Line #88 Music/GuySebastian


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guy_narrowweb__300x4010_1489.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dG5KpRd3iA Angels brought him here.]]]]
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4	Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is a Malaysian-born Australian {{pop}}, [[ContemporaryRAndB R&B]] and {{Soul}} singer-songwriter and musician. He gained fame after winning the inaugural season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2003 and went on to have a seven-times platinum debut album (''Just As I Am'') which spawned the quadruple-platinum number-one [[AlbumSingle single]] "Angels Brought Me Here".
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6	Since then he's gone on to receive 17 ARIA Award nominations, including Single of the Year, Best Male Artist and Best Pop Release, and won Highest Selling Single ARIA Awards for "Angels Brought Me Here" and the Eve collaboration "Who's That Girl". He's also recorded with the likes of Music/{{Mya}}, Music/JohnMayer, Jordin Sparks, Music/LionelRichie and the original Creator/StaxRecords house band, while other musicians such as Brian [=McKnight=] and Music/RobinThicke have written songs for him. All of his albums have received either platinum or multi-platinum accreditations, making him one of the most successful popstars in Australian history. In addition, he's performed for Queen Elizabeth II, Pope Benedict XVI, Creator/OprahWinfrey and the entire viewership of ''Series/AmericanIdol'' when Simon Cowell invited him to perform on the show in 2004. He has toured with the likes of Music/TaylorSwift (when he served as her Australian opening act for the Australian leg of the Red Tour in 2014), Music/MichaelBuble and Shane Filan of Westlife. He has performed duets with a wide variety of artists, including Lee Kernaghan, Ronan Keating, Olivia Newton-John and Music/DeltaGoodrem (who he was compared to early in his career and who he counts as one of his closest personal friends). He's even had his songs covered by the likes of Creator/WayneBrady.
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8	A philanthropist, Sebastian is also an ambassador for World Vision Australia. His visit to Africa in 2005 spawned the TV {{documentary}} ''An Australian Idol in Africa'', which was met with high ratings when it was screened on Network Ten (also the channel that ran ''Australian Idol''). He also runs a charity called "The Sebastian Foundation" with his wife, Jules, who is a celebrity stylist with her own show on the Seven Network.
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10	Apart from his music career, he also served as a judge and mentor on ''Series/TheXFactor Australia'' from 2010 to 2012 and 2015, winning twice with Music/SamanthaJade and Music/ReeceMastin. From 2019 onwards, he has served as a judge and coach on the Australian edition of ''Series/TheVoice'' (even surviving a ChannelHop from the Nine Network to the Seven Network).
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12	In March 2015, it was announced that he would compete for Australia in the Series/EurovisionSongContest. In May that year, he finished in fifth place.
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14	Sebastian was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of his significant service to music and charity.
15	----
16	!!Discography:
17	* ''Just As I Am'' (2003)
18	* ''[[DarkerAndEdgier Beautiful]]'' ''[[HotterAndSexier Life]]'' (2004)
19	* ''[[NewSoundAlbum Closer to the Sun]]'' (2006)
20	* ''[[CoverAlbum The Memphis Album]]'' (2007)
21	* ''[[LiveAlbum The Memphis Tour]]'' (2008)
22	* ''[[{{Retraux}} Like It Like That]]'' (2009)
23	* ''[[GreatestHitsAlbum Twenty]]'' ''[[DistinctDoubleAlbum Ten]]'' (2010)
24	* ''[[BabiesMakeEverythingBetter Armageddon]]'' (2012)
25	* ''Madness'' (2014)
26	* ''Pt.1'' (EP) (2016)
27	* ''Conscious'' (2017)
28	* ''T.R.U.T.H'' (2020)
29	----
30	!!This musician contains examples of:
31	* AdrenalineMakeover: A rare male example in the entertainment industry! For comparison, [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Guy_Sebastian_during_World_Idol.jpg/150px-Guy_Sebastian_during_World_Idol.jpg this is him]] just after winning ''Australian Idol'', and [[http://mushroompromotions.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Guy-Sebastian-2013-11-large.jpg this is him]] a full decade later.
32	* AlbumClosure:
33	** "i4u" on ''Just As I Am'' - a minimalist R&B-ish electro-stomper about eyeing a girl in a club and being so attracted that Guy actually contemplates marrying her.
34	** "Beautiful Life" on ''Beautiful Life'' - a happy, hopeful song about the future of Guy's life and career.
