Track Listing

1. Nessun Dorma
2. Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partiro)
3. Amapola
4. Everybody Hurts (Ognuno Soffre)
5. Caruso
6. Nella Fantasia
7. You Raise Me Up (Por Ti Sere)
8. My Way (A Mi Manera)
9. Cavatina
10. Music Of The Night

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3220 in Music
• Released on: 2007-07-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 42 minutes

CD Description
Former mobile phone salesman and more recently, national hero, 'Britain's Got Talent' victor Paul Potts' debut album sets a new standard in the classical crossover genre. A diverse selection of tracks feature, ranging from favourites such as 'Nessun Dorma' and Lloyd-Webber classic 'Music Of The Night', to an Italian Language version of 'Everybody Hurts'. Each of these is performed with the London Symphony Orchestra,perfectly showing off Potts' incredible power and vocal range.

From the Artist
"I keep waiting for someone to pinch me and say 'Wake up, Paul, it's time for work - you're late again'. I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster - a white knuckle ride into the unknown. And I don't want to get off!"

Britain's Got Talent winner Paul Potts has spent most of his life feeling 'insignificant'. Bullied at school for being 'different', he realised growing up that he had one true friend and that was his voice. Singing was his escape. He was able to lose himself in his own little world - the vicious words of his tormentors replaced by hauntingly beautiful lyrics and melodies that lifted his heart and spirit. It was a love, a passion, a lifeline that would follow Paul into adulthood and help him through many more periods of adversity. But it was also a gift that was destined to go largely undiscovered, due to a crushing lack of self-confidence that has dogged this hard working and humble man throughout his 36 years.

Born just outside Bristol on October 13, 1970, to bus driver Roland and his wife Yvonne, a supermarket cashier, Paul - who's one of four children - was singing almost from the moment he could talk. "My mother recalls me listening to the theme from ET and conducting an imaginary orchestra with sticks," laughs Paul. By the time he reached 11, he was part of one of the best church choirs in Bristol. But it was when he hit 16 that his love of opera took hold. "I bought a cheap recording of Carreras," he recalls. "It was the first time I had heard Che Gelida Manina (Your Tiny Hand Is Frozen) and I was so moved by it. To this day La Boheme remains my favourite opera."

Although Paul has performed at amateur level, most notably with Bath Opera, his chronic lack of self esteem and fear of rejection always prevented him from trying to make it professionally. " As I saw it, if I never asked - never put myself out there - then I'd never get told "No",'says Paul. "It was safer that way."

So instead, he carried on with his day jobs - which have included stacking shelves in a supermarket and, most recently and famously, selling mobile phones, where he was told by one of his superiors that he was a 'natural salesman'. "But I knew I wasn't," says Paul. "When I was selling, I always felt like I was putting on an act. When I sang, that's when I felt I was myself - the real me."

In 2000, Paul used savings and a bit of money he'd won on a quiz show to attend a three-month summer school in Italy, where he learned the language and got to indulge his passion further. He even got to sing in a masterclass for his idol, Pavarotti. But he was about to be dealt a cruel blow.

In 2003, he suffered a burst appendix. While undergoing treatment for this, doctors discovered a benign tumour on his adrenal gland. It was successfully removed but while he was recovering, he was knocked off his bike and broke his collarbone. "Of all the health problems I'd been through, breaking my collar bone was the most painful and it took months to recover," says Paul. " I got very, very low and for once, singing was the last thing on my mind."

And he might have given up forever, had it not been for Britain's Got Talent - the talent show for today's generation, created by Simon Cowell and co-producved by his Entertainment company Syco TV, which last week was celebrating a double whammy. In a first for a reality TV format, the Got Talent shows on both sides of the Atlantic - Britain and America - were at number one, with more than 13 million viewers tuning in to see Paul win the final of the British version and the same figure welcoming back a second season of America's Got Talent in the States. (The format has now been commissioned worldwide and will be shown in 40 countries by the end of the year!)

Though it's fair to say that when Paul strolled awkwardly - almost apologetically - onto the Cardiff stage for his first Britain's Got Talent audition a week before that final, in his now infamous £35 Tesco suit, and announced to Simon and fellow judges Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan that he was going to sing opera, they never thought for one minute they were looking at their winner. Until he opened his mouth and started to sing. It was, as Simon has said since, simply magical. "Incredible", agreed Piers. And Amanda, who was moved to tears, said his voice had left her covered in goosebumps. "We were not expecting that," admitted Simon.

"I was so nervous I was shaking like a jelly, but when I watch that audition back, i can see in my eyes that when I start to sing I go to a totally different place and the nerves just vanish," says Paul. "When I stopped singing, there were a few seconds when my heart was racing because I had absolutely no idea what the judges were going to say."

