Guy Sebastian
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Guy Sebastian (born October 26, 1981) was the winner of the first series of Australian Idol. So far he has released his first album which has proven to be very popular in the Australian music charts.
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Australian Idol
Guysebastian.jpg
Guy Sebastian started singing at the age of fourteen. After he moved to Adelaide, he attended the Paradise Community Church, one of the largest in Australia with over 5,000 people in attendance, associated with the Pentacostal Assemblies of God. While at Paradise, he joined their youth conference band, Planetshakers, and sang as one of the lead singers. While working at Planetshakers, he was known for what some people refer to as his "weird" voice and his afro hair style. Guy Sebastian never had any formal voice training but followed the people he adored. In an interview with radio station 107.9 Life FM, he said that he copied move by move Michael W. Smith, a Contemporary Christian music artist, in particular.(interviews (http://www.life.on.net/audio.htm)) While working as a recording engineer and a singing teacher, he decided to enter Australian Idol. Throughout the competition the judges made reference to his afro hairstyle, with such catchphrases as "Go the 'Fro", and such, driving his popularity. The final of Australian Idol where he competed against Shannon Noll was the most popular program broadcast in Australia during 2003 and the second most popular non-sporting broadcast in Australian television history.
In World Idol he sang "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong which is also on the Australian Idol Final 12 CD and his debut album Just As I Am. He impressed many of the World Idol judges with this performance but finished 7th out of the 10 finalists. There were questions over his song selection for the competition as many fans felt that his dance reggae version "What A Wonderful World" was his weakest performance during the earlier Australian Idol series. He was planning on using his rendition of Prince's "When Doves Cry", but there were legal issues with that choice.
Sebastian has been public about his strong Christian beliefs. This may have helped to win the Australian Idol competition, as a strong campaign to encourage voting for him was organised within his church. Regardless, his win was popular with most viewers and his subsequent commercial success has extended far beyond the evangelical Christian community in Australia.
Just As I Am
Given the obvious popularity of Australian Idol, BMG signed up Guy Sebastian for a record before Christmas. His first single "Angels Brought Me Here" debuted at number one having set a record for first week single sales for a debut artist and for an Australian artist. Only the Princess Diana tribute by Elton John sold more singles in its first week of release. It went on to go RIAA certification forty four times. However, many people considered the album to be rushed (it was recorded in two weeks, in order to comply with the Christmas rush) to have any real substance.
Just As I Am was released in December 2003 and debuted at number one on the charts being the best selling album in Australia during the Christmas of 2003. So far it has gone platinum six times which means that it has sold over 400,000 copies.
The second single "All I Need Is You" also debuted at number one in the Australian charts. He wrote the song himself which was incredibly important to him, saying on his web page "I think the credibility in having your own stuff makes you as an artist. Credibility is what I've always strived for and I couldn't imagine my first record not having one of my songs on it." He also wrote "I 4 U" and "Something Don't Feel Right" on the record.
Future
Guy Sebastian is planning to release another three albums, of which one will be Christian, and the other a Christmas album. He also said he prioritized the Christian album before the Christmas one, in an interview (http://www.life.on.net/audio.htm).
Discography
- Just As I Am (2003)
- Beautiful Life (2004)
External links
- Official Website (http://www.guysebastian.com.au/)
- Guy Sebastian interview (http://www.life.on.net/audio.htm)
- Guy Sebastian's ex-band (http://www.planetshakers.com/)
- Guy Sebastian's Church (http://www.abc.net.au/compass/s1218851.htm)