35	** "Be Mine" on ''Closer to the Sun'', a jazzy love ballad written for weddings, but seemingly not Guy's own.
36	** "Perfection" on ''Like It Like That'', a slow and bombastic love ballad that Guy ''actually'' wrote for his own wedding to Jules.
37	** "Used to You" on ''Armageddon'', again, a slow and romantic love ballad.
38	** "The Pause" on ''Madness'', a PowerBallad about a deteriorating relationship.
39	** "Reprise" on ''Conscious'', a slow piano-ballad version of "Sober" (track 5).
40	** "Fantasise" on ''T.R.U.T.H'' - a sexy R&B jam serving as a palate cleanser to the emotional charge of the album.
41	* AmicableExes: Had broken up with his then-girlfriend (now wife) Jules just before his stint on ''Australian Idol''. However, the couple remained the best of friends, and she even accompanied him to the Adelaide auditions of the show. The couple reunited in early 2004.
42	* AntiLoveSong: "Beg", "Never Ever Said Goodbye", "Never Hold You Down".
43	* BlatantLies: In early 2004, Guy (presumably as a joke) told media outlets that the then-upcoming video for "All I Need Is You" would feature his first on-screen kiss. The video was released ... and the kiss was missing. There wasn't even any overt flirting between Guy and the female lead. To this date, he has never kissed any of the female leads in his videos (presumably out of respect for his wife, Jules).
44	* BreakUpSong: "Unbreakable", "Wish I Didn't Tell You", "Wait", "How", "Forever With You", "Undo", "Amnesia".
45	** “Before I Go” is a particularly bitter break-up song - not between lovers, but between Guy and his former manager of over a decade, Titus Day.
46	* CelebrityEndorsement: The most apropos one was for Sebastian hairspray.
47	* CharityMotivationSong: Has done ''many'' songs for charity, in fact listing them all here would probably take up a good chunk of this page.
48	* ChangedForTheVideo: “All I Need Is You”, “Taller Stronger Better”, “Cover On My Heart”, “All to Myself”, “Never Hold You Down” and “Believer” all received remixes for their respective videos. Inverted with “Don’t Worry Be Happy”, which got a remix for the album release.
49	* ChildrenAreInnocent: Invoked on "Big Bad World", which Sebastian wrote about his newborn son.
50	* ChristianRock: He has contributed to many Christian albums both before and during fame. He wrote and sang the ThemeSong to World Youth Day 2008 and has expressed interest in producing a gospel album to break the US market.
51	* CoolTeacher: Worked as a music teacher in Adelaide before his stint on ''Australian Idol''. He used the skills he acquired during this time to mentor young students from Challis Primary School in Western Australia for the ABC series ''Don't Stop the Music''.
52	* CoverAlbum: ''The Memphis Album'', which contained thirteen Memphis soul covers and one original song. He cut the album with the original Stax Records house band in Ardent Studios, Memphis.
53	* CoverVersion: Though his participation on a TalentShow and release of a cover album make examples too many to list, a few notable ones include "[[Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic Climb Every Mountain]]" as the BSide to "All I Need Is You", Music/NewEdition's "Can You Stand the Rain" on ''Just As I Am'' and Music/StevieWonder's "I Wish" on ''Beautiful Life''.
54	* TheCoverChangesTheGender: Of Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand the Rain" and Music/MileyCyrus' "The Climb".
55	* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Beautiful Life'', as it contains more songs about loss and a song about wasted youth (well, the popular portrayal of wasted youth anyway). It even veered into HotterAndSexier territory with songs like "Sweetest Berry", "Fiend For You" and "Oh Oh". However, it did contain enough feel-good songs to justify its title.
56	** The ''Armageddon'' album and its third single, "Battle Scars".
57	* DeathSong: "Make Heaven Wait" and "Choir", which is an upbeat example.
58	%%* DeliberatelyMonochrome:
59	%%** The majority of the video for "Gold".
60	%%** The cover of ''Madness''.
61	* DrugsAreBad: "Anthem of Why" from ''Beautiful Life'' is a pretty big anvil-dropper, considering the sole drug in question is marijuana. However, this was back in the days when he was playing to the MoralGuardians.
