news articles 22 december

[Inside Australian Idol]

It's harsh reality TV
December 22, 2003
The Sun-Herald


In with a chance ... our Idol, Guy Sebastian, front and centre with other World Idol hopefuls in London last week. Photo: AFP

Is World Idol a pop contest or a blood sport? Saska Graville goes ringside.

"There's not a cat in hell's chance of you winning based on that performance."

"There's nothing constructive I can say, you're out of your depth."

"I think people felt sorry for you because you don't look like a pop idol."

"We've allowed a lot of ugly people to become recording artists."

Welcome to the harsh reality of World Idol and the choice phrases of the competition's infamous judge Simon Cowell. If you thought Ian "Dicko" Dickson could be a tad tough at times, meet the man who makes him seem soft and cuddly.

Cowell was a judge on both the British and US shows and has carved himself a lucrative TV career with his Mr Nasty act. Guy Sebastian was up against him last week when he joined 11 other Idol winners from around the globe for the inaugural World Idol, recorded in London. The show will be screened on Ten on December 26 at 7.30pm, with the results show on January 2. (See below for how you can vote for the winner.)

Each competing country provided a judge, including our Dicko for Australia, Cowell for the US and Kylie's original producer Peter Waterman for the UK. Add them to a panel that included judges from Poland and the Arab nations, and the comments were unusual to say the least - but more on that later!

Performing What A Wonderful World, Australia's favourite 'fro took it all in his stride.

"I was over-the-moon happy with my performance," Sebastian said. "I felt great. I was very happy to be there to represent Australia."

And the boy did good. "Without question the best voice so far," Cowell said. Dicko himself was positively maternal. "I can't begin to tell you how proud I am to be with you representing my adopted country in my homeland," he raved from the judge's platform. "Go the 'fro!"

The next morning, Dicko was still on a Guy high.

"He's a champion and all of my expectations were satisfied last night," he said. "But who the hell knows who's going to win, it was such a freak show."

Um, yes, back to that eclectic mix of judges. "There were 11 winners who were ritually humiliated, abused and taken to task by some very ignorant and brutal people on the judging panel, myself included," Dicko said. "It was judging as a blood sport."

Which adds up to great television viewing.

As well as Cowell's comments above (to Germany, Poland, Canada and Norway respectively), viewers can look forward to a downright bonkers Polish judge who united everyone, his fellow judges included, in their scorn. ("I might as well have hired a tortoise," sneered Cowell.)

"There was this f---ing idiot from Poland who just wanted to destroy everyone," Dicko elaborated, in true understated style. "He thought it was cool every time to just tear people down."

Sebastian said: "It was a slaughter fest before I went on. It was very embarrassing, actually. There wasn't a panel of three good judges, they were all mean, insecure people trying to outdo each other. It was definitely not what I was expecting because everybody had already made it in their respective territories. It [the show] just brought talented people together and bagged the crap out of them."

Again, all the better for great television viewing.

Sebastian's fellow competitors included Kelly Clarkson from the US and Will Young from the UK, both of whom won Idol over two years ago and are still enjoying healthy careers, particularly Clarkson, whose debut single made the biggest jump to No. 1 in US Billboard chart history.

"I'm the freshest out so I was curious to know what it will be like in a year or so," Sebastian said. "To talk to some of them who are a year into their careers and to know they're still going strong was quite reassuring."

But can Sebastian be the World Idol?

"I think Kelly or Guy will win," Dicko said. "But Guy's in a position now where he's not beholden to a phone vote. He's got a career, he's broken records in Australia and we're going to make him a worldwide star, whether he wins a phone vote or not."


How the voting will work

Phone voting from TV viewers will decide the World Idol winner. Since each country involved has differing population sizes, votes will work on a points system, not on a number of votes system. Each country's own entrant will automatically be awarded the highest number of points - 12 - from that country, therefore local viewers will not vote for their own Idol but for how they think every other Idol should be ranked. Points will then be allotted from 10 down to one.


www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/21/1071941616221.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Idol voting puzzling
December 22, 2003


AND you thought the Eurovision Song Contest had a convoluted voting system. Try getting your head around World Idol.

To take into account the vast differences in populations and the obvious bias each country will have for its own star, a points system has been devised to try and at least give the likes of our rep Guy Sebastian a chance against the likes of America's Kelly Clarkson.



Guy Sebastian and Kelly Clarkson are hot favourites for World Idol / AP


The system awards an automatic highest vote to the country of each Idol's origin with viewers unable to vote for the home competitor. For example, before Guy even clears his throat he will get 12 points from Australia.

The Idol who receives the most votes from Australians will be awarded 10 points, the competitor with second highest vote tally receives 9 points and so on until the person with the lowest number of votes gets one point.

