After Eurovision, X Factor and his biggest tours ever, 2015 is Guy Sebastian’s busiest year yet
GUY Sebastian is a rare exception to the fleeting fame of reality TV thanks to talent, grit and a willingness to risk it all. Take his new tour.
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GUY Sebastian knows busy.
Over a recent weekend, Sebastian commuted back and forth to his holiday home on the NSW
south coast to host his younger brother’s bucks celebrations, dropped into the 21st
birthday party of super-fan sisters in Sydney to present them with a special Adriano Zumbo
cake, checked on his X Factor artists and announced a 30-plus date tour around regional Australia.
This multi-tasking maniac is getting his hair cut while we talk because it is the only
time he has for a trim and touching base with wife Jules about how their sons Hudson
and Archer are doing.
ELIMINATED X FACTOR CONTESTANT CALLS IT ‘A GAME SHOW’
GUY SEBASTIAN NOMINATED FOR AN ARIA FOR TONIGHT AGAIN
It has been another marquee year for one of Australia’s most successful artists,
kicking off with his first arena headlining tour, in support of his eighth top 10 album
Madness.
And then there was that matter of proudly representing his country at the Eurovision Song Contest where he placed a valiant fifth with Tonight Again, a song he wrote and
recorded in two days before the competition’s deadline.
He also returned to the X Factor desk this year to coach the groups and this week
picked up another ARIA Awards nomination for Best Male Artist earlier this month.
The 33-year-old says all this frenetic activity is about investing in his career. Hence
he has booked 33 shows for the You … Me … Us regional tour, which kicks off not far
from his south coast base at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on January 14.
“The only thing that can keep you touring is to invest in your fanbase,” he says.
“Obviously Idol was 13 years ago and there was such a loyal following who jumped
on board and stayed with me along with others who have found me since then.
“You have to make the effort to go to them, particularly in the country towns, even if
it’s not economically viable.”
Sebastian takes a big risk with most of his tours. He remembers back to the Memphis
tour of 2008 when he brought the legendary soul musicians Steve Cropper and
Donald “Duck” Dunn to play the classic hits they had made famous including In The
Midnight Hour and Knock On Wood.
His Memphis album peaked at No. 3, scored him mostly positive reviews and went on
to achieve double platinum sales.
But he still did his dough on the tour.
“It took me a long time to make a living out of playing live, maybe eight or nine
years,” he says.
“I lost almost $200,000 on the Memphis tour even though I sold out the State Theatre
— bringing legendary musicians to Australia is not cheap — but that turned my life
around.
“Doing the big Madness arena tour this year, you don’t make cash in Australia unless
you are doing multiple dates and I was doing one in each city.
“There’s only a handful of Australian acts who can do it. But you have to back
yourself and be prepared to lose.”
There will be no love lost, and hopefully no money lost, on next year’s regional tour.
The east coast and rural runs of Australia’s concert circuit have opened up again after
many years of neglect, which starved fans who live out of the cities of big-name
artists.
And they adore Sebastian as proven during his 50-plus regional tour a couple of years
ago.
“The economy was a factor for not being able to play in those towns for a while
because the first thing that gets hit when things slow down are extra-curricular
activities like concerts,” he says.
“That audience is a very educated one thanks now to streaming which has made
discovering music so much more accessible and they know who’s around and what
they are doing.”
Sebastian is one of the country’s finest performers as was acknowledged by fans
when he won the ARIA for Best Live Act in 2013 for the Get Along tour.
He credits his persistence for building that reputation.
“I don’t think I am ever going to turn the heads of people who would never bother to
come and watch the show and I don’t worry about that,” he says.
“When I first started out, I was so green and I’ve become a musical adult and all I am
ever trying to do is make what I do better.”
Sebastian is also back into writing mode, keen to get a single out for summer and the
tour kick off. And, no doubt, to leverage the cross-promotional opportunities of his
stint on the X Factor panel.
He insists neither he nor his fellow coaches — James Blunt, Chris Isaak and Dannii
Minogue — are opportunistic about using the show for their own career advantage and
their priority remains their respective contestants.
But the seasoned campaigner — and his team and label — are not going to miss the
chance to introduce a new song to a television audience of more than one million
people.
“We are really conscious about not making it about the coaches. But it also isn’t
unusual for me to be releasing new music at this time of the year,” he says.
Sebastian has also enjoyed strong chart success by pairing with female artists
including Jordin Sparks (Art Of Love) and Eve (Who’s That Girl?) and is quick to
jump on the suggestion of teaming with his X Factor buddy Minogue.
“I would love to do something with her,” he says.
“I think she is already working on new music and she has the Christmas duet with
Kylie coming out too.”
As for his tips for who could win this year’s competition, besides his own artists,
Sebastian says he is loving Cyrus and Georgia.
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