Go Stan, Go
Lee Wib
Hi POJ friends,
Ini ada artikel bagus ttg Stan Walker, the newest Ausie Idol. Read on his story.
I think it's good if we suport someone like him who's not ashame to tell everyone that he's a christian, he will be a good ambassador for Christ in Australian music.
I will definetely buy his album to show my support, and i hope you will do so (it's good for a gift too)
see u around, JBU
lukas w.
- From: Herald Sun
- December 17, 2009 3:47PM
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Dark side ... Stan Walker has told of his troubled past. Source: The Sunday Telegraph
It took this teenage Idol two days to make an album - with help from God.
It took this teenage Idol two days to make an album -- with help from God, writes Cameron Adams
You made your album Introducing Stan Walker in two days. That's insane.
We just had to get through it, it had to get sold, it had to get out there. I just chose the songs. We only had a limited amount that would fit.
Where's your version of Beyonce's Single Ladies?
I couldn't put it on there because I didn't have a big band to do it. It was too much for people to arrange in time. That was my favourite song to do; it was the hardest song I've ever had to do but my favourite. Nobody on Idol liked it, they looked down on me when I chose it. I told them they had to trust me because I had a vision for it. I knew it could either be a hit or a complete meltdown.
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You work with Guy Sebastian on this album . . .
He's awesome. I love his style, I love his music, I love him. I'm a bit of a Guy groupie. He says he isn't, but he's taking me under his wing and showing me a few things. He's the man. We're going to be writing some songs together.
What advice has he given you?
Just to be careful, don't forget who you are, stay aware of things that are happening.
Which artists would you model your career on?
I've got a few. Alicia Keys, John Legend, Israel Houghton he's a soul gospel artist and Beyonce. Those four, I'm in awe of all of them. I look up to them, I aspire to have stuff like them.
Have you started writing your own songs?
I'm writing at the moment. I've got one about a father leaving his family, I'm writing it from one of the child's perspectives, singing it for the little girl left behind. I was writing it and I sang it on the piano. I can't play piano so I made up my own chords. But my friend came in and she started crying and said it was exactly what had happened to her. So she wrote the rest of the song.
So it's a true story?
I just want to be a voice for people who go through this stuff. I want to talk about stuff like that. It's so daunting, when it happens people don't talk about it because they're too closed up and too hurt. Maybe I can be a voice for them.
You've had issues with domestic abuse in your own past, are you going to write about those?
Yeah, I want to really incorporate my life into my music. We came from a real broken home back in the day. It's taken years to get where we are. If it wasn't for God my family wouldn't be here today as a family. I want to be an ambassador for broken people who've come from nothing but gained everything. They've come from broken-ness and gained love and life. A new life.
How do you define broken?
Broken in spirit. A broken person. People are so lost and broken these days. They need a real hope. For me, and I know it's real, it's God. It's not a religious thing, it's a relationship you have with God, like you'd have with your mum and dad. But it's so much more in-depth. You put your hope in something that's assured. That's what I've done.
When was your spiritual awakening?
Two years ago I gave my heart to the Lord and became a Christian, but I was still stuffing up. I was up and down until the start of this year when I gave everything over to God. From then on I've trusted him and never looked back.
You were using drugs and drinking at school . . .
I was a bit of a naughty boy. I was a little thief, smoking, drinking. I was experimenting. I was trying to fill the void. I thought these things would satisfy me but they didn't.
Does music fill the void?
Music is a refuge, only God can fill the void.
The tattoo on your neck what do you think of when you see that every day?
This was going to be my baby's name, Ataahua. It means beautiful in Maori. A lot of stuff happened I don't want to go into (a miscarriage). It's something that happened in my life, I put it on my neck to remind me that regardless of what happened it's something I can use to my advantage. I have so much to write about.
Are you getting feedback from people who relate to your life?
This woman in New Zealand came up to me and said her son is 19 and he was raped when he was younger. She told me "He listened to your story, he tried to commit suicide, now he's got a hope". She was a single mother with 10 kids and they were treated like how my dad used to beat us. I just started to cry. Sometimes I forget and I think "Am I even doing anything worthwhile?"
That was God reminding me "You're here for a purpose". People need healing. God has called me and given me a gift. I'm not going to be ashamed to use it for God. People's lives have been changed since I decided to make a stand. I didn't do anything. All I did was say yes to God.
Where would you be if you hadn't found God?
I'd probably still be a bum trying to find myself and just dreaming, never let it become reality.
You've said the film Once Were Warriors is like a documentary of your life . . .
There's no exaggeration in that movie. It was for us. When Grace got raped, it's all real. That happens every day. That's the norm for a lot of indigenous cultures. I love watching it, it reminds me of where I've come from. All of that pain and suffering I've been through adds character to my life. I've learnt from my circumstances. It's created somewhat of a warrior.
Introducing Stan Walker (Sony) out now.
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