An MTV Session recording, we’ve come to realize, is pretty sensational to be at.
You’re standing in a crowd you ideally grow comfortable with as the hour progresses, and whether it’s Russian Red, The Temper Trap or James Morrison standing on stage, there is no barrier between artist and audience.
That feeling in itself is gold – and we were lucky to be part of chart-topping singer-songwriter Guy Sebastian’s escapade – a sweet note to end June on.
At this point you might roll your eyes cynically and point out that we’re lightyears past his Australian Idol win (ahem 2003), or hell, his afro game is over, that changes everything.
But no. Something doesn’t have to be new and novel to be amazing.
That incidentally is the conclusion we arrived at when the 32 year-old belted out many a jivey, jazzy number. He was pitch perfect and didn’t need to break a sweat to liven the atmosphere.
We also attribute it to a 5-piece band that couldn’t possibly be tighter. It doesn’t seem right to call his backup vocalists “back-up”, considering everyone recognized them as an indispensable enhancement to the whole setting. Not to be outshone by the sheer capacity of Guy’s vocals, Carmen Smith (1000 points for showmanship) gave her all to complete and compliment the sound for the night.
Between soulful stories-turned-songs, Guy proceeded to share how, as it is with all musicians, his music has evolved along with life experiences. From the early times of his DEBUT HIT (yup those two words, consecutively) single “Angels Brought Me Here” to the current “Battle Scars” featuring Guy’s own rap hero Lupe Fiasco, all we can see + hear is genuine talent, and a dream career born out of wide-eyed fascination with music since childhood.
What a life he’s living; and if anything, it’s only going up from here.
You too can watch Guy Sebastian slay the nostalgic all-time favourite “Angels Brought Me Here”, hear “Like A Drum” from his upcoming album firsthand, and of course stellar tracks such as “Get Along” and “Like It Like That” which paved his journey as Aussie’s longest-standing best-selling artist to date.
Tune in to MTV Sessions: Guy Sebastian premiering on MTV Asia on Friday, 18 July at 9pm (WIB), 10pm (SG/HK) and 11pm (MAL). Additional content is available online at the MTV Sessions site.
Photo courtesy of MTV Asia.