Brothers3 are an Australian
country music band from
Mudgee,
New South Wales.
The band consists of brothers Makirum, Shardyn and Tayzin Fahey-Leigh. In 2014, Brothers3 placed third on the
sixth season of ''
The X Factor Australia''.
Early life
Brothers3 is made up of siblings Makirum, Shardyn and Tayzin Fahey-Leigh.
Their mother
Alita Fahey
Alita Fahey is an Australian former TV actress and reporter who appeared on '' Simon Townsend's Wonder World'' (Network 10), ''The Ossie Ostrich Video Show'' (Nine network) and the children's show ''Antenna'' (ABC). She also had roles on '' The R ...
is also a singer, as well as a former actress and television reporter.
The band's father Stephen died from a heart attack on 25 December 2006.
Brothers3 also have two other siblings.
They grew up on a farm in
Mudgee,
New South Wales surrounded by music because their farm had no regular electricity, television or running water.
The brothers were home schooled through
distance education.
Career
2009–14: Formation and music releases
Brothers3 were formed as a present for their mother's 50th birthday.
Their debut single "Road to Cargalgong" was released as a
double A-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
with the song "Where the Eagles Fly" on 30 November 2009.
Brothers3's debut studio album, also titled ''Where the Eagles Fly'', was released on 31 March 2010 by independent record label Hardrush Music.
The album features 10 original songs that the band co-wrote on their farm in the New South Wales Central Western Slopes.
Their second single "Christmas in Australia" was released as a double A-side with "A Christmas Song" in December 2010.
"Lyrebird on the Roof" was independently released on 1 January 2011 as the lead single from Brothers3's second studio album ''Wattle Fire''.
The album was independently released on 29 January 2011.
The band's fourth single "Kelsey's Song" was independently released on 4 February 2011.
It was later included on Brothers3's third studio album ''Australia'', which was independently released on 1 December 2011.
Their fourth studio album, ''Let It Drift'', was independently released on 31 January 2013.
''Travelling'' and ''Favourites'' were released as Brothers3's fifth and sixth studio albums on 17 January 2014.
The former features original songs,
while the latter album includes a mix of original songs and covers. Brothers3's cover version of
Leonard Cohen's "
Hallelujah
''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...
" was released as a single from ''Favourites'' on 1 September 2014.
2014: ''The X Factor Australia''
In 2014, Brothers3 successfully auditioned for the
sixth season of ''
The X Factor Australia'', singing "
Safe & Sound" by
Taylor Swift.
They received four yeses from the judges and progressed to the
super bootcamp round of the competition.
For the first bootcamp challenge, Brothers3 were paired up with another group from the Groups category to perform a song together for the judges. Brothers3 made it to the second bootcamp challenge, where they performed "
Story of My Life" by
One Direction to the judges and a live audience of one thousand. Brothers3 then progressed to the
home visits round in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and performed "
Eternal Flame by
The Bangles in front of their mentor
Dannii Minogue
Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on th ...
and guest mentors
Jessica Mauboy and
James Blunt. They were originally eliminated by Minogue during home visits, but were later put forward as her wildcard and won the public vote, ensuring a place in the live finals—a series of eleven weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote.
After the eliminations of Trill, Younger Than Yesterday and XOX during the first four weeks of the live shows, Brothers3 became the last remaining act in Minogue's category despite being just her wildcard. During the grand final decider show on 20 October 2014, it was announced that Brothers3 finished in third place behind runner-up
Dean Ray
Dean Pritchard, better known by his stage name Dean Ray, is an Australian singer and songwriter. In 2014, he was the runner-up on the sixth season of ''The X Factor Australia''. Ray subsequently received a recording contract with Sony Music Aus ...
and winner
Marlisa Punzalan
Marlisa Ann Punzalan (born 1 October 1999), also known simply as Marlisa, is an Australian singer. She won the sixth season of '' The X Factor Australia'' in 2014, aged 15, the youngest contestant to have won the show. Punzalan su ...
.
Performances on ''The X Factor''
denotes a performance that entered the ARIA Singles Chart.
denotes third place.
2014–present: ''Brothers Never Part''
On 24 October 2014, it was announced that Brothers3 had received a recording contract with
Sony Music Australia.
Their sixth overall single "The Lucky Ones", which would have been their winner's single if they had won ''The X Factor'', was released on the
iTunes Store that same day.
It debuted at number 29 on the
ARIA Singles Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
.
Following the single's release, Brothers3 were dropped by Sony Music and signed with
Warner Music Australia in 2015. The group's seventh single "Brothers Never Part" was released on 11 September 2015.
