Australian Idol winner Natalie Gauci tells OUTinPerth why the journey to try out for Idol was as challenging as the journey to the winner’s circle…
OiP: How would you tell the story of your musical career to someone who has never heard of Australian Idol?
Natalie: When you watch it, you are watching people sing every Sunday night and you have these strong opinions – ‘I hate him’ or ‘I love her’. That’s one of the reasons I chose not to audition for it for a long time. I didn’t know who I was or who I wanted to be and I didn’t want to be ‘the pop girl’. When I auditioned this year it was only because I was confident with my originals. I was confident with the fact that I wanted to be a writer and I wanted to perform. That came across in the show and people related to me for that reason and they responded to that.
OiP: What about what you were putting out in your original material told you that you were ready for Idol?
Natalie: It was when I decided that I was going to – this is going to sound really silly – love myself and respect myself for who I was. Even when I released my first [album] independently, I wasn’t confident with it. I didn’t shop it around to labels or anything. I didn’t put it out at gigs. If people asked, then I would sell it to them. I felt awkward even plugging it.
OiP: You scored a number of touchdowns on Australian Idol, but what happened when you didn’t get a good reaction from the judges?
Natalie: There are times when I cried. The night after when I sang Endless Love and what the judges said, I was really upset. Sam, the guy who cooks and looks after us at the house, he was there and he gave me a cuddle and I just broke down into tears. That was so good to have that cry; I got it out of my system and the next day I woke up and I thought ‘Stuff it, I’m just going to be who I am – how bad can it be?’
OiP: What was the backstage interaction like with other contestants?
Natalie: Behind the scenes, we became like a family. I ended up becoming like one of the guys – hanging out with them, drinking beers, talking about guy things. With Matt he was like a little brother to me. Marty was like one of my best mates. We went out and partied sometimes. Carl is quite reserved, very shy, very talented.
OiP: With the show and your new album, what drew you to the songs you chose to cover?
Natalie: I went with what I enjoyed singing and if I could relate to the song emotionally. Nobody Knows is very Idol and the way you’re feeling at the time – nobody gets what’s going on and people scrutinize you. Man in the Mirror I’ve done for years and I just knew it would work because I can do it and I felt confident.
OiP: Who are your ‘idols’?
Natalie: My first influence when it came to a singer playing piano and singing was Nina Simone. She almost sounds like a man she has such deep tones, but once you get past that. you hear the emotion and where she wants to take the song. That was a big influence on me as a kid and that set the standard. It’s timeless, it’s a classic sound. When I write music, that’s what I want it to be, something that can be classic and fit over any time. In twenty years you can put it on and go ‘that’s cool, I still like this, instead of going, ‘Oh my god, that cheesy sound.’
Natalie Gauci’s album ‘The Winner’s Journey’ is out now.
