'Don't Touch The 'Fro!'
June 2004 - TV Hits
Has fame turned our Idol into a spoilt star? We find out if Guy Sebastian is
still the angel we voted for...
Are you over being famous for your 'fro?
A little bit. It's just one of those things, I'm not 'over it'.
Why not grow a flavour-saver?
Yeah I might actually! [Laughs]
Is it true you don't let anyone else do your 'fro?
Yeah. It takes me no time...like two minutes. If I get it done, they just sit
there teasing and playing with it for like an hour. On my album cover and stuff,
the guy straightened my hair, and it just wasn't my look.
Do you consider yourself a throwaway reality TV star?
Well I am famous because of reality TV. But I guess time will tell to see if I'm
a flash in the pan. I think people will be able to see where I'm going when I
release my next album.
Had you auditioned for anything else before Idol?
No, the only thing I'd ever entered was when I was with a band, and our manager
put us on Starstruck [talent show from the '90s]. I think we came second. But we
were an eight-piece band alongside four vocalists. We got 80 per cent of the
home vote. We were far better than the winner.
What's the five-year plan?
I have no idea! I want to continue making music, whether singing on stage or
sitting in a studio making music for other people, I don't really care. Once all
this is done, I'd like to just songwrite and be in music and maybe start a
performing arts school...a thing for kids who don't really get a chance.
What would you like to learn?
How to dance like Michael Jackson. I'm not even close!
Is fame everything you thought it would be?
I never actually wondered what it would be like. I didn't think I'd be this
exhaustd and have such lack of privacy.
Now you're a star, do your friends expect you to pay?
A little bit [Laughs]. When I go out for dinner and stuff like that. But
it's less of an expectation thing, I volunteer to do it.
Do you get freaked out when you see your face on those Pepsi billboards?
I sort of got used to it. It freaked me out, at first. The first time I
actually stopped and looked at one of those Pepsi posters on a bus stop, I was
like, 'Whoa!' It was a bit freaky.
Do you disguise yourself when you go out?
I sometimes do. It's more that I wear a beanie - but it's because I can't be
bothered with doing my hair.
What's the strangest place you've ever been recognised?
I don't know...When I'm overseas, it weirds me out. When I was in Malaysia,
I thought I'd have no fans, but heaps of people recognised me. I went to MTV
Awards and so many people knew who I was and had ordered my CD online and stuff.
'Angels Brought Me Here' was number one in Malaysia. Weird...I could walk on the
street and no-one knew who I was, then I'd be at an event and all these fans
would come out.
Nicest thing a fan's done?
One night I got his massive chunky bracelet...probably worth about $250.
Someone made a clock for me, people cook for me, they've given me all sorts of
jewellery, and someone gave me a massage voucher the other day. Someone made a
Guy Sebastian DVD, with every episode, every song I sang, and judge's comments,
and behind-the-scenes stuff they got from 'Inside Idol' and stuff. And it's
amazing quality, like full menus and everything!
And who's your biggest fan?
My mum, I think!