The Voice 2020: Chris Sebastian on growing up in Guy’s shadow

Chris Sebastian has opened up about how hard it’s been to grow up in the shadow of his famous brother, Guy Sebastian.

Chris Sebastian has opened up about the toll of growing up in Guy Sebastian’s shadow, saying it “kind of sucked”.

Chris is one of the four artists in the running to win The Voice Grand Finale this Sunday on Channel 9. Speaking to news.com.au, he praised the TV show for giving him an identity outside of his famous brother.

“For me, I’m so proud and so honoured that he’s (Guy) done well,” Chris said. “And then there’s the other side of it where, before this season of The Voice, it didn’t matter what I did, I was always seen as the brother first, which hurts. That’s the truth.

Chris Sebastian auditioning for the Voice.

“I’ve been doing it (music) a long time and I’ve tried to prove myself as much as I can and for the most part I’ve always been the brother and that’s kind of sucked. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t.

“That’s why I’ve loved this season of The Voice. It’s really given me an identity, even if other people didn’t get to see that, I got to see it for myself which I’m incredibly grateful for.”

Chris told news.com.au that before appearing on The Voice this year, he was contemplating giving up on his dreams of a solo career.

“I’m the front man for Peking Duk so I’ve been touring and singing their songs,” he said. “I also play a million different pubs.

“When I say the words ‘I was close to giving up’, I was close to giving up on Chris Sebastian as an artist. I’ve been writing songs for a really long time and everybody seems to like my songs but when it came to the finish of ‘let’s do a deal’, I couldn’t get anything in Australia.”

Chris said he had almost resigned himself to the fact his career would be “doing music, but doing other people’s stuff”.

“That was a legitimate fear of mine,” he said. “I was definitely at that giving up point.”

Chris Sebastian on The Voice.

This isn’t Chris’s first time on The Voice. He appeared on the show in season one and had a “cr*ppy experience”.

“They did a lot of things that they weren’t meant to, like after my performance they played my brother’s song,” he said in a 2016 interview. “And the whole point was for me to have my own identity … So it was a bit of a cr*ppy experience.”

Chris decided to appear on the show again this year because his brother told him the show had changed since season one.

“I’ve been a big fan of the show because it’s one of the only shows where they don’t try to make people look bad,” Chris told news.com.au about The Voice. “That was what I was worried about, because last time I felt like that. But was season one, they were still trying to work out the kinks.

“When I spoke to Guy this year he said, ‘they’re really good people. They aren’t about trying to do anything dodgy.’”

Voice finalists: Siala, Chris, Johnny, Stellar.

The decision has paid off with Chris now a strong contender to win the show on Sunday night.

But even if he doesn’t win, he’s hoping he’s done enough for Aussie music execs to sit up and take notice.

“If I don’t win, I’ll feel like I’ve been identified anyway,” he told news.com.au.

It’s up to viewers to decide who will win the title in this weekend’s Grand Finale. Voting is now open for The Voice winner and it will close after all four artists have performed in the Grand Finale on Sunday night.

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The Voice Grand Finale airs this Sunday night at 7pm on Channel 9