Paul Potts Background Information

Paul Potts, a former mobile phone salesman, has served as an inspiration to many. Born Paul Robert Potts on October 13, 1970 in Fishponds, Bristol, he had quite a lot of unhappy memories from his growing years. At home, he would see his parents fighting often. And at school, he endured a lot of bullying, to which he would later account his lack of self-confidence. When he went through such times, he would turn to singing to find comfort.

Potts' first stint in opera singing was when he joined a karaoke competition in 1999. In the same year, he joined My Kind of Music but did not win first place. He won £8,000, though, which helped fund his vocal lessons in Italy. He also performed for the Bath Opera of Bath, Somerset, in Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Don Carlos, and Turandot. Potts had also sung for the Royal Philharmonic. The turning point in his career came when Potts auditioned for the singing competition in the UK called Britain's Got Talent. He sang Giacomo Puccini's Nessun Dorma and received standing ovation from the audience. The video of this audition is among the most viewed in YouTube and has been watched 20 million times as of January 10, 2008.

Potts came out as the winner of Britain's Got Talent, even receiving the highest vote to win the competition. As first place winner, Potts got to perform in front of Her Majesty the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance. In 2007, Potts released his album entitled “One Chance” with the single “Nessun Dorma.” From being a mobile phone salesman, Potts has emerged as a great talent discovery. He has risen to do what he said he was born to do: sing. Potts now performs in different locations all over the UK, in the US, and in other countries.