UrbanWire

Liberty-X and Blue have sung his praises. Even Brian McKnight, his idol, has initiated a potential collaboration with him in near future. Born in Malaysia but raised in Australia, this talented 22-year-old has won the hearts of many with his soulful voice. He is Guy Sebastian.

Guy-who?

Okay, he may not be exactly famous here, but in Australia, he’s hot property with the Sheilas.

To think Guy nearly gave up on his first audition for Australian Idol, which he eventually won late last year, because he was sick. Fortunately, his best friend pulled him through by reminding him not to give up.

Guy, who was here to attend the MTV Asia Awards, casually walked in the conference room at Four Seasons Hotel at 3pm with a big smile, and with a bigger afro-hairdo, ready to embrace journalists.

A fan of local delights such as Nasi Lemak[coconut rice with fried condiments], Fried Kuey Teow[road rice noodles] and Pao[steamed buns], Guy’s heart has stayed amazingly close to Asia despite living in Adelaide, Australia since he was 6. He had moved there because his Sri-Lankan father was sent there to work.

Idol chatter
Together with other idols from around the world, including crowd favourite Kelly Clarkson from America and Will Young from the UK, Guy joined the World Idol competition last year. He didn’t quite make it to the top 5 but he has sure left an impression on the audience with his beautiful voice. Kurt Nilsen, who hails from Norway, emerged as the winner with his rendition of U2’s “Beautiful Day”.

However, Guy is more than pleased with his own upbeat rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World”.

“Kurt sounds exactly like Bono. I wanted to go out and have my own flavour, my own arrangement, something that I own and it wasn’t karaoke. [Something] that had credibility to me and so I was really happy,” he recalls.

So what was his impression of Simon Cowell, the judge of both American Idol and World Idol, best known for his scathing but spot on appraisals of contestants?

“I don’t think much about him at all,” Guy laughs, “He’s made a man for himself by being kind of mean [but] he’s a very talented man.”

When asked if he felt that the Idol series was all about a person’s image, Guy insisted that “[t]his show is actually a lot about music and it’s not a beauty contest. A lot of these pop star shows are.”

He adds, “The adoration comes from the people who vote. And they accepted that look. They accepted my look, and I don’t have the normal look that every pop star has, you know, and so I’m not that blue-eyed, blonde hair guy you know back home… the show gives viewers a chance [to] actually get to know the personality of that person that kinda makes them beautiful, that kinda makes them acceptable.”

His charismatic charm has certainly drawn lots of screaming female fans back home. Guy reveals that the craziest thing a fan has ever done for him was to cook him a “massive pot of curry”. He cracks up, “You get flowers, you get little teddy bears. And then I get a pot of curry.”

With only 5½ days to work on his debut album, Just As I Am, Guy has really put in his best and even wrote one song “All I Need is You” for his ex-girlfriend.

When requested by a journalist to sing a few lines off a song from Just As I Am, Guy bashfully looked down and smiled as he didn’t “know what this would sound like” and he chose to sing the first single, “Angels Brought Me Here”. Guy adds that ‘Angels Brought Me Here’ is very indicative of [his] whole journey. ‘Angels’ represent all the people that help [him] to become who [he is].”

His advice to Idol wannabes is to “remain humble, to remain themselves and to just always keep it about the music. A lot of people try to be Justin or Britney but there’s already a Justin, there’s already a Britney. People are looking for that individual character who has his own flavour and is his own star.”

Big Hair
And just what’s up with his afro-hairdo that has caused such a big hoopla back in Australia?

Since his fans have even created a chant for him whenever he performs – “Go the ‘fro!”, Guy will certainly think twice before doing something else with his hair.