during his illness from a burst appendix, and performed Manon Lescaux shortly after the surgery to remove it. Potts broke his collarbone and suffered whiplash in a bicycle accident in 2003, which prevented him from pursuing opera as a career or as an avocation. The mishap and financial difficulties that followed led him to enter the talent show despite not having sung for four years.[10]
Britain's Got Talent
On June 9 2007, Potts' audition of Simon Cowell's new search-for-a-star show Britain's Got Talent was televised on ITV1 in the UK. The audition itself was held at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on March 17 2007.[11] Paul sang Giacomo Puccini's "Nessun Dorma," for which he received a standing ovation from the audience of 2,000 people. Contrary to popular belief, Paul did not sing a condensed version of the aria, but the full rendition. The editing process did not produce a "perfect" edit, as you can see his lips getting ready to sing the next line 'snigga royale with cheese' which starts with "Tu pure, o, Principessa...".[12] Potts' rendition of this has been viewed on video upload site YouTube over 20 million times and was the highest rated video[13] on January 10, 2008 .[14]
In the semi-final on June 14, 2007, Potts performed main verses of "Con te partirò" ("Time to Say Goodbye").[15] He progressed to the final after receiving the highest public vote in that show.[16] He performed a full-length "Nessun Dorma" for his finale on June 17, 2007 as well as an encore after he won the competition. Potts defeated co-favourite with the bookmakers, Connie Talbot and received the highest public vote out of two million votes cast to win Britain's Got Talent, winning the right to perform at the Royal Variety Performance on December 3, 2007, in front of Her Majesty The Queen.
In December 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented Potts with a discography plaque for having sold 2,000,000 copies of his album "One Chance" and for showing that "Britain really does have huge amounts of talent."[17]
Recent activity
In the United States, he was profiled on a National Public Radio programme called "Day to Day" on June 15, 2007. On June 18, 2007, a commercial US Television network, NBC, highlighted Potts' victory on its broadcast network's NBC Nightly News and on its Cable news outlet MSNBC. Then on June 21, 2007 he appeared live on NBC's programme Today.
During the programme there was some controversy[18]as to the "undiscovered" nature of Potts' talent. He was portrayed on the show as simply a mobile-phone salesman, whereas he had in fact appeared in six amateur opera productions and in a concert for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra[8] and had plans for a summer tour with the Orchestra.[8] Potts responded to his critics saying that he had not claimed to be completely untutored, that he had never performed any concert for pay and was therefore amateur and that the lessons he had received in Italy had been paid for from his own savings.[19]
On July 8, 2007, Potts performed at a Katherine Jenkins' concert at Margam Park, "Katherine In The Park". Jenkins extended an invitation for him to sing his rendition of "Nessun Dorma" at the concert.[20] On July 16, 2007, his debut album One Chance was released in UK, and on July 22, 2007, the album claimed the number one spot in the UK Album Chart. On November 6, 2007, Potts appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show to perform on a show whose topic was YouTube.[21] On November 24 2007, Potts was interviewed on the National Public Radio programme Weekend Edition Saturday.
On December 13, 2007, he performed in Leipzig in the live television broadcast of the 13th annual José Carreras Gala, accompanied by the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg under the direction of Scott Lawton.[1]
On January 17, 2008, exactly six months to the day after winning Britain's Got Talent, he began his 2008 Concert Series at the Pavilion Theatre[22] in Rhyl, U.K., which will be covering 65 cities across 13 countries. His current concert schedule ends on June 9, 2008, exactly one year after his first appearance on Britain's Got Talent.
Personal life
Potts has been married since May 2003 to the former Julie-Ann Cooper, whom he met in an Internet chat room. They connected in-person for the first time at the Swansea Railway Station in February, 2001. Julie-Ann had the upper hand at this "first meeting" as she had a photograph of Paul, but he had no idea what she looked like.[23]
Discography
Albums
- 2007 One Chance
Singles
- 2007 "Nessun Dorma"
- #2 (Taiwan)
Current Tour Dates
United Kingdom | |||
Date | City | Country | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
January 17 2008 | Rhyl | United Kingdom | Pavilion Theatre |
January 18 2008 | Rhyl | United Kingdom | Pavilion Theatre |
January 19 2008 | Peterborough | United Kingdom | The Broadway |
January 21 2008 | Cambridge | United Kingdom | Corn Exchange |
January 22 2008 | Nottingham | United Kingdom | Royal Centre |
January 23 2008 | Harrogate | United Kingdom | International Centre |
January 25 2008 | Aberdeen | United Kingdom | Music Hall |
January 26 2008 | Glasgow | United Kingdom | Clyde Auditorim |
January 27 2008 | Edinburgh | United Kingdom | Playhouse |
January 29 2008 | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne | United Kingdom | City Hall |
January 30 2008 | Sheffield | United Kingdom | City Hall |
February 1 2008 | Cardiff | United Kingdom | International Arena |
February 2 2008 | Manchester | United Kingdom | Bridgewater Hall |