Their seventh studio album of the same name will be released on 15 January 2016, and marks their first major label album release.
Artistry
Brothers3 perform traditional
country,
folk and
bluegrass music.
Aside from singing, they write their own songs "about real stories, animals and the countryside".
The band can also play the
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
,
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
,
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
,
guitar,
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
,
keyboard,
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
, and
trumpet.
Brothers3 cite Darren Cogan,
John Williamson,
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
,
Keith Urban,
Miley Cyrus, Reg Poole,
The Robertson Brothers,
Slim Newton and Taylor Swift as their musical inspirations.
Members
Shardyn Fahey-Leigh
Shardyn Fahey-Leigh, born , is the eldest brother in the band.
He cites
Earl Scruggs
Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-fin ...
,
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...
and Keith Urban as his musical influences.
Aside from music, Shardyn has also pursued a career in acting and musical theatre. In 2002, he made a guest appearance in the season four episode "A Prefect Murder" of the Australian/American sci-fi television series ''
Farscape
''Farscape'' is an Australian-American science fiction television series, produced originally for the Nine Network. It premiered in the US on Sci-Fi Channel's SciFi Friday, 19 March 1999, at 8:00 pm EST as their anchor series. The series was c ...
''. In 2006, Shardyn appeared alongside
Hugh Jackman in the arena tour of ''
The Boy from Oz'', playing the role of a young
Peter Allen.
In 2008, Shardyn played the role of Wil in John Williamson's bush musical ''
Quambatook
Quambatook is a town in northern Victoria, Australia.
Description and history
Quambatook is located on the Avoca River in the Shire of Gannawarra local government area, from the state capital, Melbourne. At the Quambatook had a population ...
''.
That same year, he made a guest appearance in the Australian soap opera ''
Home and Away
''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...
'' as
Jamie Cooper, the son of
Julie Cooper. The following year, he appeared in the season one episode "Bertie 1918" of the Australian children's television series ''
My Place'', playing the role of young magician Bertie. Shardyn left school early to attend university.
Prior to entering ''The X Factor'', he studied at the Australian Academy of Music and Performing Arts.
Tayzin Fahey-Leigh
Tayzin Fahey-Leigh, born , is the second-eldest brother.
He cites country music and
Queen as his influences.
Aside from music, Tayzin has also pursued a career in acting. In 2002, he made a guest appearance in the
season five
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...
episode "Bedtime Stories" of the Australian medical drama television series ''
All Saints'', playing the role of Brian Richards. In 2005, Tayzin appeared in the films ''
Son of the Mask'' and ''
Hell Has Harbour Views
''Hell Has Harbour Views'' is a 2001 novel written by Richard Beasley. A 2005 ABC telemovie written and directed by Peter Duncan, was based on the novel.
Synopsis
The story is set in a corrupt Sydney law firm and follows the protagonist, H ...
''.
In June 2011, he played the teenage
Chad Morgan in the documentary film ''I'm Not Dead Yet''. Tayzin left school early to attend university.
Prior to entering ''The X Factor'', he studied at JMC Academy in Sydney.
Makirum Fahey-Leigh
Makirum Fahey-Leigh, born , is the youngest brother.
He cites
Guthrie Govan
Guthrie Govan (; born 27 December 1971) is an English guitarist and guitar teacher, known for his work with the bands the Aristocrats, Asia, GPS, the Young Punx and the Fellowship, as well as his solo project Erotic Cakes. More recently, he ha ...
as his musical influence.
Aside from music, Makirum has also pursued a career in acting and musical theatre. In 2008, he played the role of Pete in John Williamson's bush musical ''Quambatook''.
Makirum also appeared in the films ''
Happy Feet'' (2006) and ''
The Black Balloon'' (2008).
In September 2011, he made a guest appearance in the twelfth episode of the Australian television drama series ''
Crownies'', playing the role of Brett O'Leary. Makirum left school early to attend university.
Prior to entering ''The X Factor'', he studied at the Australian Academy of Music and Performing Arts.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Other charted songs
Music videos
Awards and nominations
Country Music Awards of Australia
The
Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the
Tamworth Country Music Festival. Celebrating recording excellence in the
Australian country music
Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass music, bluegrass, to yodeling to Australian folk music, folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English ...
industry. They commenced in 1973.
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References
{{authority control
Sibling musical trios
Australian boy bands
Australian country music groups
Australian musical trios
New South Wales musical groups
Musical groups established in 2009
The X Factor (Australian TV series) contestants
People educated at Sydney Distance Education High School