Paul Potts
Encyclopedia
Paul Robert Potts is an English pop opera
tenor
who won the first series
of ITV
's Britain's Got Talent
in 2007, singing an operatic aria
, "Nessun dorma
" from Puccini's "Turandot
". As a singer of operatic music, Potts recorded the album One Chance, which went to #1 in nine countries. Prior to winning Britain's Got Talent, Potts was a manager at The Carphone Warehouse
and also performed in amateur opera from 1999 to 2003.
, England
and raised in Fishponds, Bristol
, by his father Roland, a bus driver, and mother, Yvonne (née Higgins), a supermarket cashier. He has two brothers and one sister. Potts attended St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School
, where he developed his love of singing. He also sang with the choir at Chester Park Junior School and with the choirs at several Bristol churches, including Christ Church. Potts said in interviews that he had been bullied
in school, and that experience may have made him lack self-confidence
. He has also said that his voice had always been a source of solace in the past when he was bullied.
He earned an Honours degree in 1993 from University College Plymouth St Mark & St John, majoring in Humanities. In 1996, Potts was elected the youngest member of Bristol City Council; a Liberal Democrat
, he served until 2003. Potts was a manager at mobile phone store Carphone Warehouse in Bridgend
and lived in Port Talbot. After winning Britain's Got Talent, Potts took a six-month sabbatical from his job and resigned on 5 March 2008.
for the Bath Opera, an amateur company, in 1999. He then performed leading roles on four occasions: 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. 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.
In several interviews, Potts revealed that he performed Aida despite doctors' wishes to remove an adrenal tumour they had discovered during his illness from a burst appendix
, and shortly after the tumour surgery performed Manon Lescaut . Potts broke his collarbone and suffered whiplash
in a bicycle accident in 2003. The mishap and financial difficulties that followed led him to enter Britain's Got Talent despite not having sung in years.
He also participated in the soundtrack of epic Korean drama Queen Seondeok (TV series)
, singing two major characters', Deokman
and Yushin
s love theme "Passo Dopo Passo" in Italian, meaning "Step by Step". He has also performed a duet with world famous soprano, Hayley Westenra
, Sei Con Me, featured in his album Passione
.
's new talent show Britain's Got Talent at the Wales Millennium Centre
in Cardiff
on 17 March 2007. The audition was televised on ITV1
in the UK on 9 June 2007. Potts sang the full rendition of Giacomo Puccini
's "Nessun dorma
", which was condensed for broadcast, and he received a standing ovation from the audience of 2,000 people.
In the semi-final on 14 June 2007, Potts performed the main verses of Andrea Bocelli
's "Time To Say Goodbye". He progressed to the final after receiving the highest public vote in that show.
He performed "Nessun dorma" again for his finale on 17 June 2007, as well as an encore after he won the competition. Potts defeated the bookmakers co-favourite Connie Talbot
, and received the highest percentage of two million votes cast to win £100,000, and the honour to perform at the Royal Variety Performance
on 3 December 2007, in front of Queen Elizabeth II
. His version of "Nessun Dorma" on Britain's Got Talent has over 100 million combined views on YouTube.
, and had plans for a summer tour with that orchestra. Potts responded that he had not claimed to be completely untutored, only that he had never performed any concert for pay and was therefore an amateur. He also said that the Pavarotti masterclass he attended in Italy was paid for from his own savings and was a single masterclass, not regular coaching.
, and appeared live on NBC's programme Today.
In July 2007, Potts performed his rendition of "Nessun dorma" at a Katherine Jenkins
concert at Margam Park. On 16 July 2007, his debut album One Chance was released in the UK, and claimed the #1 spot in the UK Album Chart the following week. In December 2007, Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
presented Potts with a platinum disc for having sold 2,000,000 copies of his album.
On 13 December 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. In January he began his concert series of 97 concerts in 85 cities across 23 countries; this ended on 12 November. This included three outdoor classical music concerts with the Finnish violinist Linda Brava
and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra at Sofiero Palace, Sundbyholms Castle and Slottskogsvallen from 24 to 26 July.