February 3 2008 | Liverpool | United Kingdom | Empire Theatre |
February 5 2008 | Brighton | United Kingdom | The Brighton Centre |
February 6 2008 | Oxford | United Kingdom | New Oxford Theatre |
February 8 2008 | Plymouth | United Kingdom | Plymouth Pavilions |
February 9 2008 | Portsmouth | United Kingdom | Guildhall |
February 11 2008 | Bristol | United Kingdom | Hippodrome |
February 12 2008 | Birmingham | United Kingdom | Symphony Hall |
February 13 2008 | Birmingham | United Kingdom | Symphony Hall |
February 15 2008 | Stoke-On-Trent | United Kingdom | Victoria Hall |
February 16 2008 | Ipswich | United Kingdom | Regent Theatre |
February 17 2008 | London | United Kingdom | Hammersmith Apollo |
North America | |||
Date | City | Country | Venue |
March 1 2008 | Hollywood, Florida | United States | Seminole Casino |
March 2 2008 | Tampa, Florida | United States | Tampa Theater |
March 3 2008 | Washington, DC | United States | Lisner Auditorium |
March 5 2008 | Ledyard, Connecticut | United States | Foxwoods Casino |
March 6 2008 | Westbury, New York | United States | North Fork Theater |
March 8 2008 | Atlantic City | United States | Borgata Hotel |
March 9 2008 | Boston | United States | Berklee Performance Center |
March 11 2008 | New York City | United States | Town Hall |
March 13 2008 | Hamilton, Ontario | Canada | Hamilton Place Theatre |
March 14 2008 | Montréal | Canada | Place des Arts |
March 15 2008 | Toronto | Canada | Roy Thomson Hall |
March 17 2008 | Ottawa | Canada | Centrepointe Theatre |
March 19 2008 | Edmonton | Canada | Winspear Centre for Music |
March 20 2008 | Vancouver | Canada | Centre for Performing Arts |
March 22 2008 | Victoria, British Columbia | Canada | McPherson Playhouse |
March 24 2008 | Calgary | Canada | Jack Singer Concert Hall |
March 26 2008 | Los Angeles | United States | The Wiltern |
March 27 2008 | Mesa, Arizona | United States | Ikeda Theater |
March 29 2008 | Mexico City | Mexico | Teatro Metropolitan |
March 30 2008 | Mexico City | Mexico | Teatro Metropolitan |
Oceania and Asia | |||
Date | City | Country | Venue |
April 6 2008 | Christchurch | New Zealand | Town Hall Auditorium |
April 8 2008 | Wellington | New Zealand | Michael Fowler Centre |
April 11 2008 | Rotorua | New Zealand | Energy Events Centre |
April 13 2008 | Auckland | New Zealand | Aotea Centre |
April 16 2008 | Adelaide | Australia | Festival Theatre |
April 18 2008 | South Brisbane | Australia | QPAC Concert Hall |
April 20 2008 | Sydney | Australia | Sydney Opera House |
April 21 2008 | Melbourne | Australia | Hamer Hall |
April 23 2008 | Perth | Australia | Burswood Theatre |
April 29 2008 | Tokyo | Japan | Bunkamura Hall |
April 30 2008 | Tokyo | Japan | Bunkamura Hall |
May 3 2008 | Seoul | South Korea | Welch-Ryang Auditorium |
May 4 2008 | Seoul | South Korea | Welch-Ryang Auditorium |
May 5 2008 | Seoul | South Korea | Welch-Ryang Auditorium |
May 7 2008 | Busan | South Korea | KBS Hall |
Europe | |||
Date | City | Country | Venue |
May 13 2008 | Hillerød | Denmark | Frederiksborg Slot |
May 14 2008 | Copenhagen | Denmark | Falkoner Theatre |
May 15 2008 | Copenhagen | Denmark | Falkoner Theatre |
May 17 2008 | Randers | Denmark | Estrup |
May 18 2008 | Aalborg | Denmark | Skovdalen |
May 20 2008 | Odense | Denmark | Amfiteater |
May 22 2008 | Stockholm | Sweden | Solnahallen |
May 23 2008 | Malmö | Sweden | Icehall |
May 24 2008 | Göteborg | Sweden | Lisebergshallen |
May 26 2008 | Malmö | Sweden | Icehall |
May 27 2008 | Oslo | Norway | Oslo Konserthus |
May 31 2008 | Odense | Denmark | Amfiteater |
June 1 2008 | Copenhagen | Denmark | Ballerup Super Arena |
June 3 2008 | Herning | Denmark | Messecentre |
June 4 2008 | Sønderborg | Denmark | Sønderborg Castle |
June 6 2008 | Helsinki | Finland | Finlandia Hall |
June 8 2008 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Heineken Music Hall |
June 9 2008 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Heineken Music Hall |
References
- ^ "Biography".
- ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2001320029-2007280255,00.html - Don't Talk out of Your Arias
- ^ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmedm/70620e01.htm - Early Day Motions
- ^ a b c ITV - Britain's Got Talent - Paul Potts
- ^ Live in concert at Foxwoods Hotel and Casino in Ledyard, CT, March 5, 2008
- ^ Paul Potts is a Marjon graduate. roadturn.com
- ^ Lib Dems Site Retrieved 22 July 2007
- ^ a b c d Bathopera.co.uk - Don Carlos Biographies
- ^ Bathopera.co.uk - Aida Biographies
- ^ http://forum.unrealitytv.co.uk/index.php?topic=1533.0 Retrieved 30 Dec 2007
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/paul_potts/pages/biography.shtml - BBC - Wales Music
- ^ Britain's Got Talent
- ^ Paul Pott’s YouTube Clip Most Highly Rated EVER! - Unreality TV
- ^ Paul Potts sings Nessun Dorma on YouTube
- ^ "Paul Potts - Time to Say Goodbye".
- ^ "Semi-final one - the public decides". itv.com. 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
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(help) - ^ Luciano Pavarotti
- ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2001320029-2007270918,00.html - Controversy from Viewers
- ^ This is my lifelong dream, says the singing salesman The Guardian, June 17 2007
- ^ "Talent show winner in opera concert", aol.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Oprah Winfrey Show, November 6, 2007.
- ^ Paul Potts ∗ Home
- ^ Interview on BBC Radio 2 - 16 July 2007
External links
- Paul Potts (official website)
- Template:Myspace
- Paul Potts at Sony BMG
- Paul Potts interview on ITV Local
- Paul Potts interview on The Hour