Guy Sebastian delights fans with Sydney concert dates at The Star
Australian Idol alum Guy Sebastian’s star quality shines on the Sydney leg of his national tour, uniting fans of all ages with his charm and versatile voice.
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It may be easy to forget Guy Sebastian had a big American moment with Battle Scars.
What his Ridin’ With You concert reminds you is Sebastian is one of those Australian artists who deserves another shot at the title.
His otherworldly voice, which can wrap itself around everything from R & B to gospel, can soar on a tender ballad and sounds entirely in the pocket of the prevailing rap/singing trend, is of course the star of this tour which landed at The Star in Sydney on Thursday.
That voice is undisputedly one of the finest to emerge in Australia in the past two decades.
Yet it’s the strength of his songwriting and natural-born performer personality which truly shines in this show.
He doesn’t have to strain to connect with the kids, now millennial adults, who have stayed the course since he won Australian Idol in 2003.
There were whistles and cheers of appreciation from the female audience when he whipped off his leather jacket within the first few songs to flex those rather impressive tattooed guns. (Sorry Jules Sebastian for the objectification of your husband!)
But what’s intriguing is the generational crossover that’s happening with Sebastian now.
Of course his television gigs have something to do with introducing him to a wider audience but we are talking about kids from toddlers to pre-teens who are dancing and clapping with their mums and dads at his 2019 shows.
Part of Sebastian’s charm is, even as he brings the bells and whistles expected of the modern pop show, he removes the veil to let the fans into the secrets behind the smoke and mirrors.
When he’s puffing after racing back onto the stage after a costume change — swapping the muscle-friendly singlet for a black T-shirt and vest, he tells them why.
When he introduces the ubiquitous section of new stuff, he begs their indulgence for one more song called Believer — dedicated to Jules — before promising he will go straight back to the old stuff they already love.
And again, you forget there are so many strong and luckily for him, radio-friendly pop songs. Like It Like That, Like A Drum, Before I Go, Bloodstone, Art Of Love, Get Along, Out With My Baby and of course, Battle Scars.
He concludes with the song which has been one of the biggest and most loved musical moments of the year, the heartfelt and heartbreaking Choir, written in tribute to his bandmate and friend Luke Liang, who lost his battle with depression last year.
Sebastian’s final show on the Australian tour will be at The Star on October 10 where he returns as host of the 2019 ARIA Awards on November 27.