From salesman to opera superstar in 7 days

His debut rendition of Puccini's famous "Nessun Dorma" was not quite Pavarotti, yet there was something about the portly man from South Wales with his crooked teeth and hard luck story that made him an instant sensation.

Within hours of his performance, millions of internet users had started clicking on to see him on YouTube.

Potts is in Australia this week as part of a world tour to promote his first album, which has already hit the number one spot in Britain and across much of Europe.

When Potts first fronted the celebrity judges on Britain's Got Talent, they saw a tubby little man in a cheap suit. Then he started to sing. The audience, even the judges, were moved to tears.

"All my life I've felt insignificant," Potts said. "After that first audition I realised I am somebody. I'm Paul Potts."

Billed by his publicist as a shy loser who was bullied at school, Potts has told and retold his story of how he met his wife on an internet chatroom while stacking supermarket shelves to pay for his opera lessons.

Better still, a run of bad health four years ago had left him deeply in debt, forcing him to give up his dream of showbiz.

Potts says it is surreal in many ways.

"I don't think my feet have touched the ground yet. Sometimes it just feels like it's happening to someone else," he said.

In Australia this week as part of his worldwide promotion tour, it's unlikely we 'll be able to ignore the Pottsy juggernaut.

ABC TV's Operatunity Oz producer Simon Target says Potts has a great act.

"He's a snaggle-toothed nerd who works at Carphone Warehouse, and then out of this mouth comes this incredibly passionate music," he said.

'Brutal business'

But he says while Potts's extreme makeover has elevated him to the world stage, he is a long way from being an opera star.

"Opera is a brutal business, much worse than TV talent shows," he said.

"If he wants to do it, he's up against some of the most competitive people he's ever going to meet."

Classical music critic and author Norman Lebrecht says it is a great sob story, but it is "instant opera" for an audience who have never heard the real thing.

"It's the audience for the fat lady and the bearded lady and the babies with two heads," he said.

"And the judges, who have themselves in all probability never set foot inside an opera house, don't know what an opera means, said 'isn't this wonderful' because compared to the dogs that walk backwards, yes it is."

Target says: "Someone once said that explaining opera to someone who's never been is like describing an orgasm to someone who's never had one.

"With Pottsy, listening to him is a bit like blowing your nose or scratching a mosquito bite, you know, it's mildly satisfying but it's not the greatest sex you've ever had."

Making people happy

Opera Australia executive producer Stuart Maunder says the critics are being far too harsh on Potts. He may not be high art, but he is making a lot of people very happy.

"It's particularly peevish if people say that he can't sing because he clearly can," he said.

"Look, I hope the boy does well, I wish him nothing but well.

"And if he's making a fortune now by doing this tour based on his success in England, I hope to hell it lasts as long as he can. Good on him."

Potts says despite his life changing, that does not change who he is.

"I'll always be that slightly nervous guy," he said.

"I just love being able to do it and I'm truly humbled by the fact that there do seem to be a lot of people who do enjoy what I do as well." - Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation