On Sunday 22 November 2009, 19 year old Stan Walker’s life changed forever. He became the 2009 Australian Idol.
Since then life has been a frantic mix of recording, performing and promotional appearances. His first single Black Box was an instant hit. His album Introducing Stan Walker was released in early December.
How good is he really? International superstar Michael Bublé was one of the guest mentors for Australian Idol 2009 and after meeting Stan and hearing him sing he said, “That voice is like God kissed his throat. It’s hard when you’re a singer and you meet a better singer than you and you have to come up and mentor them.” After one performance during Idol he left Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte speechless. Joel said that listening to Walker sing made him want to sing R&B music and Benji said he’d watch him perform wheather he won the competition or not. Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy told Stan that if he had no where to go after Idol to give him a call.
Stan joined me in the studio this morning on 98.5 Sonshine FM. You can hear our conversation by clicking on the play button of the audio player at the bottom of this post.
We spoke about a range of subjects including his music, staying grounded, and growing up within a broken and dysfunctional home. Stan has been quoted as saying that he wants people to connect with more than just his music.
I really want to represent Polynesian people, Aboriginal people, and other ethic groups of people who have to deal the same kind of issues in their communities, but at the very same time I also want to represent all the young Australians who may also be finding things a little more difficult than others. It’s not about where you’re from, it’s about who you are – my goal is to show people that through the struggle there is definitely a brighter future on the other side. I’m one of those broken people who’ve gained everything through my experience, and I want to show everyone that it’s possible if you stay true to who you are. I really believe that talent can take you so far, but it’s your character that can take you all the way.
Stan Walker is someone who’s not afraid to speak very openly about his faith and the place of God in his life. He talked about his decisions being based on prayer and the wise advice of church leaders and mentors.
[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR190210_1219.mp3]
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I’m not sure how much posting I’ll be doing over the next week as I’ll be pretty busy with this year’s Sonshine FM Radiothon.
They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch but there is a free morning tea.