In the semi-finals of the 2009 series of Britain's Got Talent, Potts appeared in a comeback performance.
. On 15 August 2008, he performed before the German football season opener match between Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV
in front of 69,000 visitors as well as on 2 September 2008 during the farewell game for Oliver Kahn
.
In July 2008, Deutsche Telekom
began using a TV and cinema advertisement centred on his Britain's Got Talent performance. In August 2008, he did a now famous duet with Daniel Powter
on the Wolfbaggin' Tour. In October 2008, Paul Potts sang in Japanese TV advertisements for Ryukakusan Direct throat medicine manufactured by Ryukakusan. Potts received two nominations at the Echo Awards 2009 in Germany: Best International Male Artist and Album of the Year. He won the 2009 Echo Award for Best International Male Artist on 21 February 2009. On 22 April 2009, Potts was the guest co-host on the Australian television programme The Morning Show
with Kylie Gillies
. Expanding his talent to the online world, Paul Potts recently performed an exclusive in studio performance for AOL Sessions. He collaborated with Swedish singer Carola Häggkvist
on her Christmas album Christmas in Bethlehem
, singing the "O Holy Night
.". Potts has appeared twice on the popular Korean Talent TV show "Star King", first in 2008 and once again in 2010.
Potts was spotted in Toronto
on 10 November 2010 performing a "flash opera" at the Union Subway Station
to a moderately-sized crowd and finished to loud applause.
Potts has recently appeared in the Korean television program called "Qualifying Man"
. They met in person for the first time at Swansea railway station
in February 2001. She had the upper hand at this "first meeting" as she had a photograph of Potts, but he had no idea what she looked like.
Since becoming famous Potts has moved house, but continues to live in Port Talbot.
The song "Nessun Dorma" got the 19th best-selling single of 2008 in Germany
and was certified as Gold for selling more than 150,000 copies.
Operatic pop
Operatic pop, pop opera or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic style, or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The term popera and adjectives poperatic and popical are used by some media editors and music reviewers...
tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
who won the first series
Britain's Got Talent (Series 1)
The first series of Britain's Got Talent began on 9 June 2007 and ended on 17 June 2007. It was won by opera singer Paul Potts. The first five shows concerned the audition stages of the competition and the final four shows aired the live semi-finals and final. The show was hosted by Ant & Dec on...
of ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
in 2007, singing an operatic aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
, "Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot...
" from Puccini's "Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
". As a singer of operatic music, Potts recorded the album One Chance, which went to #1 in nine countries. Prior to winning Britain's Got Talent, Potts was a manager at The Carphone Warehouse
The Carphone Warehouse
Carphone Warehouse Group PLC , known as The Carphone Warehouse, is Europe's largest independent mobile phone retailer, with over 1,700 stores across Europe. It is based in the United Kingdom and is a 50% subsidiary of Best Buy...
and also performed in amateur opera from 1999 to 2003.
Early life
Potts was born in Kingswood, South GloucestershireKingswood, South Gloucestershire
Kingswood is an urban area in South Gloucestershire, England, bordering the City of Bristol to the west. It is located on both sides of the A420 road, which connects Bristol and Chippenham and which forms the high street through the principal retail zone...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and raised in Fishponds, Bristol
Fishponds, Bristol
Fishponds is an outer urban area in the north-east of the English city of Bristol. It is approximately from the City centre. It has two large Victorian era parks; Eastville Park and Vassell's Park and also known locally as Oldbury Court. The River Frome runs through both parks, with the Frome...
, by his father Roland, a bus driver, and mother, Yvonne (née Higgins), a supermarket cashier. He has two brothers and one sister. Potts attended St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School
St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School
St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School is a Church of England voluntary aided school for students aged 11 to 18, situated in the inner-city suburb of Redcliffe, Bristol...
