How Paul Potts overcame chronic fear of rejection

Did you know that Paul Potts, the Britain’s Got Talent champion who’s having a concert tonight at the PICC (with soprano Rachelle Gerodias), had a chronic fear of rejection that almost made him quit singing altogether?

What a waste of talent he would have been, ‘no? A tenor who ruled Britain’s talent search with his stirring version of Puccini’s Nessun Dorma, his audition piece which was circulated on the YouTube, Potts is flattered by predictions that he could be — he just might be — the next Luciano Pavarotti whose overwhelming presence rendered him speechless when they came face-to-face a few years ago in Italy where he attended a three-month summer school and got to sing in a masterclass for his idol.

“It was an incredible experience but it was nerve-wracking,” Potts told The STAR in an interview yesterday at a function room of Shangri-La Makati where he and company are booked during their three-day stay which includes a CD-signing session tomorrow, Oct. 9, at the park area of Greenbelt 3, starting at 6 p.m., sponsored by Sony BMG which is releasing Potts’ debut album, One Chance. “It’s a pity that I didn’t have a chance to meet him.” 

Potts arrived Monday morning from Hong Kong. From Manila, he’ll fly to Taipei for more shows. His Asian swing is part of a world tour that has brought him to Europe.

I asked him how he overcame his “chronic fear of rejection” and Potts smiled, “I don’t know; I’m not sure. I didn’t know it then but I was headed for a cul-de-sac in my life but I was able to change direction just in time. It’s a huge, huge pleasure for me to be doing something that I love so much and which gives me a chance to go to many wonderful countries and to meet so many wonderful people. I’ve been doing this in the past 15 months.”

Born on Oct. 13, 1970, Potts was said to have been bullied by his schoolmates. Growing up, he worked at a supermarket stacking shelves and then selling mobile phones, prompting his boss to comment that Potts was a natural salesman.

“I knew I wasn’t,” Potts now admitted with an even wider smile. “I was actually putting on an act when I was selling. When I sang, I knew I was being my real self.”

His father was a truck driver and his mother a supermarket cashier. So who got him interested in opera?

“Steven Spielberg and John Williams. As a kid, I watched Spielberg films, especially Star Wars and E.T. My mother said that I would listen to the theme of E.T. and conducted an imaginary orchestra with sticks. Then, I started listening to Tchaikovsky. At 16, I saved enough money to buy a cheap recording of Jose Carreras who was singing Che Gelida Manina (Your Tiny Hand is Frozen) from La Boheme. It was so moving. Up to now, La Boheme is my favorite opera.”

Asked what he would tell the bullies in school (if they could see him now!), Potts said, “I try not to let negative things bother me. Yes, I would tell them that there was nothing to forgive. What’s in the past stays in the past. If you let it influence the present, you let the negative side win.”

(Note: The Paul Potts concert is presented by McDonald’s and 2nd Avenue, co-presented by Nescafé Body Partner, Hav It All, Cerveza Negra, San Miguel Premium All Malt Beer, ETC, Jack TV, Crime & Suspense, British Council and Sony BMG. The Philippine STAR is one of the media partners.)

(E-mail reactions at [email protected] or at [email protected])