BACKSTAGE WITH WILL YOUNG
Poor Will Young!
Last week's AMERICAN IDOL finales may have seemed like the ideal venue for Will's U.S. debut. But backstage in the press room, Will's rendition of Jackie Wilson's "I Get The Sweetest Feeling" was greeted with widespread cruel laughter and uncharitable derision.
The culprit wasn't homophobia, though... most of the people in the press room had never heard of Will, much less heard he was gay. Instead, their laughter was at Will's choice of song and performance style. "You mean, this is the guy who WON the British POP IDOL?" was one response.
One Houston reporter said she couldn't help but howl with laughter. "I'm sorry," she exclaimed. "It's just that he reminded me so much of The Monkees, who I used to listen to as a kid." Another journalist in the room agreed loudly, "You're right...he was so Davy Jones!" As the reporters awaited Will and the other performers for post-show Q and A's, one yelled across the room loudly, "Hey! When that British guy comes in...BE KIND!"
The next morning, Howard Stern and Ryan Phillippe echoed the press room's cruelty. Stern called Will "a mutant" and Phillippe said his success in England "says a lot about the country."
Not all was doom and gloom for Will, though. Unaware that the reporters had been laughing at him moments before, Will entered the room and won the press over with a mix of confidence, charm and an unassuming demeanor. "The lady in blue!" he called out to a female reporter wearing a blue blouse. "I've always wanted to say that: 'The Lady in Blue!'"
Even the unruly woman from Houston was charmed. "He's so SWEEEET!" she exclaimed after he left the room.
In case you live under a rock, Kelly Clarkson snuck by 52-48% over Justin Guarini to win the American Idol event.