By Mikayla van Loon
Mount Evelyn’s very own Josh Hannan has taken the country by storm on Australian Idol, drawing quite a lot of attention from people and racking up support.
The boy in his 20s scored a spot in the top eight earlier this week and said while so excited to be through, it was hard to watch his friends not make it.
“It’s bittersweet because it’s obviously a dream to get through and have another opportunity to sing for Australia. It’s such an honour,” he said.
“But you make these really close friends, Sash and I were super close and he got out last week. So it’s hard, you don’t have them in the room with you every day after that. It’s bittersweet but it’s definitely super exciting to get to the next round.”
After going without an instrument in a number of his performances, Josh said for his top eight spot he wanted to bring back either a guitar or piano.
“My past few performances have stayed away from the instrument because I really wanted to work on connecting with the audience and letting them in when I’m singing and not just being in my own world,” he said.
Taking the exposure in his stride, Josh said getting stopped in the street on occasion has been a surreal experience.
“I got stopped a few times the other day, for a photo from some fans, which is really cool. It kind of caught me off guard a little bit and made me realise it’s real and it’s all happening, people are starting to recognise me, it’s awesome,” he said.
Aside from the small glimpse into what fame looks like, Josh said it has been invaluable
“It’s such a great learning experience, you get invaluable experience with interviews, working with cameras, working with an audience, working with all the different parts of the entertainment industry.
“It’s super valuable for me as an artist going forward, whether I win or not but it’s such a thrill getting up there every single weekend and singing for Australia.”
Throughout his time on the show, Josh said one of the most enjoyable things has been seeing the audience engagement with his singing
“It’s really cool to get that audience engagement and it just shows they connect with your singing and your artistry.
“It feels like a more real possibility that people could be singing my songs back to me sooner rather than later, which is really cool.”
Having taken quite the leap of faith to go on the show, Josh said he wasn’t sure if he would be able to handle the pressure but slowly has been feeling more confident in the decision.
“Getting up here at the start, I was a little bit unsure whether I’d have all the motivation to go through because it’s such a big undertaking and it’s full on every week and thousands of different things you’ve got to do.
“There’s lots of photo shoots, I’ve never done any modelling or anything so it’s been unreal, and I think every week I’m getting more and more motivated and feeling more at home on the stage because it’s such a daunting thing getting up in front of not just 1000 people but all of Australia.
“The support that everyone’s giving me, just makes me more and more confident to give my all to the performances and it just feels right.”
Getting to come home to Mount Evelyn briefly last month, Josh said the support from the Mount Evelyn community has been incredible.
“All my neighbours hung up signs around our property saying ‘Team Josh’. Tram Xpresso Cafe, they’ve been super supportive of me as well, which has been awesome and the local MP Aaron Violi gave me a call.
“Just having the support from back home is really cool. It’s a pretty unsuspecting place for an Australian Idol to come out of Mount Evelyn and it’s a really cool story for the place.
“It just shows that any old farm kid can come out and audition and have their dreams come true.”
