Paul Potts

Paul Potts is a phenomenon that has stuck in our minds from the moment he first appeared on television. A former philosophy student and mobile phone salesman wanted to be an opera singer: This is how the man from Bristol presented himself as a candidate on the talent show “Britain’s Got Talent”. Excerpts from the show on video portals such as YouTube made him popular around the world. With his interpretation of Giacomo Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma”, he immediately sang his way into the hearts of the listeners.

His first album entitled “One Chance” followed and was listed in the top 10 in numerous countries. In 2009, Potts was awarded the Echo in the International Rock/Pop Artist category. His ninth studio album “Winter Dreams” was released in 2018.

Paul Potts grew up in the Bristol suburb of Fishponds, the son of a bus driver and a cashier. He attended Mary Redcliffe School in Bristol and then studied philosophy at University College Marjon Plymouth.

He wrote his Bachelor of Arts thesis on the question of evil and suffering in a world created by God.

From 1999 to 2003 he appeared on various stages as a free tenor, including at the amateur opera Bath Opera (2001) in the title role in Don Carlos and as Radames in Aida, both by Giuseppe Verdi. His performances have been publicized on television and radio. Due to a ruptured appendix in 2003, a benign tumor on his adrenal gland and a broken collarbone, Potts initially did not continue his career. Before appearing on the British talent show in 2007, he worked for the supermarket chain Tesco and then as a mobile phone salesman for the retail chain The Carphone Warehouse.

On 9 June 2007, Potts appeared on Simon Cowell’s British talent show Britain’s Got Talent on ITV in Cardiff. He presented a version of Giacomo Puccini’s aria Nessun dorma, arranged by himself. Potts was initially viewed with skepticism by the audience and the judges (Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden) when he performed. However, his performance was well received. In his further performances on June 14, 2007 and June 17, 2007, his success continued with the main part of the piece

Potts’ first album One Chance was released in 2007 and reached chart positions in numerous countries, sometimes even number 1. From July 2008 his performance from Britain’s Got Talent was used in a Deutsche Telekom commercial. His recording of Nessun dorma then made it to number 3 in the German charts through download sales alone, the highest position for a purely download title in Germany up to that point. His album, which had only peaked at number 31 in 2007, returned to the charts and even managed to conquer the top of the charts. In 2009 he received an Echo in the Rock/Pop international category.

In spring 2022, Potts appeared as a koala in the sixth season of the German version of The Masked Singer and was unmasked in the third episode.