# Paul Potts
**Paul Potts** (born 1970) is a British tenor who won the first series of the ITV talent show *Britain's Got Talent* in 2007 with his audition performance of Puccini's aria "Nessun Dorma", going from mobile phone salesman to international recording artist within weeks[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-potts-mn0000934840) • [2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/). His debut album *One Chance* topped the charts in 13 countries, and his story inspired the Hollywood film *One Chance* (2013), starring [James Corden](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-corden)[2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/). He resides in Wales and has performed well over 1,500 times across 45 countries[2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970, Kingswood, on Bristol's eastern border, England[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-potts-mn0000934840) |
| Breakthrough | Winner of the first series of *Britain's Got Talent*, June 2007, singing "Nessun Dorma"[2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2007/jun/17/britainsgottalentlivefinal) |
| Prize | £100,000, a record deal with judge Simon Cowell, and a place on the Royal Variety Performance bill[4](https://www.historicalporttalbot.com/paul-potts.html) |
| Debut album | *One Chance* (2007), over 125,000 copies sold in its first week; number one in 13 countries[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-potts-mn0000934840) • [2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/) |
| Studio albums | *Passione* (2009), *Cinema Paradiso* (2010), *Home* (2014), *On Stage* (2017), *Winter Dreams* (2019), *Musica Non Proibita* (2020)[2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/) |
| Film | *One Chance* (2013), directed by David Frankel, with James Corden as Potts[5](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/10/one-chance-review-toronto) |
| Live career | Well over 1,500 performances in 45 countries; reached the Grand Final of *America's Got Talent: The Champions*[2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/) |
## Early life and musical beginnings
Potts was born in Kingswood, just outside Bristol's eastern border, one of four children of Roland Potts, a bus driver, and Yvonne, a supermarket cashier[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-potts-mn0000934840) • [4](https://www.historicalporttalbot.com/paul-potts.html). He was raised in the Bristol suburb of Fishponds and attended St. Mary Redcliffe school, where he developed his love of singing; he was a boy treble in the choir at Christ Church in Bristol city center[4](https://www.historicalporttalbot.com/paul-potts.html). He has said he was bullied at school from an early age, an experience he linked to his lack of self-confidence, and that singing offered him a refuge[4](https://www.historicalporttalbot.com/paul-potts.html) • [6](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/i-daren-t-give-up-my-day-job-says-britains-got-talent-winner-paul-potts-6626477.html).
His first encounter with classical music came through film: at age 11 he was entranced by the score of *E.T.*, and he later traced his interest in opera to hearing [José Carreras](https://www.edgepedia.org/jose-carreras) sing arias from *La Bohème*[4](https://www.historicalporttalbot.com/paul-potts.html) • [7](https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/People/view?articleId=117954). His official biography says he fell in love with opera at 16 while listening to *La Bohème*[2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/).
At Plymouth's University College of St Mark and St John, he took philosophy, theology, and film and television, earning a 2.2, before taking a job stacking shelves at Tesco.[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/i-daren-t-give-up-my-day-job-says-britains-got-talent-winner-paul-potts-6626477.html) He joined the Bath Operatic and Dramatic Society, cycling from Bristol to Bath four times a week[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/i-daren-t-give-up-my-day-job-says-britains-got-talent-winner-paul-potts-6626477.html). With the amateur company Bath Opera he performed four times, in the roles of Don Basilio in *The Marriage of Figaro*, Don Ottavio in *Don Giovanni*, the title role in Verdi's *Don Carlos*, and the [Prince of Persia](https://www.edgepedia.org/prince-of-persia) and the Herald in *Turandot*[8](https://www.welshicons.org/wici/html/paul_potts.php).
In 1999 he won £8,000 on the [Michael Barrymore](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-barrymore)-hosted talent show *My Kind of Music* and spent the winnings, together with his savings, on opera singing lessons in Italy, including a masterclass where he sang for [Luciano Pavarotti](https://www.edgepedia.org/luciano-pavarotti) and Katia Ricciarelli[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2275849/bio/) • [4](https://www.historicalporttalbot.com/paul-potts.html). Alongside music, he served as a Liberal Democrat councillor on Bristol City Council from 1996 to 2003[8](https://www.welshicons.org/wici/html/paul_potts.php).