The maximum points any one Idol can receive is 112.

Once again the voting set-up is set to be a real money-spinner for Ten with Australians charged to vote by SMS and phone.

However other countries, such as Canada, will be able to vote on toll-free phone numbers.

It will be interesting to see how the slanging match which transpired during the taping of the performance show will be packaged for the local audience.

Sebastian said while he was pleased with his own performance of a R&B version of Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World, he was upset by the panel's attempt to hijack the show with smart-arse remarks.

"I must admit I was disappointed," he said last week.

The World Idol performance show will air on Channel 10 on Friday at 7.30pm and the final verdict will screen on January 2 also at 7.30pm.

The Daily Telegraph

entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,8234445%255E7484%255E%255Enbv,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

All the world's a stage
December 22, 2003


Birmingham boy Ian Dickson. Photo: Stephen Baccon


This week, 11 Idol winners from around the globe battle it out in London. Tony Davis talks to Ian Dickson, who'll be one of the judges.

I'm not really sure," replies Ian Dickson, when asked perhaps the most pertinent question concerning World Idol. Namely, what the hell are 11 - yes, 11 - judges going to do other than crowd the studio and struggle to get a word in?

It's perhaps the only time in our interview when Dickson - or Dicko, as he likes to be known - doesn't venture a strong opinion and produce a quotable quote. But he quickly regathers. "I've got this picture in my mind's eye of the United Nations, with headphones on and translators and everybody squabbling and then all picking on North Korea. And then France abstaining because the Americans are trying to push something through."

World Idol features the winners of 11 national Idol competitions, including afro-haired Adelaide church singer Guy Sebastian. In the style of Australian Idol, it's a two-part process. There's a performance show (filmed in London last week), in which each singer is allowed just one song. That's followed by a verdict show a week later, when the results of viewers' votes will be announced.

Dickson, the 40-year-old Birmingham-born record company executive, will be on the judging panel with Simon Cowell, the Englishman who became a star bucketing hopefuls in the UK and US versions - and the man many believed Dickson was meant to copy for our effort (he denies it).

"Our scope for lively comments is going to be seriously curtailed because all these contestants, you are going to have to assume, are going to be seriously good," Dickson says. "Someone would have to stumble pretty spectacularly to get some of the harsh comments that maybe myself or Simon Cowell have been noted for, but if they did fall flat on their face, we'd go there."

Even then, Dickson and the other 10 can only pass judgement, not sentence. And Dickson fears the need to configure the show for many different cultures, languages and TV formats may sanitise it.

"Part of the success of Australian Idol was that it allowed you to develop with the characters over a period of time and gave you breathing space between episodes to collect your thoughts and approach the next episode. I'm a little confused - no, curious - as to how they are going to achieve that."

The thing World Idol most brings to mind is the much-lampooned Eurovision Song Contest. Dickson dislikes the comparison (and Eurovision, though says he always looked forward "to seeing if Norway would get no points").

"With World Idol you are dealing with contestants who are out-and-out winners, not the young hopefuls - or hopeless ones - of Eurovision. And there is a commercial factor; most of these contestants already have records out. They have albums to sell."

Despite phenomenal early sales for Guy Sebastian's CD, many believe the quick-witted judge with the grey mane and distinctive accent will be the most enduring television personality the local show is likely to produce.

"I don't want to be sucked in or sucked off by television," Dickson once told the Herald, but he now seems comfortable with the attention. "People always joked that I behaved like a star just because I suppose I do like the limelight. Now fame seems a little odd to me ... It's hard to come to terms with it because I'm a little bit self-conscious about what my talent is, or indeed even if I have one."

Certainly, one of Dickson's talents is marketing, and Australian Idol and its spin-off products are making cash registers ring. The show also produced millions of dollars in phone voting fees and the final episode was watched by 3.25 million people - only the World Cup Rugby final rated higher. (Unfortunately for Ten, World Idol falls in the non-ratings period, though it should still generate advertising and maintain interest in the franchise until Australian Idol 2 begins mid next year.)

Sebastian will have only two minutes and seven seconds to conquer the world. That's the time he says he's been allotted for his revamped arrangement of What a Wonderful World. Sebastian had never been to London before he jetted off to record the performance show, yet he chose to race back to Melbourne to sing carols at the Myer Music Bowl. He'll spend Christmas Day with his family in Adelaide before flying to London again to film the verdict show.

"I don't really know much about World Idol," he told the Herald just before flying out of Australia, "because there is so much in the present to concentrate on. I was going to sing Climb Every Mountain - in fact they chose [it] - but I really wanted to do something that was up and joyful. It's a very joyful time of the year, it's the whole world thing - a wonderful world - and it's World Idol."