, where he developed his love of singing. He also sang with the choir at Chester Park Junior School and with the choirs at several Bristol churches, including Christ Church. Potts said in interviews that he had been bullied
School bullying
School bullying is a type of bullying that occurs in connection with education, either inside or outside of school. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or emotional and is usually repeated over a period of time.In schools, bullying occurs in all areas...
in school, and that experience may have made him lack self-confidence
Self-confidence
The socio-psychological concept of self-confidence relates to self-assuredness in one's personal judgment, ability, power, etc., sometimes manifested excessively.Being confident in yourself is infectious if you present yourself well, others will want to follow in your foot steps towards...
. He has also said that his voice had always been a source of solace in the past when he was bullied.
He earned an Honours degree in 1993 from University College Plymouth St Mark & St John, majoring in Humanities. In 1996, Potts was elected the youngest member of Bristol City Council; a Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
, he served until 2003. Potts was a manager at mobile phone store Carphone Warehouse in Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
and lived in Port Talbot. After winning Britain's Got Talent, Potts took a six-month sabbatical from his job and resigned on 5 March 2008.
Singing career
Potts first sang opera in the minor roles of The Prince of Persia and the Herald in Puccini's TurandotTurandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
for the Bath Opera, an amateur company, in 1999. He then performed leading roles on four occasions: Don Basilio in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro in 2000; Don Carlos in Verdi's Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
in 2001; Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
in 2003; and Radames in Verdi's Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
in 2003. He also performed the role of the Chevalier des Grieux in Puccini's Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut (Puccini)
Manon Lescaut is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini. The story is based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost....
for the Southgate
Southgate
-Places:In the United Kingdom:*Southgate, London**Enfield Southgate **Southgate tube station*SouthGate, Bath*Southgate, Ceredigion*Southgate, Cheshire*Southgate, Norfolk*Southgate, Swansea*Southgate, West Sussex...
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.
In several interviews, Potts revealed that he performed Aida despite doctors' wishes to remove an adrenal tumour they had discovered during his illness from a burst appendix
Vermiform appendix
The appendix is a blind-ended tube connected to the cecum , from which it develops embryologically. The cecum is a pouchlike structure of the colon...
, and shortly after the tumour surgery performed Manon Lescaut . Potts broke his collarbone and suffered whiplash
Whiplash (medicine)
Whiplash is a non-medical term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck associated with extension. The term "whiplash" is a colloquialism...
in a bicycle accident in 2003. The mishap and financial difficulties that followed led him to enter Britain's Got Talent despite not having sung in years.
He also participated in the soundtrack of epic Korean drama Queen Seondeok (TV series)
Queen Seondeok (TV series)
Queen Seondeok is a South Korean historical drama aired on MBC. It chronicles the life of Queen Seondeok of Silla.-MBC official synopsis:...
, singing two major characters', Deokman
Queen Seondeok of Silla
Queen Seondeok of Silla reigned as Queen of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler, and its first reigning queen...
and Yushin
Kim Yushin
Kim Yushin was a general in 7th-century Silla. He led the unification of the Korean peninsula by Silla under the reign of King Muyeol of Silla and King Munmu of Silla. He is said to have been the great-grandchild of King Guhae of Geumgwan Gaya, the last ruler of the Geumgwan Gaya state...
s love theme "Passo Dopo Passo" in Italian, meaning "Step by Step". He has also performed a duet with world famous soprano, Hayley Westenra
Hayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
, Sei Con Me, featured in his album Passione
Passione (album)
Passione is the second album by opera singer Paul Potts. It was released in 2009. Potts spent nearly a year recording Passione in Prague and Stockholm.-Track listing:-Charts:...
.
Britain's Got Talent
Potts auditioned for Simon CowellSimon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
's new talent show Britain's Got Talent at the Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
on 17 March 2007. The audition was televised on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
in the UK on 9 June 2007. Potts sang the full rendition of Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's "Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot...
", which was condensed for broadcast, and he received a standing ovation from the audience of 2,000 people.
In the semi-final on 14 June 2007, Potts performed the main verses of Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
's "Time To Say Goodbye". He progressed to the final after receiving the highest public vote in that show.
