Christopher Troy Sebastian (born 2 August 1988) is an Australian singer and songwriter. In 2012, Sebastian took part in the 1st season of ''

The Voice Australia ''The Voice'' is an Australian singing competition television series. It premiered on the Nine Network on 14 April 2012, before moving to the Seven Network in 2021. Based on the original Dutch singing competition '' The Voice of Holland'', a ...

'' and was a member of Team

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

, but was eliminated in the quarter-finals. He returned to ''The Voice Australia'' in the 9th season and joined

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

's team winning the title in July 2020.

Career

2008–2011: Career beginnings and "Flow"

Sebastian moved from

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 2008 to further his music career, where he worked as a singing teacher and producer. In July 2011, he released his debut single "Flow". auspOp described the song as a "likeable R&B/pop track that is as fresh as a summer breeze, combining cool harmonies with lashings of old school soul."

2012: ''The Voice'' season one

In 2012, Sebastian auditioned for the 1st season of ''The Voice Australia''. He received chair turns from

Delta Goodrem Delta Lea Goodrem Order of Australia, AM (born 9 November 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, television personality and actress based in Sydney. Goodrem signed a recording contract with Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut studio album ...

and

, opting to join Team Seal. Sebastian progressed to the top 16, before being eliminated from the competition. In a later interview, Sebastian revealed "I really didn't want to o the show.. They did a lot of things that they weren't meant to, like after my performance they played my brother's song. And the whole point was for me to have my own identity... So it was a bit of a crappy experience."

2013–2019: Independent career

In 2016, Sebastian toured with American vocal group

Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) are an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, consisting of vocalists Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Matt Sallee, and Kevin Olusola. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements wit ...

and began work on his debut EP in Los Angeles. On 20 October 2016, Sebastian released his debut EP ''Runaway''. Sebastian said "My old manager had me doing the whole dance/R&B/

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...

stuff and look, it was fun, but I didn't enjoy it. I would never play those songs at gigs... Obviously as an artist you want to enjoy playing your songs live and I didn't... I changed the way that I wrote – it's a lot more acoustic, I guess if

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

met

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

, that's kinda the sound I'm going for." The EP was supported with a national tour in late 2016. His second EP was ''This Christmas'' in 2018.

2020: ''The Voice'' season 9

In 2020, Sebastian returned and auditioned for season 9 of ''The Voice Australia'' as an All Star. All four judges turned for his blind audition and he chose Team

. He was announced the winner on 19 July 2020, beating Stellar Perry, Johnny Manuel and Siala Robson in a public vote, scoring $100,000 and a recording contract with

EMI Music EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), c ...

. denotes winner. Immediately following the announcement of his win, Sebastian's debut single with

"Bed for Two" was released. Upset viewers accused the TV singing contest of being "rigged", because contestant Chris' brother

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer who rose to fame after winning the Australian Idol (season 1), first season of ''Australian Idol'', in 2003. Born in Malaysia and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Sebastian h ...

had been one of the show's judges. Sebastian denied receiving any preferential treatment, and said, as Guy's brother, he'd anticipated "negativity" going into the show. Sebastian said "Controversy is just part of being on television. I knew it was going to be a thing on this show, but I don't care. It's a voted show, it's audited, it couldn't be more above board. More people voted for me than are slamming me, so I'm going to focus on those people." A

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

spokesperson said: "The public vote for ''The Voice'' winner is highly regulated, operated by an independent third party, and overseen by lawyers. This year's result is the tightest ever, with less than half a percent of the votes separating the winner and runner-up." Sebastian's 2019 single "I Found You" debuted at number 8 on the Australian Independent chart for the week commencing 27 July 2020.

2021: "Hard to Get to Love" and "Wasted On Me"

In March 2021, Sebastian released "Hard to Get to Love", followed by "Wasted On Me" in July 2021.

Personal life

Chris Sebastian attended King's Baptist Grammar School while growing up in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. He has three brothers, Olly,

Guy Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an uninc ...

and Jeremy. His brother

is also a musical artist. Chris is married to Natashia Sebastian. The pair suffered a miscarriage at the start of her second trimester in 2018. They have one child, Ava (born March 2020). The couple currently reside in Sydney.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sebastian, Chris 1988 births Living people Australian people of English descent Australian people of Indian descent Australian people of Malaysian descent Australian people of Portuguese descent Australian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Singers from South Australia Australian electronic musicians The Voice (Australian TV series) contestants The Voice (franchise) winners