Amazing performance by Britain's new talent Paul Potts!

Paul's Amazing Audition Performance



Paul's Amazing "Time To Say Goodbye" Performance



Paul Potts as He Wins "Britain's Got Talent"



Once in a while something comes along that gives you goosebumps — that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. The mobile phone salesman who is set to become an opera star after winning "Britain's Got Talent" on September 18, 2007, revealed that he would begin spending his ￡100,000 prize money — on new teeth. Paul Potts, 36, won over the nation with a stirring rendition of Giacomo Puccini's Nessun Dorma in the finale of the hit show, watched by 12.1 million viewers. The former Tesco shelf-stacker from Port Talbot, South Wales, now gets to perform in front of the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance. Paul, who has also landed a record deal with TV show judge Simon Cowell, commented about fixing his teeth: "I'm n ot sure about veneers but I do want to get the crown repaired. It would be nice to be able to smile naturally. I feel very self conscious about it at the moment. But whatever I do I'm not going to change who I am."

It was a daunting prospect, not only singing for a huge TV audience, but notoriously nasty Idol judge Simon Cowell. However, Paul, who has battled a burst appendix, a huge tumor on his adrenal gland and a shattered collarbone after being knocked off his bike, knocked 'em dead. The motorbike accident in 2003 took him completely out of the opera circles. Paul spent ￡12,000 on singing lessons before deciding his dream was not meant to be. He began stacking shelves in Tesco but had to quit work because of a spell of ill health. Since his illness he has struggled with money and has never reached his potential in Opera — this is why he chose to enter "Britain's Got Talent."

"All my life, I've felt insignificant. But after that first audition, I realized I am somebody. I'm Paul Potts." Wearing a cheap suit and with his hair cut too short, he admitted the judges weren't initially impressed with him. But when he sang he blew them away. Paul told the Wales newspaper: "I don't think they were expecting very much. I'm a bit short and overweight and had a cheap old suit on and the hairdresser had used a number two on my hair instead of a four so it made me look a bit bald. But when I sang, I made sure I looked at the judges and I saw Simon Cowell's jaw drop. I knew then I must have done all right."

Paul received a standing ovation from the 2000-strong audience at Cardiff's Millennium Centre and much praise from the hard-to-please judges, which included ex-tabloid editor Piers Morgan and actress Amanda Holden. "I heard some of the audience were reduced to tears after my performance and Amanda has been quoted as saying the hairs on her neck stand up when she remembers it," Paul said. "As far as I'm concerned, that's a great achievement already, anything else is a bonus."

The former Carphone Warehouse salesman from Port Talbot in Wales said bullies made school in Bristol so bad he wanted to end it all. "There was a lot of name-calling and I was regularly beaten up. It turned me in to a loner. I never told my parents. Somehow I felt it was my fault. I bottled it all up. There were some low times. I used to cry myself to sleep." Paul first responded to classical music when he heard Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique Symphony (No 6)". "I remember I loved the theme of the first movement. Then I got into Puccini and the emotion of Italia n music."

Wondering if pursuing his dream was worthwhile, Paul heard about "Britain's Got Talent ". "I filled in the entry form on my laptop, but then I had second thoughts about hitting the submit button. I waited an hour then I decided to flip a coin – heads I entered, tails I didn't. Thank goodness it came down heads! I just saw the show as my last chance really. I have never worked as a professional singer. I have poured everything I could earn into a few lessons, but everyone taking part in this tele vision show has had some training."

Paul admits he lacks confidence and is not a natural performer but says it's singing that changes him as a person. "I have been told something changes in my eyes. My nerves seem to disappear. I sing as if I'm on auto-pilot. That's when the real me comes out."

The finale was the culmination of nine nights, 50,000 acts, five audition shows and three semifinals. Potts beat six-year-old finalist Connie Talbot, from Sutton Coldfield, near Birmingham, who had been hotly tipped for the top spot. Potts was told by judge Simon Cowell that next week he would be heading for a studio to be recording his debut album. Potts said afterwards: "I feel like jelly. It means like absolutely everything — thank you for believing in me. I don't think there's any way to describe this. It just leaves me speechless. Absolutely speechless."

This mild-mannered former salesman closes on a word of advice for ordinary people hiding unusual talents who may be thinking of chasing a seemingly impossible dream: "Don't be afraid of it, give it all you've got!" Paul adds, "As for the fame, I'm going to take each day as it comes, keep my feet on the ground and try not to get sucked up in it all."

Needless to say, this man is an inspiration to all individuals, especially those dealing with issues similar to what he experienced when he was younger. Paul Potts is living proof that even though life may be hard sometimes there is a reason for everyone to be here. And all the people who caused him pain in the past look like fools now. Not only is he one of the best singers in the world, but he's an incredible human being who deserves every single moment in the spotlight. It's about time we start paying attention to people like Paul.