REX - Regional Express

closeup Fast Fact Guy Sebastian won the first season of Australian Idol in 2003, the same year that Shannon Noll, Rob Mills and Paulini were contestants. Shannon Noll was runner-up. As well as his own regional tour, Guy will be the headline act at Ord Valley Muster's main event, Kimberley Moon Experience, on May 25. In addition to his music, there's another big part of Guy's life that keeps him busy. "The most challenging thing for me in the past year is probably also the most rewarding thing, which is being a dad," says the 31-year-old from Adelaide. "It's amazing! And it's completely lifechanging, but very much for the better. I absolutely love being a dad." Guy and his wife, Jules Egan, welcomed their first child, a son named Hudson, in March last year, and the musician says that having a child has had an impact on his way of thinking as well as his songwriting process. "In the past, whenever I'd been dumped or cheated on, all I'd do was write depressing love songs about heartbreak. In this instance, I was having a kid, and all I was thinking was, 'The world this kid will grow up in is such a mess.' You have that fear and that worry about being what he needs and guiding him and protecting him from this crazy world." In addition to being one of Australia's most successful artists and raising a family, Guy has been a judge and mentor on The X Factor Australia, coming full circle from his origins as the winning contestant on Australian Idol in 2003. "I get what the contestants are going through, I get their nervousness, I get their naivety. When I was on Idol, I was naive and shy and I didn't really understand the whole television thing," Guy says. As a mentor who's been through what the contestants are going through, he has this advice: "You've got to remain focused, but also realise that winning or appearing in the television show isn't a free ticket into the industry. It's just a look-in, and then you've really got to do it yourself." During his three years on The X Factor, Guy has had great success with his charges, including two consecutive winners, Reece Mastin and Samantha Jade. In March, though, he announced he wouldn't be returning to the show. "Being a dad, a husband, a songwriter, a touring act and a television judge … something had to give. So I decided not to do The X Factor again Above: Guy performing on stage at the Grammy Awards with American rapper Lupe Fiasco. 13

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