62	* DuetBonding: In the late 1990s, Sebastian and another girl were asked by a friend to sing the Music/MariahCarey song "Whenever You Call" at their wedding. Sebastian and the other girl barely knew each other when they started rehearsing together, but started becoming close as time went on, edging closer towards a HighSchoolSweethearts relationship. After performing the song at the wedding, they shared their first kiss in front of the bride and groom as well as a large number of people. Fast-forward to 2012, and [[HappilyMarried that girl is now Sebastian's wife]] and the mother of his children. To top it off, they were each other's FirstLove. ''Awwwww''.
63	* EarlyBirdCameo:
64	** Guy was no stranger to reality singing competitions, even before he auditioned for Idol in 2003. In 2000, Guy took part in ''Series/StarSearch'' as part of an eight-piece ChristianRock vocal ensemble called [=Gener8=]. They finished in second place.
65	** After [=Gener8=] disbanded, Guy started singing at Paradise Church in Adelaide. He joined another vocal ensemble called Planetshakers, releasing a couple of albums through Christian music outlets.
66	** In 2002, he won a songwriting competition sponsored by Pilot Pens with a song called "No More".
67	* FaceOnTheCover: All his albums to a degree (except for ''Madness'' which is more “Arm On the Cover”) but especially the case for his ninth studio album, ''T.R.U.T.H''. It’s front-on upper-torso-and-face profile where Guy is sporting a big grin.
68	* {{Fanboy}}: Of UsefulNotes/{{cricket}}, no less. He was an avid cricketer before his singing career took off, and about half of all his Website/{{Twitter}} and Website/{{Facebook}} updates are about which game he happens to be watching at the time.
69	** He seems to be a fanboy of sport in general. And music, naturally.
70	* FlippingTheBird: An angry motorist does this to Guy in the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" - right after he tells him to "go to hell".
71	* FollowYourHeart: "Beautiful Life".
72	* FreudianSlip: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2R6rKR5kbg This]]. Just... ''this''.
73	* FunnyAfro: Sported one from his days in ''Australian Idol'' to circa 2006. Though it was his trademark at the time, he did get teased for it, mainly from Dicko who said that he looked like he had "stuck his finger in an electric socket". It even briefly came with its own CatchPhrase, "Go the 'Fro".
74	* GenreMashup: ''Closer to the Sun'', in particular, is a pop-rock album infused with [[ContemporaryRAndB R&B]], {{Soul}}, {{Techno}}, {{Jazz}}, {{Funk}} and {{Reggae}}.
75	* GenreRoulette: He's played with many styles including pop-rock, straight-up [[PowerBallad balladry]], R&B, [[SynthPop dance-pop]] and soul.
76	* GodIsLoveSongs: "Taller, Stronger, Better" and "Receive the Power", a song he wrote and performed with Paulini Curuvenauli for World Youth Day in 2007.
77	* GriefSong: "Make Heaven Wait". Averted with "Choir", which is about the death of Luke Liang, one of his former bandmates, but is an upbeat and celebratory song as that's what Luke would have wanted.
78	* HappilyMarried: To one Jules Sebastian nee Egan, a stylist. Though at first fans did not like this, when they got (back) together in early 2004, fans eventually warmed to their relationship enough that the vast majority wished them nothing but goodwill when they married in 2008. They have two young sons, Hudson "Huddie" James and Archer "Archie" Jones. It also helps that in their public life, Guy and Jules are seen as something of an inseperable unit - they are the founders (and faces) of their own charity (The Sebastian Foundation), plus they make many appearances at Christmas-related events around Australia such as Carols in the City.
79	* HiddenDepths: Called the winner for 2011 X Factor in a Lil Rocker called Reece Mastin, he's been quite successful, gaining fans day to day. Guy also showed incredible musical picking talent in going with Samantha Jade for his team in 2012, who did go from strength to strength. However, Guy only revealed her true self towards the end of the game, making the other judges "nervous" and she eventually won the show. Apart from being a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, drums, piano and synths, he also a talented photographer, and has held public exhibitions for his works.
80	* HopelessSuitor: "Cover on My Heart" is about one.[[note]]Sebastian has stated at many of his concerts that it was about a former workmate who had a crush on the lunch truck girl. No doubt that if you are a Guy Sebastian fan you would have heard this story many times.[[/note]]
81	* IdolSinger: Was literally this at one stage. Well, a Western equivalent anyway.
82	* IncrediblyLongNote: Was known for this on ''Australian Idol''. His performance of "Climb Every Mountain", with a very long note on "live", is a prime example.