A run of misfortune ended his amateur opera career in 2003. His appendix burst six months before his wedding; during treatment doctors found and removed a benign tumor on his adrenal gland. Two weeks after he returned to work following a yearlong recovery, a car knocked him off his bicycle, fracturing his collarbone and sidelining him for another nine months[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-mar-25-et-potts25-story.html). The period left him in debt; he later said he was months away from having his home repossessed when he applied for *Britain's Got Talent*[11](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jan/15/paul-potts-heavy-breathe-james-corden-britains-got-talent). At the time of the show he was working as a manager at the Bridgend branch of the [Carphone Warehouse](https://www.edgepedia.org/carphone-warehouse), a mobile phone retailer[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-potts-mn0000934840) • [8](https://www.welshicons.org/wici/html/paul_potts.php).
## Britain's Got Talent, 2007
Potts auditioned at the Millennium Cardiff Theatre in Wales in front of judges [Simon Cowell](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-cowell), Amanda Holden, and [Piers Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/piers-morgan), singing "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's *Turandot*[12](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/FallConcert/story?id=4036131&page=1). Holden described him as "a lump of coal that is going to turn into a diamond"[13](https://www.itv.com/britainsgottalent/articles/10-years-of-bgt-paul-potts-first-audition). The semi-final in which he triumphed was watched by 9.5 million viewers, reportedly 41 percent of the viewing audience, and the audition clip had been watched on YouTube more than a million times by the end of that week[14](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jun/17/realitytv.broadcasting).
In the live final on 17 June 2007 he sang "Nessun Dorma" again and won the public vote from about two million votes cast[3](https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2007/jun/17/britainsgottalentlivefinal). The prize was £100,000, a record deal from Cowell, and a place on the [Royal Variety Performance](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-variety-performance) bill[4](https://www.historicalporttalbot.com/paul-potts.html).
His win was quickly followed by press scrutiny of his amateur status. Potts responded that he had never worked as a professional singer, that his four performances with Bath Opera were amateur, and that he had always been open about his masterclass with Pavarotti, which was listed on the show's website[14](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jun/17/realitytv.broadcasting) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jan/15/paul-potts-heavy-breathe-james-corden-britains-got-talent). His former singing teacher Ian Comboy, who has sung at [Covent Garden](https://www.edgepedia.org/covent-garden), described his voice as "amazingly authentic" and Italianate[14](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jun/17/realitytv.broadcasting). Critics elsewhere were less convinced; the [Australian Broadcasting Corporation](https://www.edgepedia.org/australian-broadcasting-corporation) reported that critics said Potts was "a long way from being an opera star"[15](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-08-28/from-salesman-to-superstar-in-7-days/652294), and a Los Angeles Times piece quoted the view that Potts "is not an opera singer; he just plays one on TV"[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-mar-25-et-potts25-story.html).
## Recording career
Less than a month after the final, Potts released his debut album *One Chance*, which sold over 125,000 copies in its first week[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-potts-mn0000934840). It reached number one in 13 countries according to his official biography[2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/); a 2009 Guardian profile put the count at 15 countries and reported sales of more than 3.5 million copies[16](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/apr/18/susan-boyle-britains-got-talent). The album's success took him to promotion tours in Britain, Europe, and Australia, and he appeared twice on Oprah[15](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-08-28/from-salesman-to-superstar-in-7-days/652294) • [2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/).
He left his Carphone Warehouse job in March 2008, having initially taken a sabbatical because he could not believe the career change would last[11](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jan/15/paul-potts-heavy-breathe-james-corden-britains-got-talent). In 2009 he received the Echo award in the International Rock/Pop Artist category[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2275849/bio/).
His subsequent albums followed a steady rhythm: *Passione* (2009), *Cinema Paradiso* (2010), a Greatest Hits collection (2013), *Home* (2014), *On Stage* (2017), released to mark ten years since his win, *Winter Dreams* (2019), and *Musica Non Proibita*, a double album of arias performed during his "At Home" sessions in the 2020 lockdown[2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/). His repertoire mixes opera arias with pop and musical theater material; as he put it in one interview, "I sing many types of music with an operatic voice"[17](https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/interviews/Paul%2BPotts%2BInterview-67724.html).
