Will Young has broken his silence on Darius Campbell Danesh's sudden death.
The singer, 43, who rose to fame with Darius on the 2001 series of Pop Idol, took to his social media to pay tribute to his fellow finalist.
He shared a throwback photo of the pair smiling while hugging one another and on Instagram gave his condolences in the caption.
Pop Idol champion Will wrote: "For the past few days my thoughts have been with Darius's family and will continue to be so.
"I found this picture a while ago taken during Pop Idol.
"If there was ever an example of not giving up on your dreams then Darius is top of the pile. Driven, courageous and gentle.
"My love goes to his family at this time x".
Darius tragically died on August 11, just days before his 42nd birthday.
His family announced in a statement his cause of death is still being investigated after he was found dead in his bed in his flat in America.
Darius placed third in the competition, while Will was crowned winner after going head-to-head with Gareth Gates.
After Pop Idol, Darius turned down Simon Cowell’s offer of a record deal and signed with producer Steve Lillywhite, whose credits include U2 and the Rolling Stones.
His debut single, Colourblind, was released in July 2002 and went straight to number one, marking the start of a run of top 10 releases.
Darius also forged a successful stage career, appearing in Chicago as Billy Flynn in two runs of the production, as well as Guys And Dolls, Gone With The Wind and more in the West End.
Former Pop Idol hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly also remembered the singer, tweeting: “We are very sorry to hear of the passing of Darius Campbell Danesh at such a tragically young age.
“We had many laughs with him on his Pop Idol journey. Our hearts go out to his lovely family. #RIP” followed by a praying hands emoji.
While Gareth shared: "I can’t quite believe the news of my dear friend Darius passing. I’m heartbroken.
"Darius took me under his wing during our time in Pop Idol, like a big brother; always looking out for me and for that I thank you my friend.
"I will miss our chats. He was one of the most beautiful, intelligent and gentle souls I was lucky enough to know, a soul that lit up every room.
"Goodbye my friend. Forever in my heart x".
Following his death, Colourblind has re-entered music charts and on Wednesday morning was listed in the first spot on the iTunes download chart.
Pete Waterman also spoke to BBC Breakfast to pay tribute to Darius saying: "He really was what you saw on television, he was just so talented, but so polite…"
While Simon Cowell said the singer’s death was a 'tragedy'.
He said: "He was charismatic, funny and just a great person to be with."