Dickson also considers it the smartest choice, citing the song as family-friendly - and Christmas-friendly - and perfect for Sebastian's soaring voice. He considers American Idol Kelly Clarkson to be Sebastian's "only major threat".

"She's had hits all around the world; her profile is huge. She deserves her place as the shortest-priced favourite. I'm not worried about Will Young [the British entrant] at all; I think Guy is far more talented. I also believe he is more talented than Kelly. I think she's got a great voice, I think he's a better star."


How World Idol works

As with the Eurovision Song Contest, each of the 11 contestants automatically receives maximum votes from his or her country. Viewers can decide only the order of the 10 "foreigners", as any other system would favour those from more populous countries.

Guy Sebastian will receive 12 points from Australia (with no need for Australians to vote for him). The foreign contestant most Australians vote for (at 55c a vote) receives 10 points, the next 9 points and so on, down to 1 point. The same system will work in each country, meaning that a contestant could receive a maximum of 112 points: 10 votes from the 10 other countries, plus 12 from their own.

A huge number of telephone and SMS votes were registered in each national competition. It will be interesting to see whether viewers will care enough to spend money voting on what is effectively second through to 11th place.

Maybe that's why an internal World Idol briefing paper says: "It is an absolute necessity that each territory's hosts constantly 'incentivise' their viewers to phone in and vote for these other performers ... the viewers have to be made aware that the fate of every other performer still rests in their phone calls."

And the prize at the end of it all? Just the honour of being World Idol.

World Idol airs on Friday at 7.30pm. The verdict show airs on Friday, January 2, at 6.30am (live) and 7.30pm.


www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/22/1071941649702.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

The who's who of World Idol
December 22, 2003 - 11:37AM


Will American Idol Kelly Clarkson romp to victory? What about Belgium's rogue metaller, or our very own Guy Sebastian? Peter Robinson weighs up the form.

Heinz Winckler - South Africa

The South African series boasted alleged voting syndicates, a presenter who was admitted into drug rehab halfway through the series and a last-minute rejig to the format to avoid an all-white finale. Still, enough of the boring stuff - let's talk about dogs. Heinz has a 14-year-old Maltese, with whom he recently stayed at the Twelve Apostles Hotel in Oudekraal, the only five-star hotel in South Africa that allows pets in bedrooms.

Diana Karazon- Pan-Arabic Region

"I feel success in every moment," says Diana, who won SuperStar in August following a gruelling 21-week search. "Especially when I stare at my mother's face." Upon winning, Diana said nothing, but dedicated her performance to the people of Lebanon, the people of Jordan, His Majesty King Abdullah, the Arab nation as a whole and the children of Palestine. Which makes a change from "my stylist". Fortunately, the final, in which Jordanian Karazon and Syrian Rowaida Attiyeh battled it out, managed not to cause any serious political "issues". The power of music, eh?

Kurt Nilsen - Norway

Kurt thrashed runner-up Gaute Ormsen, who has since been described as "the Norwegian Justin Timberlake". Both Nilsen and Ormsen recorded the song eventually released by the winner - She's So High, a cover of a song that scraped into the UK Top 30 in 1999. Back then it had been performed by the son of Randy "You know, as in Turner Overdrive" Bachman, and it is just as wonderful today.

Peter Evrard - Belgium

This Andrew WK lookalike performed Nirvana's Lithium during the Idol heats. After debuting what would be his first single on grand final night, he said: "I'd never have chosen that single, but it could have been a lot worse." Of his wardrobe, he adds: "I always wear black because it's easy to combine. I don't have to ask myself whether this colour goes with that colour." Peter's debut album is called Rhubarb.

Ryan Malcolm - Canada

Back home in Ontario, Ryan - whose all-engulfing fame led him to open the Hamilton 2003 World Cycling Festival - and two other members of the Malcolm clan enjoyed minor success as a covers band. Their ace-sounding A Bit of Nostalgia - Requestfully Yours is available now at www.abitofnostalgia.com.

Alexander Klaws - Germany

Some 62 per cent of German 14- to 49-year-olds watched the grand final, in which housewives' choice Alexander overcame flu and romped to victory. A shame he ever recovered, really. His most recent single was from a German gladiator film. In Free Like the Wind he sings: "He fights hard, will he reach his aim? He'll survive for his friends, he is like a crying wolf tonight. He is the winner in the end." Well, that's ruined the film for the rest of us, hasn't it?

Kelly Clarkson - US

Clarkson's stepfather calls her Mariah Kelly, because it sounds a bit like Mariah Carey, who is a singer, like Kelly. The hours must just fly by in Dallas. Upon winning, the ex-cocktail waitress filmed From Justin to Kelly, a summer holiday romp with runner-up Justin Guarini that made S Club's Seeing Double look like Citizen Kane.

