The Voice star Tim Conlon: ‘You have to be confident in your own ability when you step on stage’

THE Voice star Tim Conlon is on a quest to prove to his family that dropping his promising football career to pursue music was the right call — and he’s determined to find singing success.

THE Voice star Tim Conlon is on a quest to prove to his family that dropping his promising football career to pursue music was the right call.

BW Magazine can reveal Conlon — Sydney’s 23-year-old hope in the top rating reality TV singing contest — shocked his family to their core when he told them he wanted to change his “life focus” to music.

Now, as Conlon heads into the second live elimination round tomorrow night — fresh from having fought for survival in the bottom two last week — proving that ditching football was the right life choice is more pressing than ever before.

The young Sydneysider is one of three NSW hopefuls battling it out for singing supremacy in The Voice — but for Conlon, the importance of success runs deeper than simply winning.

The Voice star Tim Conlon is determined to find singing success.

Conlon was a star in representative schoolboy rugby throughout his school life and was pegged as being on track for a professional sports career.

And as captain of his team, he only ever lost one game.

“I always loved music and it was always a part of my life but I was more focused on rugby,” he says.

“So when I made the change, I knew I made the right choice but I think a lot of people around were thinking, ‘What are you doing?’

“My dad ... thought I would be doing rugby for a long time.”

Conlon’s father Steve told BW Magazine he wasn’t disappointed that his son went with music, but the decision was a shock.

“He was so besotted with rugby,” Steve says.

“For about 10 years straight he wrote on every father’s day card, ‘Thanks for everything you taught me about rugby.’

“The game also brought Tim and I very close, but as a dad all you want is for your children to go after their dreams and do it with passion.”

Fasika Ayallew is chasing her music dreams as a finalist on The Voice. Picture: Adam Yip

Conlon quickly captured Australia, and female The Voice judges Delta Goodrem and Kelly Rowland, with his good looks when he burst onto the reality TV singing contest last month.

Almost immediately online teen forums were flooded with questions such as, “Is this the hottest reality TV star of all time?” and “Is this Australia’s hottest singer?”.

Conlon — known for his quiet and humble demeanour — was quick to shrug off the attention, declaring he wanted to be known for his singing not his looks.

“Music and sport are similar,” he says.

“You have to be confident in your own ability every time you step onto the field or stage.”

Tim’s father revealed that when Conlon faced his toughest moments in the singing contest — which eliminates one hopeful each week in a public vote — he channels his sporting background.

“It felt like it was 10 minutes of extra time in grand final,” Steve says of the moment his son found himself in the bottom two performers last Sunday.

“And I saw the drive and passion he had. I was so proud of how he handled it. He’s worked so hard.”

Goodrem, Conlon’s coach, agrees, describing him as a “professional ... always ready to do the work”.

“He’s an amazing talent and I’m so proud to be his coach,” she says.

Rennie Adams is another Sydney contender hoping to win The Voice.

The pair have been romantically linked but both deny the rumours, saying their connection is only about music.

Conlon is one of three NSW contestants remaining in the contest, with 11 singers battling it out on Sunday night with another instant elimination at the end of the show.

Fellow NSW artist Fasika Ayallew has put her media-law university degree on hold to chase her music dreams, much to the shock of her Ethiopian parents.

“My parents were apprehensive at first because in Ethiopian culture it’s looked down upon to be in the entertainment industry,” she says.

But after seeing her perform for the first time during the blind auditions, her parents changed their tune.

For northern beaches boy Rennie Adams, his whole career has been about risk.

“I’ve had a lot of experience singing but without too much commercial success, so for me it’s a matter of should I give this up or keep going,” he says.

Originally published as The Voice star Tim Conlon: ‘You have to be confident in your own ability when you step on stage’