He performed "Nessun dorma" again for his finale on 17 June 2007, as well as an encore after he won the competition. Potts defeated the bookmakers co-favourite Connie Talbot
Connie Talbot
Connie Talbot is an English child singer from Streetly, Aldridge, in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands. She rose to fame in 2007 when she reached the final of the television talent show Britain's Got Talent, where she was runner-up to Paul Potts...
, and received the highest percentage of two million votes cast to win £100,000, and the honour to perform at the Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
on 3 December 2007, in front of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. His version of "Nessun Dorma" on Britain's Got Talent has over 100 million combined views on YouTube.
Doubts over amateur status
The Sun newspaper received complaints following allegations that Potts had been "coached by Pavarotti". There was anger that he was portrayed on Britain's Got Talent as a simple mobile-phone salesman, whereas he had in fact appeared in six amateur opera productions and in a concert for the Royal Philharmonic OrchestraRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
, and had plans for a summer tour with that orchestra. Potts responded that he had not claimed to be completely untutored, only that he had never performed any concert for pay and was therefore an amateur. He also said that the Pavarotti masterclass he attended in Italy was paid for from his own savings and was a single masterclass, not regular coaching.
Post-BGT career
In the United States, he was profiled on a National Public Radio programme called Day to DayDay to Day
Day to Day was a one-hour weekday American radio newsmagazine distributed by National Public Radio , and produced by NPR in collaboration with Slate. Madeleine Brand served as host since 2006...
, and appeared live on NBC's programme Today.
In July 2007, Potts performed his rendition of "Nessun dorma" at a Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...
concert at Margam Park. On 16 July 2007, his debut album One Chance was released in the UK, and claimed the #1 spot in the UK Album Chart the following week. In December 2007, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
presented Potts with a platinum disc for having sold 2,000,000 copies of his album.
On 13 December 2007, he performed in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in the live television broadcast of the 13th annual José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
Gala, accompanied by the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg
Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg
The German Film Orchestra Babelsberg is a symphony orchestra based in Potsdam, Germany. It was founded in 1993 by Klaus Peter Beyer. The orchestra derives its name from the legendary Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam-Babelsberg, a city part of Potsdam today, where notable films such as Metropolis, Dr...
under the direction of Scott Lawton. In January he began his concert series of 97 concerts in 85 cities across 23 countries; this ended on 12 November. This included three outdoor classical music concerts with the Finnish violinist Linda Brava
Linda Brava
Linda Magdalena Cullberg Lampenius, better known by her maiden name Linda Lampenius and international stage name Linda Brava, is a Finnish classical concert violinist and recording artist.-Background:...
and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra at Sofiero Palace, Sundbyholms Castle and Slottskogsvallen from 24 to 26 July.
In the semi-finals of the 2009 series of Britain's Got Talent, Potts appeared in a comeback performance.
International celebrity
Potts was invited to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show whose topic was YouTube, because clips of his performances had been viewed by millions there; as of April 2009, his first appearance on Britain's Got Talent was the fourth most viewed YouTube video in the UK. On 24 November 2007, Potts was interviewed on the National Public Radio programme Weekend EditionWeekend Edition
Weekend Edition is the name given to a set of American radio news magazines produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It is the weekend counterpart to Morning Edition. It consists of Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday , each of which airs for two hours, from 8 a.m. to 10...
. On 15 August 2008, he performed before the German football season opener match between Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
in front of 69,000 visitors as well as on 2 September 2008 during the farewell game for Oliver Kahn
Oliver Kahn
Oliver Rolf Kahn is a former German football goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team. He had his debut game in the professional squad in 1987...
.