Jamai Loman - Netherlands

Jamai has an interesting selection of spectacle frames and has lent his tones to songs such as Always on My Mind, Love is all Around and Everything I Do (I Do for You). Frankly, there is no way on Earth this man will win World Idol.

Will Young - UK

Will's mature new direction is reflected perfectly by his new album sleeve, in which the world's first Pop Idol is pictured jumping off a dry stone wall. Will came out as gay shortly after winning Pop Idol, but while you'd find Fred Durst more likely to discuss the ins and outs of life as a homosexual, Will did go out and buy Kylie's Slow the morning it was released.

Alicja Janosz - Poland

Since winning Idol, Alicja has decided she wants to be called Alex. Fair enough. A massive-selling debut album is already out of the way and she's tipped to represent Poland in next year's Eurovision Song Contest with I'm Still Alive, a song whose title seems to epitomise the struggle all Pop Idols face when it comes to their second album. Alex/icja puts her success down to God-given talent, hard work and luck. "I don't know anything more than this," she concludes.

Guy Sebastian - Australia

Guy, who calms himself down before a performance by entering what he terms "Grooveland", is the newest Idol of the lot. A committed Christian, Guy found maintaining his virginity during Australian Idol "freaking hard".

The Guardian

www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/22/1071941649690.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Delta is Christmas No.1
By Toby Forage
December 22, 2003


DELTA Goodrem has landed yet another No.1 single today, with the somewhat aptly named release Predictable finally knocking Australian Idol Guy Sebastian off his perch.
Goodrem - conspicuous by her absence from the spotlight since October's ARIA Awards as she battles Hodgkin's Disease - has now scored five out of five No.1s.



The singles charts are Delta's domain.


Her four previous releases - Not Me, Not I, Innocent Eyes, Lost Without You (the most played song no Australian radio in 2003) and Born To Try - all hit the singles charts at No.1, but Predictable was held out by Sebastian's debut release Angles Brought Me Here, which sold more than any other single in Australia on the back of his win in the Channel 10 reality TV hit.

But Guy has been shunted down to No.3 this week after Goodrem clambered to the top in time for Christmas, with the soulful Black Eyed Peas moving up to No.2 with their bouncy tune Shut Up.

Sebastian's album, however, stays at No.1 after having been responsible for ending a reign of 27 weeks from 39 atop the album charts by Goodrem's Innocent Eyes.

But Goodrem's record has just been pressed for the one-millionth time, with label Sony confirming it is ready to be shipped. The album has sold 112,699 units in just the past fortnight.

Meanwhile, Sebastian, 21, has recently been in the UK for the World Idol competition, one the Adelaide churchgoer is widely tipped to win.

There were no new entries on the charts this week, with the top three of the singles charts the only movers.

entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,8236491%255E10431%255E%255Enbv,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Sydney Confidential Choicie Awards

Delta by a mile


December 22, 2003

DELTA Goodrem went up against Hollywood heavyweights, a human fish and an iconic pop princess to take out the title of Celebrity of the Year in the annual Sydney Confidential Choicie Awards.


And she romped it in, securing 87 per cent of the vote.

Last year's Celebrity of the Year winner Kylie Minogue, who also picked up the 2002 Choicie for Best Woman, came in third behind Nicole Kidman.


But unlike the ARIA Awards at which Delta won just about everything, Goodrem dipped out on the double with Kidman winning the Choicie for Woman of the Year.


Kidman's timely visit home may have helped secure her the extra votes and while the Kylie Army isn't as militant as it used to be, the troops rallied enough to get her into third spot.


Reality ruled in the Best Newcomer category with Australian Idol Guy Sebastian beating a strong field although purists can take heart in Pete Murray's strong showing in second spot that not all stars need a TV show to kickstart their career.


Latecomer to the field Ollie the Aussie muppet also made it into the top five, an outstanding effort for the yellow fellow who was only discovered last week.


And in a rugby league-obsessed town like Sydney it was really no surprise that captain of the Penny Panthers Craig Gower took out the Choicie for Best Man.


Snogging professional socialite Paris Hilton seemed to help Rob "the Christmas Singer" Mills's credentials in the Man of the Year category, ensuring he finished ahead of Gold Logie winner Rove McManus and Matrix star Hugo Weaving.


It didn't do Hilton any harm either with her and her sister Nicky taking out the Choicie for Best Visiting Celebrity.


Starting tomorrow, Confidential will review the year that was.


dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1266&storyid=673415

[Inside Australian Idol]

Nice guys do win

By JASON CHEAH
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?

www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2003/12/22/features/6951322&sec=features