Since then, accolades have been posted on the Internet from as far afield as Australia and Taiwan, from fans who've seen Paul's performances on YouTube. "A humble bloke who's not even aware of his amazing gift - Paul Potts is a true star" wrote one.

"It has changed my whole life. I used to feel so small and insignificant. But now I know I am someone - I am Paul Potts and this is what I do," smiles Paul.

But don't worry - there's no danger of him going all starry and getting above himself! "I am not going to change - although I might invest in some nicer suits! But whatever happens, I'm keeping that Tesco one. It's a reminder of where I was and where I attempt to remain - except in better clothes!"

Paul also hopes to get his teeth done. "I don't think I'd suit one of those dazzling Hollywood smiles, but I'd like to get the cap sorted as I'm very conscious about it when I sing." Other plans for the £100,000 prize money include taking proud wife Julie-Ann, 27, who he wed four years ago, on safari - and, fingers crossed, starting a family.

"It's something we couldn't afford to think about before," explains Paul, who lives with Julie-Ann in a modest two bedroomed house in Port Talbot, south Wales. "Now we can and that would complete things."

However, it might have to wait a little while. His feet have barely touched the ground since his victory last Sunday and he's got a host of engagements to prepare for. The Thursday after winning, Paul flew to New York to perform in the plaza for NBC's Today show - just days after Enrique Iglesias played the same venue and, the previous week, JonBon Jovi! Then he'll be back to the UK to start work on his first album. And, of course, there's also the VIP performance for which he was competing in Britain's Got Talent - appearing in front of Her Majesty the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance in early December.

"All of this is like a fairy tale and I'm terrified I'm going to wake up soon and find I've dreamt it all," says Paul. "The support I've had has been incredible and I feel so touched and humbled by it. It has done so much for my confidence and I really can't thank people enough for giving me the chance to realise my dream. To be given an opportunity like this is more than I ever could have hoped for. Finally, I am going to be doing what I've always felt I was put here to do - something I love and that gives me so much joy

Customer Reviews

Actually, a Jewel of Warmth Among the Machines
The review I have just read states with certainty that Paul is merely "average" and could not possibly hold his own agaist other tenors. I must disagree. I've attended over 60 operatic performances and have heard tenors of every possible ilk. I've been to three Turandot performances. At any one of them,actually all of them, I would have paid extra on the spot to have Paul sing Nessun Dorma.

I know that if Paul chooses to do so,he can develop technique that is as technically correct as any tenor in the world. This will probably be important to the preservation of his voice. If he does, however,I hope he does not lose one iota of that....honey sweet evocative character of pathos and longing in his voice. No other tenor I have ever heard has that same quality,and it cannot be learned. Technique will sell critics, though neither I nor millions of others care about them, but that voice, that quality of raw humanity, will always sell the masses longing for beauty and meaning.

And I haven't had any crazy pills at all.

Truly amazing!
I couldn't wait to get this CD after first hearing about Paul from a video clip on a well known internet site.
If you know the video clips I mean and were blown away by Pauls performance then you will not be disappointed by this CD.
You'll be crying all over again and may disappear for days on end just listening to it over and over,lol.
He seems to get better and better and it is a total revelation to hear him sing with a full orchestra.
His voice has a huge range and he seems almost like different people on different tracks.
Paul sings his heart out and the sheer emotion really grabs you, its almost like its music to fall in love with someone to or say to someone "God! I love you!"
My fave track is cavatina which I know he sang for his wife, it's just so beautiful.
He truly is exceptional.

How sad to give 1 or 2 stars - A response.
I was a little taken aback when I saw two of the most recent ratings. For me the whole debate surrounding Paul Potts ability and the cynical music business machine, whether we think he is an "Opera God", "Useless", or it is "....Marketing based around pity" and so on is surely immaterial. Not knowing a great amount about the technical aspects of opera I don't feel qualified to comment on his abilities of pronunciation and intonation, however in my opinion the acid test is about the way listening to the music makes one feel. Yes I do think his modest background, and quiet, humble character have caught the public imagination, and yes maybe he is just another money spinner to the "profit above all else" music business exec's. But can we not just enjoy this record for what it is; honest, open, heart felt.... That ultimately is how I prefer to judge the success of any record. Paul Potts may well fade into obscurity in 6....12 months time but credit where credit is due; let him have his moment of success. Perhaps by bringing his human dimension to these songs he will help change some of our perceptions of the Opera world being a somewhat stuffy, high brow and exclusive club; and open opera up to the popular masses. I wish him all the best and based on merit, one or two star ratings do not seem a fair reflection of his talent.

I think the songs on the record sound great.