He became a household name thanks to a reality TV singing show, so it just makes sense that Guy Sebastian is now holding court as the king of The Voice Australia.
Guy first took his spot in a big red chair back in 2019, when the show was still on the Nine Network. Now in his sixth season on the series, he’s the longest-serving coach of the Channel Seven era. Clearly, the gig is a natural fit.
“The other night [while filming], I realised this is a set of skills,” Guy, 42, tells TV WEEK. “I just find it really easy to talk about music. And after twenty-something years, I find it easy to analyse and be able to articulate what I’m seeing. For that reason, I find it really fun. It’s not a pressure gig for me.”
Guy also values the way The Voice lifts up its contestants, rather than exploiting them for the sake of a storyline.
“It’s a really safe place for the artists,” he explains. “Obviously, they [the producers] need a bit of drama to keep people watching, but it’s never at the expense of them. It has given artists a platform in an extremely weird time in this industry.”
The Voice veteran (he was also a judge on The X Factor) is joined by a brand-new coaching line-up for the 2024 season, welcoming Aussie singer Kate Miller-Heidke and US hitmakers LeAnn Rimes and Adam Lambert to the team. And it seems the newbies all have Guy’s stamp of approval, with country star LeAnn winning over Guy during a FaceTime call.
“As a local coach, you get a bit protective of the talent here,” he points out. “So you don’t want to see internationals come in and it’s just a gig for them, just a pay cheque. You want to see them actually care.
“I remember FaceTiming LeAnn before this show, and all her questions were centred around the artists, such as, ‘Do they look after them?’ I could tell immediately that she cared.”
Guy’s protectiveness of the contestants comes from recognising that the world they live in is vastly different to when he won Australian Idol, triumphing over Shannon Noll, back in 2003.
“When I was on that show, there was no social media – I don’t even think there was MySpace!” he says with a laugh. “There were just, like, fan forums. So I think we had an advantage back in those days. You could develop this solid base and this foundation of who you let in and whose opinion you let in.”
After Idol, Guy had a string of No 1 hits in Australia, starting with “Angels Brought Me Here” and also 2012’s “Battle Scars”, which charted in Europe and the US.
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As the dad of two boys – Hudson, 12, and Archie, 10, who he shares with wife Jules – protecting young people’s mental health is a cause close to his heart.
Guy and Jules started their youth-focused charity The Sebastian Foundation in 2013, after Hudson was born. They’re both passionate about supporting young Aussies and giving them the best possible start in life.
“We have a program called Open Parachute, which is all about mental health and building those skills among kids in schools,” he says.
“One of the big messages is to be aware of what they’re growing up in. These days, there’s so much external noise and so many opinions on who you are as a person, so it’s harder to develop your identity that you can stand strong in.”
Being in the public eye for more than 20 years has seen Guy weather plenty of opinions from people online, whether it was over his stance on COVID vaccinations or appearing alongside former PM Scott Morrison to announce funding for the arts.
“The biggest lesson is, when you start out, you just want everyone to like you,” he reflects. “And you’re not quite aware of how it can be a pretty nasty world out there. So you overcorrect. You go, ‘Oh God – everyone hates me’, and then you remember that you have a little core community of people – you can get back to that place and shut out the noise.”
Guy admits it takes work, but he’s getting better at focusing on what really matters.
“It’s a constant navigation of remembering that you can’t please everyone,” he says. “If you try to correct everyone’s [opinion on social media], you’re going to go mad! I can’t be bothered anymore, because I have kids and way more important things to do.
“I know the people who do love me. We all need to identify them and then not waste energy on the people who don’t. For the little energy I have, it’s going to the people who are for me.”
