SIX years is like several lifetimes in the music business, which makes it all the more remarkable that Will Young came to prominence through TV’s Pop Idol in 2002.

Back at the BIC with a stunning new album, Let It Go, he delivered a performance that was a million miles from the wannabe star we first took to our hearts.

He still has the same cheeky boy-next-door charm and there is endless jokey banter between songs.

One minute he is telling us about his love of hardware shops: “you can’t beat finding a good broom handle”, the next he is playing with his Secret Santa gift – a pair of musical gloves with which he comically prods various parts of his body!

But bounding around the stage for the full 90 minutes dressed in jeans, checked shirt and pumps, his vocals are absolutely immaculate. His voice is sweeter and more intimate than ever before.

His perfectly crafted new songs – mostly co-written by himself – are mature and heart-felt, clearly the result of the heartache and disappointment of a failed relationship, making them all the more personal.

This bittersweet soulful pop, with its endless catchy hooks, constantly hits the mark. Every song was a gem.

The first single lifted from the new album, Hope My Life Changes, goes down a storm but the follow-up, Grace, with its soaring vocals whips the audience up for a standing ovation.

From the earlier hits like Friday’s Child and Mystified to the closing Leave Right Now, he could do no wrong.

With an appeal that crosses all generations, and one of the finest voices in pop, Will Young is a true star.