Once again it's a week and a day late--story of my life....
Must be something about working at Save-A-Lot and discovering music artists from the British Isles--this week's artist will be the third (George Ezra and Hozier were the others) that I first heard and was captured by while slaving my ass working there, and he'll also be the third featured here on Friday Night Jukebox. A week and a day late, that is....
Will Young was born in Wokingham, England in 1979 and like many a FNJ alum began performing at a young age. In 1998 he began attending the University of Exeter, where he would eventually graduate with a degree in politics. Young was involved in numerous school musical productions and toward the end of his studies a fellow student pointed out that Pop Idol (the U.K.'s forefather of American Idol) was holding auditions. Young filled out an application, was eventually accepted as a contestant, and became the first ever winner of its competition. Young's stardom began at that point, and over the past twenty-one years he's sold over eight million albums (most of his chart success has come in the U.K.), won two Brit Awards, toured regularly, broke into acting, and has made numerous musical appearances on TV. For his career, Young has released eight studio albums (with four # 1's in the U.K.), and thirty-three singles (again with four # 1's). Young came out as gay after his Idol victory, and is involved with a number of charities helping the LGBTQ community, as well as many other charitable organizations.
"Leave Right Now" was the first single released from Young's second album, the rather timelessly named Friday's Child. The single would reach #1 on the U.K. Singles Chart (and #81 here in America), while the album also hit #1 (though it did not chart in the States).
Fun Fact: Written by Eg White (great name), "Leave Right Now" won the Ivor Novello Award (an annual award presented in the U.K. for composing) for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 2004. In the years since its release, it has also been featured on two Best Songs of All-Time lists in Great Britian.
It's not always easy, when writing a song about seeing an old love again and being reminded that the feelings have yet to go away, to keep it from turning into saccharine mush. I think with "Leave Right Now," though, both White, musically and lyrically, as well as Young vocally, do a fine job of capturing the heartache and sparing us the schmaltz. The highlight of the song is far and away Young's vocals, as his blue-eyed soul illuminates the lingering romantic feelings, and carries them to a place that many of us have been before. Not surprisingly for an emaycee fave, the chorus is infatuating and Young misses nary a beat as he delivers heartfelt note after heartfelt note. In the end, it's just another in a long line of terrific pop songs that have graced the annals of Friday Night Jukebox.
Lyric Sheet: "I think I better leave right now/Before I fall any deeper/I think I better leave right now/Feeling weaker and weaker/Somebody better show me how..."
Enjoy:
Republicans = Nazis
Peace,
emaycee
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