The singer from Wokingham England, now 40, told the breakfast show that he received only about £800 (about B33,000) for his two Brit awards.
“I didn’t need them. I was looking at things around my house and thought ‘do I get joy from these things?’ The answer was no… so why am I holding on to them?
“I did hold onto my Top Of The Pops medals. They meant more to me than the Brits,” he said, according to a report by The Sun. (See story here.)
The 40-year-old singer – who made history as the winner of the UK’s first ITV talent contest ‘Pop Idol’, making him the first winner of the worldwide Idol franchise – donated the cash to charity to help homeless dogs and cats after growing sick of the music industry, The Sun reported.
The singer told the Chris Evans Virgin Radio Breakfast show he went through with his pledge to auction off the gongs after announcing he was retiring from music, the report added.
In 2017 the Pop Idol winner said he was no longer interested in being a singer. He said he wanted to move to Cornwall to become a therapist and turn his back on his showbiz career, said The Sun.
Will Young announced his patronage of the Phuket-based dog and cat welfare charity Soi Dog Foundation, which is leading the fight to end Thailand’s illegal dog meat trade, in 2015.
He first became aware of Soi Dog’s work after a visit to their shelter in Phuket during a holiday in 2014.
“I am thrilled and honoured to be a new patron of Soi Dog Foundation. The plight of dogs caught in the dog meat trade is heartbreaking. As a proud nation of animal lovers, I hope that people will get behind this incredible charity to rescue animals and give them a chance of happiness,” he said in a press release to announce his new role with Soi Dog. (See story here.)
For more information about Soi Dog Foundation and Adoption, please visit www.soidog.org