This is the 89th post in our Musician of the Day series.
Paul Potts was born in 1970 in England. It was when he was attending St. Mary Redcliffe school that he developed a love of singing. He went to since with the Chester Park Junior School Choir as well as with a number of church choirs. Paul Potts has stated in interviews that he was bullied as a child and he would often retreat and find solace in singing.
In 1999 he sang opera for the first time as part of a karaoke competition. Also in 1999 he appeared in the musical quiz show My Kind of Music but he did not win. He did however win enough money to help pay for singing lessons in Italy and he was afterwards chosen to perform in front of Pavarotti and Katia Riccciarelli.
From 1999 until 2003 he pursued a life of the Opera performing with a number of amateur groups. But in 2003 he suffered whiplash and a broken collarbone from a bicycle accident and it prevented him from continuing to pursue a career in the opera.
In 2007, Paul Potts auditioned for a new television show by Simon Cowell called Britain's Got Talent. He stood onstage and annouced that he was a cellphone salesman and was about to sing opera. The judges on the show expected the worst but when he began singing Giacomo Puccini's "Nessun dorma" everyone was stunned. He recieved a standing ovation from the audience and rave reviews from the judges. He went on to win the entire show.
It was only a matter of weeks after he won the show that he released his first album, One Chance. The album reached #1 in the UK and 8 other countries, and was certified platinum in December of 2007.
In June of 2009 he released a followup album entitled Passione which reached #5 in the UK charts and in the top ten of 9 other countries.
To learn more about Paul Potts visit SonyBMG, his official site, or this fansite.
