GUY Sebastian’s fifth album, Like it Like That, could be described as a tale of two very different cities.
The 28-year-old singer songwriter, most notable for winning the inaugural season of the now-defunct Australian Idol, spent most of last year living in New York City where he began writing original material again.
After spending the last couple of years venturing into cover music with The Memphis Album and a subsequent tour, Sebastian rediscovered his love of writing and performing his own music during an intimate residency at a bar on New York’s Lower East Side.
“It was funny because I came off the back of a tour in Australia with nearly 1000 people at each concert,” Sebastian said.
“Then I went over there, and there was like eight people for the first gig.
“In about four weeks, we had about 300 people, and it just kept growing.”
When asked why New York had such a profound effect on him and his song writing, Sebastian said it was the “soul” of the city.
“You can walk anywhere in the Village or SoHo and past the most random bar and the talent – even if it is just an open mic night – is just unbelievable,” he said.
Sebastian also wrote a lot of the new record while he was at his home in Hervey Bay in far north Queensland.
“Some of the more cruisey songs I wrote in Hervey Bay – which is just a sleepy little town – and a lot of the more up-tempo manic songs I wrote in New York,” he said.
For the album, Sebastian managed to recruit some internationally renowned musical talent, including John Mayer and Jordin Sparks.
A fellow Idol winner, Sparks (who won American Idol in 2007) duets with Sebastian on his current single The Art of Love.
Even though he had Sparks in mind when he was writing the song, Sebastian said he never thought he would score her for the actual recording.
“I got a bit bummed because no one wanted to sing the song and then I thought ‘stuff it, I am just going to ask Jordin’,” he said.
“And she came back straight away and said ‘I get a lot of requests, but I really love the song and I want to do it. I’m on tour with Britney but if you come over, I will slot into the studio and record the vocal.”
During the recording, Sebastian said he and Sparks bonded over pretty much everything – except Idol.
“We never talked about that. We talked mainly about our backgrounds – we both grew up singing in church choirs and gospel music,” he said.
“We had so much in common and and had a ball.”
Guy Sebastian is at the Riverside Theatre at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre on February 12.