83	* InDaClub: "Out With My Baby" and "Who's That Girl". "Takin' Me Over" has shades of this.
84	* IntercourseWithYou: Implied in "Sweetest Berry", "Died and Gone to Heaven" and "Stay in Bed". Pretty much spelled out on "Small Talk" and "Drink Driving".
85	* {{Irony}}: The album least representative of Guy's artistry (and a result of blatant ExecutiveMeddling with heavy doses of ExecutiveVeto) is called ''Just As I Am''.
86	* LastSecondWordSwap: In "Gold":
87	--> All the fellas walk past, they're checkin' out your ''ass''-ets, hah!
88	* LighterAndSofter: ''Closer to the Sun'' is this in comparison to ''Beautiful Life'' and ''Madness'' is this in comparison to ''Armageddon'' (with maybe the exception of "Light and Shade"). ''T.R.U.T.H'' is set to be this to ''Conscious''.
89	* LoveNostalgiaSong: "Back In the Day", "Summer Love".
90	* ManlyTears: His performance of "Climb Every Mountain" while on ''Australian Idol'' and his single "Battle Scars" did enough to inspire instances of these.
91	* MelismaticVocals: Deserve special mention here as they managed to bring [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdgHQg7bhio three judges and an entire studio audience to tears]].
92	* MentorArchetype: Well, between coaching duties on ''It Takes Two'', ''X Factor'', ''Don't Stop the Music'' and now ''The Voice'', it seems Guy is more than happy using his skills and industry insight to help others reach their musical and music industry goals.
93	* MultipleDemographicAppeal: Has fans who weren't even born when he won ''Idol'' to fans well into their twilight years. Such is the magic of Guy Sebastian. However, he does get a lot of flak for it due to his PG-rated lyrics.
94	* NewSoundAlbum: Each one of his albums has a distinct sound and personality.
95	** ''Just As I Am'' was, for the most part, pure pop infused with the faintest hint R&B as a result of ExecutiveMeddling (he also had to record the album in six days so it could be ChristmasRushed).
96	** ''Beautiful Life'' was distinctly more pure, international-sounding R&B infused with funk, soul and disco.
97	** ''Closer to the Sun'' was, for the most part, a [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]]-inspired pop-rock album which broke from his usual Soul/R&B sound.
98	** ''The Memphis Album'', a covers album (save for one original song titled "I'd Like to Get to Know You") and ''Like It Like That'' an originals album, were pure soul albums inspired by the Memphis sound of the 1960s.
99	** ''Armageddon''-- as a whole -- was a departure from Guy's usual brand of blue-eyed soul, being an album many have described as being "mature, adult pop".
100	** ''Madness'' basically followed the same formula as ''Armageddon'' with a tiny bit of folk-EDM thrown in.
101	** His first EP, ''Part 1'', departed even more from ''Madness'' and ''Armageddon'' - it was inspired by indie pop, soul and electronica and discussed themes such as sex, infidelity and loyalty in long - term relationships.
102	** ''Conscious'', retaining only one song from ''Pt 1'' ("Set in Stone"), was a funk, soul and synth-based album that mixed both adult and family-friendly fare (for example, "High on Me" is great for school discos, but "Drink Driving", a hazy song comparing sex to drink driving? Not so much).
103	** ''T.R.U.T.H'' was a mix of power ballads (such as "Believer", "Before I Go", "In a World", "Who I Love" and "If He Won't") and some modern American-style R&B (such as "Only Thing Missing", "Love On Display" and "Fantasize").
104	* NiceGuy: This trope, his hair and his [[MelismaticVocals voice]] were essentially the three elements that won him ''Australian Idol''. He knows many of his fans by name, chats to them and even makes time to visit sick kids in hospital every now and again.
105	* ObsessionSong: "Fiend For You".
106	* OOCISSeriousBusiness: The video for "Black and Blue" holds the record for containing Guy's first and only "serious confrontation" (that is, "almost a fight scene but not quite") scene, with a guy who is in love with his ex.
107	* ThePollyanna: Not to the same extent as say, Delta Goodrem, Creator/JessicaMauboy or Samantha Jade, but come on - his song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was written after a motorist flipped him the bird.
108	* PerpetualSmiler: More so in his early career than now to due to DarkerAndEdgier taking effect.
109	* PlatonicLifePartners: With Samantha Jade, Delta Goodrem and his best mate from high school, Tim.
