His name is Stan Walker but his fans know him simply as Stan. He hit TV screens last year as the winner of Australian Idol. Since then he has launched his first album with a second one on the way, and it doesn’t end there. NTD’s Gina Shakespeare met up with Stan during a recent trip to New Zealand. The young star tells us about how he nearly walked away from it all and what he wants to do with stardom.
[Stan Walker, 2009 Australian Idol Winner]:
"Talent will take you so far, but character will take you all the way."
[...]
[Jess Scales, Stan Fan]:
“Oh he’s just awesome, I love his voice, I just love him, I love how he is so down to earth, he gives me goosebumps.”
But for this shy 19-year-old Maori boy from New Zealand who used to sing in church, it’s the win he nearly walked away from. Stan said the cues were so long during the Idol auditions that he nearly gave up, thinking there was too much talent. But according to the judges there wasn’t.
[Stan Walker, 2009 Australian Idol Winner]:
“I guess all you have to bring is yourself and who you are.”
Stan brought everything. His faith, his voice and his painful upbringing. Stan was sexually abused at age nine by a member of his extended family and bore the complexities that come with growing up in a broken home.
[...]
Many of Stan’s fans can relate to his pain. This is a real life story of a young man who was determined to turn tragedy into triumph. He now wants to use his fame to be a role model for young people.
[...]
And Stan can. To date he’s skipped the pitfalls of fame and reality TV. No drinking or drugs. Stan spends quite time on the road reading the bible.
He is already working on a second album that can be expected out later this year.
[Stan Walker, 2009 Australian Idol Winner]:
“The roads not easy, but at the end of the day your going to reap the harvest.”
[...]
Gina Shakespeare, NTD, Auckland, New Zealand.