In July 2008, Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
began using a TV and cinema advertisement centred on his Britain's Got Talent performance. In August 2008, he did a now famous duet with Daniel Powter
Daniel Powter
Daniel Richard Powter is a Canadian recording artist. He is known for his hit "Bad Day", which spent five weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. Powter became the only act to register the #1 hit of the year but chart no other Hot 100 hit.- Life and career :Powter grew up in Vernon, in the...
on the Wolfbaggin' Tour. In October 2008, Paul Potts sang in Japanese TV advertisements for Ryukakusan Direct throat medicine manufactured by Ryukakusan. Potts received two nominations at the Echo Awards 2009 in Germany: Best International Male Artist and Album of the Year. He won the 2009 Echo Award for Best International Male Artist on 21 February 2009. On 22 April 2009, Potts was the guest co-host on the Australian television programme The Morning Show
The Morning Show (TV program)
The Morning Show is an Australian morning talk show that premiered on the Seven Network on 18 June 2007. The show airs between 9am and 11:30am weekdays and follows Seven's breakfast news program Sunrise, with both programs closely interlinked....
with Kylie Gillies
Kylie Gillies
Kylie Gillies is a television presenter for the Seven Network based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She currently co-hosts The Morning Show with Larry Emdur.-Career:...
. Expanding his talent to the online world, Paul Potts recently performed an exclusive in studio performance for AOL Sessions. He collaborated with Swedish singer Carola Häggkvist
Carola Häggkvist
Carola Maria Häggkvist , better known as simply Carola, is a Swedish singer and occasional songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s, and has released albums ranging from pop and disco to hymns and folk music...
on her Christmas album Christmas in Bethlehem
Carola Häggkvist discography
This article includes the discography of the Swedish singer Carola Häggkvist. All references are from .- Albums :All regularly released albums and their chart positions in the Sweden Top 60 , Norway , Denmark and Finland .-Singles:-DVDs:...
, singing the "O Holy Night
O Holy Night
"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
.". Potts has appeared twice on the popular Korean Talent TV show "Star King", first in 2008 and once again in 2010.
Potts was spotted in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
on 10 November 2010 performing a "flash opera" at the Union Subway Station
Union (TTC)
Union Station is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto subway and RT. Opened in 1954 along with the first twelve subway stations of Toronto, it is located between the Yonge Street and University Avenue sections of the line at 55 Front Street West between Bay Street and York...
to a moderately-sized crowd and finished to loud applause.
Potts has recently appeared in the Korean television program called "Qualifying Man"
Personal life
Potts has been married since May 2003 to Julie-Ann (née Cooper) whom he met in an Internet chat roomChat room
The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used by mass media to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing...
. They met in person for the first time at Swansea railway station
Swansea railway station
Swansea railway station is a railway station that serves Swansea, Wales. The station is one of four in the City and County of Swansea and is the fourth busiest in Wales after Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street and Newport.-History:...
in February 2001. She had the upper hand at this "first meeting" as she had a photograph of Potts, but he had no idea what she looked like.
Since becoming famous Potts has moved house, but continues to live in Port Talbot.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
Sales | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
IRE Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
CAN Class |
DEN Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
NZ | GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
NED Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
SPA | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
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| 2007 | One Chance
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1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 23 |
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| 2009 | Passione Passione (album) Passione is the second album by opera singer Paul Potts. It was released in 2009. Potts spent nearly a year recording Passione in Prague and Stockholm.-Track listing:-Charts:...
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5 | — | — | 5 | 4 | — | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 20 | 33 |
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| 2010 | Cinema Paradiso
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— | — | — | 9 | 65 | 1 | — | — | — | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
CH Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
DEN Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
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| 2007 | "Nessun dorma Nessun dorma Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot... " |
100 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 52 | One Chance |
The song "Nessun Dorma" got the 19th best-selling single of 2008 in Germany
and was certified as Gold for selling more than 150,000 copies.
External links
- Paul Potts at Sony BMG
- Paul Potts biography from BBC Wales
- Paul Potts interview on The Hour
- Paul Potts Official site.http://www.paulpottsofficial.com/
- Paul Potts on Avex TaiwanAvex TaiwanAvex Taiwan Inc is an entertainment and record label based in Taiwan. It was founded in July 1998 and is a foreign consolidated subsidiary of parent company Avex Group based in Japan...