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He was the first winner of Australian Idol in 2003 and was a judge on Australia's The X Factor between 2010 and 2012.
Sebastian has released seven top ten albums, with six reaching the top five, including two which peaked at number one.
They all achieved either platinum or multi-platinum certification.
He has also released 11 top ten singles, including six number ones, and three other top 15 singles.
Sebastian is the only Australian male artist in Australian chart history to achieve six number one singles, and he is third overall for all Australian acts.
Six of his singles gained multi-platinum certification, including the 8× platinum "Battle Scars" and three others certified 4× platinum.
One of these, his debut single "Angels Brought Me Here", was the highest selling song in Australia last decade.
With 42 platinum and three gold certifications and combined album and single sales of over 3 million in Australia, he has the highest certifications and sales of any Australian Idol contestant.
Recently, in a dingy bar with the slightly unusual name of Drom on New York’s Lower East Side, Guy Sebastian found himself playing to an audience of eight. And he loved it.
“I played a residency in that bar for a month, and no one had any idea who I was, but it grew from a few people to a few hundred people. The whole experience of doing that has been so satisfying,” says Guy. “It’s been really good for my soul.”
And a huge serving of soul is exactly what informs Guy Sebastian’s fifth studio album Like It Like That. If there’s one thing that this album will do, it will move both your feet and your heart and get right into your bones whether you like it or not.
Recorded over the first six months of 2009 in Los Angeles and New York, the album was produced by David Ryan Harris (John Mayer, Mariah Carey, Neville Brothers), and Fredrick Rodesjo – with Mayer himself featuring on guitar on a few tracks - “All To Myself”, “Fail To Mention” and “Never Be You”.
The result is an album of true musical depth, an album which perfectly showcases the rare and charismatic talent of one Guy Sebastian. It’s all about big sounds, bigger beats, blasting horns and those oh-so-soulful Sebastian vocals.
And for the first time creatively, Sebastian says he’s exactly where he wants to be.
“I’m in a really happy place musically,” says Guy, “because this is exactly the style of music I want to do and that I’ve wanted to do for so long. It’s not about me changing the world; it’s just about fun music - pure and simple.”
Indeed it is. One of the album’s standout tracks, “All To Myself”, will hit you with a great big tidal wave of sound and get you up and dancing. With its nods to classic’60s soul - from the beautiful harmonies of the soulful backing vocals, to the big blast of the horn section, this song rises and rises again to a joyous crescendo, which will have you moving before you realise it.
“It just opens up into to this happy love song,” says Guy. “It’s about when you don’t want to share someone, but you know you’re gonna have to or you’re going to have to let it go”.
If “All To Myself” gets you moving, the album’s title track and first single, “Like It Like That”, is a bonafide dancefloor hit. There’s no doubt this is the album’s true party song. The opening claps and Wurlitzer organ immediately takes you away to a grooving place of musical fun.
Then there’s the soul that pulses through “Attention”, which is given added oomph by a booming horn section and a light guitar that skips and jolts and gives the whole tune rhythm.
There’s the lush, orchestral sounds of “Bring Yourself”, a romantic ode to Guy’s wife of just over a year, Jules. Then there’s the exquisite “Fail To Mention” (with an equally exquisite guitar solo from John Mayer), which showcases the true depth of Guy Sebastian’s rare vocal talents. It will make you feel and make you smile, and it’s sure to be played at a million weddings.
“With my ballads, I want to break people’s hearts or inspire them to love,” says Guy. “It’s more of a personal thing than a political thing. When someone puts my songs on the radio, I want it to lift them from whatever they’re feeling. Make them feel great, make them move, make them feel happy.”
Another of the album’s tracks, the funky, bass-heavy “Never Hold You Down” - which has something very Jackson 5 about it - is Guy’s personal favourite.
“This I wrote about a friend of mine, who is wonderful. She’s one of those girls that you would hate to be her boyfriend, because you would know as much as you would want to believe that you’ve got her, you know that you don’t... I’ll never be able to hold you down.” There is no doubt that Like It Like That will stamp Guy Sebastian as a true soul singer with a unique modern sound.
“I wrote the music on this album based on how I feel when I listen to the Otis Reddings and the Wilson Picketts of the world. I’ll put that music on and it always just lifts me and makes me feel great.”
With Like It Like That, Guy just wants whoever hears it to just enjoy…and you won’t have a choice. The sounds of Like It Like That will make you feel something very strong indeed.
“Music is so powerful. It’s powerful enough on a personal level, without me trying to change the world,” says Guy. “I just want to change someone’s 10 minutes on the way to work.”
One listen of Like It Like That, and there’s no absolutely no question that Guy Sebastian will do just that. Turn it up and dance.
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