110	* PrecisionFStrike: "Small Talk", an already-racy IntercourseWithYou - centred track on the ''Pt. 1'' EP, contains a single utterance of the word "shit". However, since Guy has basically built his entire image around being family-friendly, something that would normally be a non-issue for fans of other artists caused a near-heart attack among his fanbase. It should also be noted that this was the first time Guy had earned any of his songs an "Explicit" label in his then-thirteen-year career.
111	** A single "asshole" is dropped in "Bloodstone".
112	* PungeonMaster: Try following him on social media for a few months and see how long you last without groaning.
113	* ReadyForLovemaking: "Died and Gone to Heaven", "Small Talk", "Fantasise", "Stay in Bed", "Sweetest Berry".
114	* RealityShow / TalentShow: Won the first season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2003, which back then was SeriousBusiness for the majority of the general public, and then went on to compete in ''World Idol'' (he placed seventh). He was also at one stage a singing partner and mentor on ''It Takes Two'' in 2006 before assuming judging / coaching duties on ''Series/TheXFactor Australia'' and ''Series/TheVoice Australia''.
115	* RearrangeTheSong: The album version of "Don't Worry Be Happy" uses a completely different instrumentation to the one used on the single mix.
116	* TheRival: Music/MissyHiggins called him out on being a "manufactured" artist because he won a reality show, leading to a bit of tension between the two for a while. His more famous rivalry with Shannon Noll barely qualifies, as the two are good friends, and any rivalry they may have is PlayedForLaughs. They even toured together back in 2013!
117	* {{Scatting}}: In “Never Ever Said Goodbye”.
118	* SelfBackingVocalist
119	* SiblingRivalry: Though not in a true way, as his younger brother Chris was a contestant on ''TheVoice'' and is now rapidly gaining enough fame to compete with his older brother.
120	* SillyLoveSongs: Has quite a few, including "All I Need Is You" (which he wrote for his now-wife), "Magic", "Stars Collide" and "Gold".
121	* SingerNamedrop: Machel Montano drops Guy's name and his own name at the beginning of "Gon' Getcha".
122	* SoulBrotha: PlayedForLaughs at the beginning of his career. When his trademark afro was shaved off, it put the kibosh on that.
123	* SpearCounterpart: At the very beginning of his career, he was this to Music/DeltaGoodrem, who was apparently his CelebCrush at one stage (and one of his closest personal friends to this day). As he moves more and more into an adult image and sound, this has not been the case for a few good years, as Delta is perfectly happy with playing the part of a girly, hippie dreamer 15 years into her career.
124	* SpokenWordInMusic: There's a brief soundbite of Otis Redding speaking at the beginning of "Gold".
125	* StalkerWithACrush: "Fiend For You". Although it can also be taken as a lover going through the stage of infatuation.
126	* [[StuffyOldSongsAboutTheButtocks Stuffy Old Song About The Buttocks]]: "Oh Oh".
127	* TeenPregnancy: Happens to one of the song's subjects in "Anthem of Why". She gives up on her dreams to be a singer because of it.
128	* TitleTrack: Every album [[NonAppearingTitle save for]] ''The Memphis Album'', ''Twenty Ten'' and ''T.R.U.T.H'' contain one.
129	** Weirdly enough, the ''Conscious'' album does not have the title song! You can find it on ''Pt 1'', which was originally intended to be the first half of an album with the second half being released the next year.
130	* {{Troll}}: Pulls this kind of behaviour a lot. For example, when his ''X Factor'' protege Samantha Jade expressed her concern of performing to a crowd she believed would be composed of only twenty people, Guy comforted her and assured her there were actually thirty-five.
131	* UncommonTime: "Summer Love" is in 11/12.
132	* UnpluggedVersion: The second disc of ''Twenty Ten'' is filled with acoustic versions of his songs. He's also given this treatment to some of his covers as well.
133	* AWildRapperAppears: Eve in "Who's That Girl" and Music/LupeFiasco in "Battle Scars". Though Lupe isn't really so much of "a wild rapper appears" as he is practically [[AscendedExtra taking over the whole song]].
134	** [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] with his feature on Swift K.I.D's "Bed of Clouds". He's the [[SpecialGuest guest vocalist]] in the song, but he sings more than the average vocalist does during a modern hip-hop track.
135	** Guy trades verses with 2Chainz (of all people!) on "Mama Ain't Proud".

Context Music / GuySebastian