The Big Exo Day 2010

Winner Australian Idol 2009

Thrilled to have won Australian Idol last year, and to more importantly have kick-started his dreams of becoming a recording artist, and signing with Sony Music, Stan Walker is on top of the world right now. The unassuming, likable boy from Coolangatta QLD stunned audiences and judges with the depth of his talent and his surprisingly-mature soulful voice, which spurred international superstar Michael Bublé to say in awe to Stan, “That voice… it’s like God kissed your throat”.

In his teenage years it was obvious to those around him – his family, friends, and the people at his church – that Stan possessed a very special gift as a singer, but despite having his dreams, Stan was not really sure whether he would make a career out of singing. “Before Idol I was working in retail in a menswear shop. I’d always had big dreams, but I just never really thought about the reality of actually making it happen. I knew that I wanted singing to be my life, but I never knew that it would be taken to this level.
“We never had any kind of industry connections previously. There were some managers who were interested in me earlier on, but my mum felt I was too young at the time. None of us knew anything about how the music industry really worked – it was a mystery to us. Then Idol came along, and everything changed.”

At the heart of Stan Walker’s talent is his incredible voice. It is a solid, unwavering, naturally-gifted ability to sing music with soul, which Stan delivers effortlessly. “Soul isn’t how deep you sing or what style you sing, it’s music that comes from the heart. Soul music is all about wearing your heart on your sleeve; it’s something that comes from within, it’s not a style of music as such,” he says, adding that his favourite singers include the likes of Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle and Renee Geyer.

“I want people to not just hear the songs I sing, but I want them to feel the heart behind it.  It’s so much more than a pretty lyric, and a pretty melody, I just want them to feel the soul behind my voice, and get a sense of who I am.”

It’s been said that Stan’s voice is his greatest asset, and whilst in many senses that may be true, it has also been noticed that Stan’s nature, personality, and demeanour is equally valuable. Stan Walker has already emerged as a role model to many people, and he himself realises that his story and experience gives him the opportunity to act as an ambassador and representative for a population of the community who feel isolated and disconnected from mainstream society.