Will Young's Fame Turned Him Into A 'machine'

Will Young's brother confronted him about fame turning him into a "machine".

The 45-year-old singer revealed his twin brother Rupert - who took his own life in 2020 after years of battling alcoholism - was in tears as he admitted he didn't understand why Will had turned so "steely" and "cold".

Speaking to Rylan Clark for his 'How To Be In The Spotlight' podcast, Will said: "I maybe became a bit too steely and I remember my late brother saying to me, ‘You’ve become a bit cold’ because I think I was so shut off to it.

"I remember it was so sad. I could well up about it because he was crying. He was like, ‘I don’t understand what has happened’.

"I think I was so focused in my head. I was like, ‘You’ve got to get through these five years to have a career’.

"So, all the c***, all that stuff, I think that made me a little bit machine-like. I wanted to be a famous singer from the age of four [and then] my first gig was at Wembley."

Will - who is set to release his ninth album 'Light It Up' this week - also revealed that although he has a "massive ego" on stage, he doesn't enjoy the spotlight when he is not performing.

He said: "I don’t know if I like the spotlight off the stage.

"On the stage, I want it all. My ego’s massive. Off stage, I couldn’t want it less.”

Meanwhile, Will previously spoke about his devastation at Rupert's death and the family's pain while dealing with his alcoholism.

He told BBC Breakfast: "I miss my brother, he was my twin and my best friend, but I don't miss the alcoholic.

""I don't think alcoholism is spoken about enough and it is important to speak out about what it is like to live with someone who has alcoholism in the family, and what that can do to a family.

"It was difficult, but it is amazing what we do out of love for people. I just didn't want my brother to die. In the end I didn't manage to keep him alive, and that is part of my grief process."