Guy Sebastian has a problem. It’s a good problem to have.
When putting together his upcoming Australian tour, the singer wanted to make sure he had a good mix of the new songs from his latest album, 100 Times Around The Sun, as well as the hits his fans knew and loved. Then there was the vibe. He wanted to make sure everyone was up and dancing and enjoying themselves. But how could he do a whole show without belting out one (or three) of his popular ballads? And there are only so many songs you can cram into a concert — there simply isn’t time for everything.
But when you have as many hits as Sebastian, what do you leave out?
“Twenty-three years, 10 albums: It’s getting a little harder to decide what people really want to hear,” Sebastian admits. “And you can never please everybody in that scenario. But I think we’ve done a good job of balancing the show between the hits from back in the day and some of the new album.”
WA fans can see where he landed with his set list when Sebastian heads to town on May 15 to play RAC Arena. If you can believe it, Sebastian is about to embark on his biggest tour ever — 23 years after he shot to fame after taking the winner’s podium in the first season of Australian Idol. In 2003, reality television was at its zenith and Sebastian was all but guaranteed a hit with his first single, Angels Brought Me Here, which became the highest-selling Australian song of the decade. Still, reality TV can be fickle. There was every chance his was a star that would shine bright, before fading into “where-are-they-now?” oblivion.
But Sebastian has proved to have remarkable staying power. He released his 10th studio album last year. He can boast a number of hits, stretching from 2004’s Out With My Baby, to 2012’s Battle Scars with Lupe Fiasco to 2019’s Choir — to name just a few. It’s a journey that started not so much with a single step, but a lot of 55¢ phone calls.
“It happened so fast,” he says. “I’m about to go on tour, and I’m 10 albums deep. And it’s everything that people voted for (on Australian Idol). They spent 55¢ voting for me. They did that so that I could achieve my dreams. And it’s happened! Their investment actually worked. I’m actually living my dream. I know that’s super cheesy, but it’s never lost on me.”
Sebastian has repaid the investment by working incredibly hard at his craft. For 100 Times Around The Sun, he wrote about 100 songs before narrowing those down to just 13 for the album. It’s a departure from his 2020 album T.R.U.T.H., which was released in the midst of COVID-19 lockdowns and when Sebastian was in a legal battle with his former manager. By comparison, 100 Times Around The Sun is a celebration of the friends and family Sebastian says he wants to spend time with.
“T.R.U.T.H. was about surviving, and this album’s about thriving,” Sebastian says. “T.R.U.T.H. was during the time of COVID. Also, I was going through a horrendous legal battle, being dragged into court through the criminal justice system right in the middle of my tour. I had to be a witness in this trial. It was just a lot. There was a lot to manage, and we were in lockdown and moving my tour over and over again. And there’s all the weirdness of lockdown. It was just a weird time. (The song) Before I Go is the theme of that album. It’s a fight song, that one. And of course, there’s still love songs and other things on there. But 100 Times Around The Sun is definitely about enjoying life, and joy, and just making the most out of this small amount of time, this 100 times around the sun, if we’re lucky, that we get.”
In addition to writing and singing, Sebastian flexed his multi-instrumentalist muscle and played many of the instruments on the album. On the single Cupid he plays everything except the bass. He says more than two decades into his career, he feels more capable and confident than ever before.
“I think with songwriting, it becomes less about a purple patch and it’s more just the boring thing of: the more you do it, and the longer you do it for, the better you just get at it as a craft,” Sebastian says. “I feel like I love songwriting now more than ever, and there’s so many things that have contributed to that. A big thing is instinct — trusting it. In the past, when you have only been doing it for a little while, you haven’t learned to just really trust your instinct. You’re always second-guessing and it’s not as productive. But once you really trust your instinct, and you know you’re on a good thing, you go with it.
“I feel like I’m the best writer I’ve ever been. And I don’t say that arrogantly, I say it pragmatically. I’ve lived more life. I’m musically way more mature and have way more in my toolkit. I’m way better as a producer because I’ve just spent more time on it. So all of those ingredients just make it more fun to make music, because you can do more on your own.”
When Sebastian chats to PLAY, he says the family is gearing up for another big performance — his youngest son Archie, 12, is about to star in a musical theatre production.
“He’s an absolute gun singer,” Sebastian says proudly. “I’m actually going to try and get Archie up on stage on this tour. He’s an absolute beast of a singer.”
But Sebastian remains mum about which track he might pull Archie on stage for. And with so many songs from his back catalogue to choose from, it’s difficult to make a guess.
What a good problem to have.
Guy Sebastian plays RAC Arena on May 15.