## Film, television, and later career
Potts's life story became the film *One Chance*, premiered at the 2013 [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival), with James Corden playing Potts and [Taylor Swift](https://www.edgepedia.org/taylor-swift) contributing a song to the soundtrack[5](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/10/one-chance-review-toronto). Potts recorded the vocal track Corden lip-synchs to, and even supplied the heavy breathing for a scene in which his character runs from bullies[11](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jan/15/paul-potts-heavy-breathe-james-corden-britains-got-talent). He said he asked the filmmakers for a comedy rather than a documentary[11](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jan/15/paul-potts-heavy-breathe-james-corden-britains-got-talent).
He returned to talent television on *America's Got Talent: The Champions*, where he reached the Grand Final against other winners from around the world[2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/). He has also appeared on the German version of *The Masked Singer* as the "Koala", performing songs by A-ha, Toto, Elton John, and [Dua Lipa](https://www.edgepedia.org/dua-lipa)[18](https://sita.sk/od-predavaca-k-svetovej-hviezde-pribeh-paula-pottsa-je-skutocnym-pribehom-modernej-rozpravky/).
Touring remains the core of his career. He has performed in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand, Fiji, Germany, Scandinavia, the UK, and Wales in recent years, and speaks near-fluent German on stage, a market where he has a steady fanbase[2](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/) • [19](https://www.n-tv.de/leute/musik/Paul-Potts-ist-gekommen-um-zu-bleiben-id31262758.html). His 2007 audition clip became one of the early viral videos on YouTube, and by 2014 a Korea.net report put views of the "Nessun Dorma" performance at 160 million[7](https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/People/view?articleId=117954).
## Personal life
Potts met his wife Julie-Ann in an internet chat room in 2002; their first date was ten-pin bowling followed by fish and chips on Mumbles pier near Swansea, and they married in May 2003, at which he sang Grieg's "Ich Liebe Dich"[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/i-daren-t-give-up-my-day-job-says-britains-got-talent-winner-paul-potts-6626477.html) • [14](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jun/17/realitytv.broadcasting). He has described himself as prone to bouts of depression and low self-worth, and has said the only time he feels truly at one with himself is when singing[6](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/i-daren-t-give-up-my-day-job-says-britains-got-talent-winner-paul-potts-6626477.html).
## References
1. [Paul Potts Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-potts-mn0000934840)
2. [About and Tour, Paul Potts official site](https://www.paulpottsofficial.com/tour/)
3. [Britain's Got Talent: Live final, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2007/jun/17/britainsgottalentlivefinal)
4. [Paul Potts, Historical Port Talbot](https://www.historicalporttalbot.com/paul-potts.html)
5. [One Chance: Toronto 2013, first look review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/10/one-chance-review-toronto)
6. ['I daren't give up my day job', says Britain's Got Talent winner Paul Potts, London Evening Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/i-daren-t-give-up-my-day-job-says-britains-got-talent-winner-paul-potts-6626477.html)
7. [Paul Potts' movie-like life hits the screen, Korea.net](https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/People/view?articleId=117954)
8. [Paul Potts, Welsh Icons](https://www.welshicons.org/wici/html/paul_potts.php)
9. [Paul Potts Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2275849/bio/)
10. [Go for bloke, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-mar-25-et-potts25-story.html)
11. [Paul Potts: 'I had to heavy breathe for James Corden', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jan/15/paul-potts-heavy-breathe-james-corden-britains-got-talent)
12. [The Paul Potts Fairy Tale, ABC News](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/FallConcert/story?id=4036131&page=1)
13. [10 Years of BGT: Paul Potts shines bright like a diamond, ITV](https://www.itv.com/britainsgottalent/articles/10-years-of-bgt-paul-potts-first-audition)
14. [This is my lifelong dream, says the singing salesman, The Observer via The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jun/17/realitytv.broadcasting)
15. [From salesman to superstar in 7 days, ABC News Australia](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-08-28/from-salesman-to-superstar-in-7-days/652294)
16. [Susan Boyle: a dream come true, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/apr/18/susan-boyle-britains-got-talent)
17. [Paul Potts Interview, Female First](https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/interviews/Paul%2BPotts%2BInterview-67724.html)
18. [Od predavača k svetovej hviezde, SITA.sk](https://sita.sk/od-predavaca-k-svetovej-hviezde-pribeh-paula-pottsa-je-skutocnym-pribehom-modernej-rozpravky/)
19. [Phänomen ohne Verfallsdatum: Paul Potts ist gekommen, um zu bleiben, n-tv.de](https://www.n-tv.de/leute/musik/Paul-Potts-ist-gekommen-um-zu-bleiben-id31262758.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Opera and classical vocal soloists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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