If you’re a couch potato and you know all the latest in the music world, you’ll know that an afro-haired singer called Guy Sebastian has been making waves Down Under with his smooth vocals and charismatic charm. JASON CHEAH does some research and contacts Guy's mum to find out more about the Australian Idol who was born in Klang, Selangor.

Fact File

Name: Guy Sebastian

Age: 22

Original hometown: Klang

Education: Adelaide University (gave up after two years)

Profession: Vocal teacher, audio engineer, singer, songwriter

Current hometown: Adelaide, Australia

Years spent abroad: 16

HE was born in Malaysia and moved to Australia with his family in 1988 when he was just six years old.

Half a year ago, Guy Sebastian was an unknown, church going 21-year-old (he’s just turned 22) from suburban Adelaide who juggled two jobs and loved nothing more than tearing around the Adelaide Hills district on his beloved Yamaha 250cc motorbike.

Today, the Australian Idol winner is a genuine cultural phenomenon, a pop idol whose mesmerising voice, disarming charisma and gravity defying afro hairdo have not only captivated a nation but have blown the record books as well.

Australian Idol is, of course, that nation’s official version of the Pop Idol TV reality show founded in Britain that has taken some 20 nations by storm.

In fact, Guy’s winning performance at the Australian Idol grand finale at the Sydney Opera House on Nov 19 was not only the most watched programme on Australian TV this year, but also the most watched single non-sporting telecast in the history of Australian broadcasting with 3.65 million tuning in to see Guy take the crown!

The whole process started in July with an alleged10,000 would-be superstars queuing for up to eight hours for a chance to impress the judges. Within weeks they had been culled to 12 and the highly lucrative voting process (SMS text) was in full swing.

Although it was one of the most drawn-out shows on television, Idol exceeded all ratings expectations, while also producing much controversy, anger and conspiracy theories.

Before the competition, Guy was juggling two jobs – teaching vocals at high schools and working as a recording engineer – apparently a far cry from what he originally studied at University, which was medical radiation.

He managed to stick it out for two years but then it got a little too depressing seeing people getting sick all the time, so he left and decided to pursue his passion for singing.

But Guy didn’t give up on University altogether. According to the University of Adelaide’s prestigious Elder School of Music, he has been enrolled in a one year certificate Music Technology course as part of the Vocational Education and Training programme and only postponed his studies there earlier this year to pursue his Australian Idol dream.

Entering the competition started out on a fairly innocent note, according to his mother Nellie, who spoke to The Star via a telephone interview from Adelaide last week.

“When it first started, we really didn’t know very much about the competition,” she revealed.

“To us it was like just like any competition that he might have been in the past. He (once) performed in a television programme called Starstruck a couple of years ago. It was only later that we realised how big this was.”

Born in Klang in 1981, Guy moved to Melbourne with his family when his father, Ivan, who is a geologist for oil and gas, was sent there for work. Ivan is of Sri Lankan and Portuguese descent, while his mother Nellie has an English and Portuguese background and was raised in India. She’s a beauty therapist.

By the time Guy turned 10, the family had moved to Adelaide, where they now live.

As a child, he played the violin basically to satisfy his parents’ urge for their son to conquer a musical instrument but he only ever learned one song and it was that one song that he played at every family gathering and party for about three years! Eventually he gave up the violin and now dabbles in piano, drums and guitar. He is also a huge cricket fan and has taken up golf.

Raising him and his brothers in Australia proved no problem, Nellie pointed out.

“It doesn’t matter where you go, as long as you’re keeping your tradition. It would not be any struggle, if you keep within the basic teachings of your culture.

“I have four sons but thank God they’ve been very easy to bring up. Guy has an older brother Oliver (25), and two younger brothers, Christopher (15) and Jeremy (13).”

Back to the pop world, Guy appears to be the antithesis of the manufactured pop star - a multi-instrumentalist and a prolific songwriter who by his own estimate has written about 30 finished original songs and has about 150 others in various states of completion.

Critically, three of Guy’s original co-compositions are included on his debut album – All I Need is You, Something Don’t Feel Right and i 4 U.

Australian Idol may have catapulted Guy to an ever spiralling whirlwind of fame and fortune, but this is one guy who has his feet planted firmly on the ground, aptly reflected in the album’s title, Just As I Am.

“It’s all about the music, not about being cooler or above anyone, but being on the same level as the people who are listening to it. To touch people, all you need is to give yourself through the music,” he is quoted as saying in his official biography.

In addition, the 22-year-old is open about the role God plays in his life and is an active member of Adelaide’s popular Paradise Community Church.

Australia’s Daily Telegraph quoted Sebastian as quick to thank God – literally – for his victory. His prayers before taking the stage at the Sydney Opera House were in contrast to an industry often linked with the dark, steamy side of life.

“He’s very involved with the church,” Nellie said. “He’s one of their main worship singers and he’s been doing that for the past six or seven years, performing in front of 15,000 people.

The response to Guy Sebastian’s first release as a solo recording artist has been nothing short of phenomenal.

Angels Brought Me Here made its debut at the top of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) national singles chart and was certified triple platinum, upon release, with over 210,000 copies shipped to record stores around Australia.

After only one week in stores, the number of copies sold (128,000 according to ARIAnet data) makes Guy’s single the fastest selling Australian single in ARIAnet Chart history, the second highest first week singles sales ever (second only to Elton John’s Princess Diana tribute Candle in The Wind) and the highest first week singles sales for a debut artiste in Australia.

His debut album, Just As I Am, was released in Australia on Dec 8 and that set even more records. NEWS.COM.AU reported that the album stormed to the top of the charts as predicted, selling 163,000 copies, in the first week.

The album itself was recorded in a record five-and-a-half days and features three songs co-written by Guy.

Guy also had the chance to record studio versions of two of his favourite songs from Australian Idol – Prince’s When Doves Cry and Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World – for inclusion on the record.

“I wanted to give the people who believed in me something that they are proud of,” he said in his biography.

The album is testament to Guy’s singular vocal ability and his unique interpretative talents which allow him to cover iconic songs and transform them into tracks unmistakeably his own.

But how is the family coping with his success so far?

“Good and not so good,” Nellie laughed. “Naturally we very proud and excited. He’s worked very hard for this. But the phone hasn’t stopped ringing, it’s like a full-time answering machine service in the house. We even get calls at 2am in the morning (asking for him). I’m wondering why these people aren’t asleep.”

According to Nellie, the family have visited Malaysia in the past. While the children are all Australian citizens now, Guy’s father has retained his Malaysian citizenship while his mother is still an Indian citizen.

Guy himself has visited his place of birth twice, first when he was eight, for an uncle’s wedding and then again about three years ago when he participated in a youth gospel band called the Planet Shakers.

Next up Guy will be participating in World Idol, which takes place in London. The first instalment will be screened on TV over Christmas and Boxing Day in the 11 participating nations – Britain, United States, Canada, Holland, Germany, Pan-Arabic, Poland, South Africa, Norway, Belgium and Australia. And so Guy will be up against the more famous contestants such as American Kelly Clarkson and Britain’s Will Young.

By the time the New Year gets here, we’ll have a new World Idol on our hands. Whether or not it will be Guy Sebastian remains to be seen, but don’t be too surprised if he gets more than a few supporters from Malaysia cheering for him when the time comes! After all, he was born right here in Klang, eh?

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