While his face might be well-known around Scone, local singing talent Hamish Guiana still isn't quite ready to see it splashed across the TV when his Australian Idol audition goes to air on Monday night (6th).
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"I don't really like seeing myself on video or anything like that, so it'll be a bit scary," the 19-year-old Scone Grammar School graduate said through a nervous laugh.
Though Hamish has to stay pretty tight-tipped on the details of his audition, he can confirm it "was a bit nerve-racking as you'll see on the show, but yeah, it was very exciting," he said.
Despite his own reservations about watching himself on national television, Hamish said the experience to audition for one of the country's biggest singing talent shows aligned with his passion to pursue a career as a musician.
"I've had a few people say to me I should do one of these talent shows and then I saw an ad for the auditions for Australian Idol on TV and thought, 'that could be interesting'.
"I was actually doing my HSC art project at the time and sat that aside for a minute to fill out all the forms and things."
A few weeks after applying Hamish got the call back to come on the show.
Hamish credits his love of music to his dad, Hunter Valley Police Chief Inspector Guy Guiana, whose love of music inspired him from a young age.
"Music has been a part of my life for a really long time. My dad loves music, and I think that's kind of where I got it from," Hamish said.
"For me it's a way of connecting with people. It's just something that I love and if I can find a career in it, then I don't know if it would ever really feel like I was working. It's just something that I just do and I love," Hamish said.
Since he started singing around six years ago, Hamish has fallen in love with performing to a live audience and can often be found busking or singing live gigs around local pubs and cafes. He was also among the line-up of singers who performed at the Muswellbrook Christmas Spectacular in December.
"My singing teacher Tori Saunders has been massively influential in that and she's really driven me to perform in front of people," Hamish said.
Hamish remembers back to his first live performance, which was with the school choir as a sprightly year-two student.
"I joined because one of my mates didn't have a friend and I thought I'd go along with him," he said.
Since his choir days Hamish has learned to play guitar to accompany his singing talents and loves to perform covers by some of his favourite bands, including The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons.
He's since become something of a regular performer at local pubs like the Belmore Hotel in Scone, where he recently played Christmas Eve and Australia Day.
But before heading off to perform his set on Australia Day, Hamish sang the national anthem at the Australia Day award ceremony in Scone where he was also named Upper Hunter Shire Young Citizen of the Year, an honour he received for giving a dedicated and passionate voice to youth groups and initiatives in his community. It's something he said he is humbled by and remains modest about, acknowledging the initiatives he worked on with his peers were a team effort.
Hamish's Australian Idol audition is set to air on Channel 7 on Monday, February 6, between 7.30pm - 9.15pm and his town couldn't be more excited for him.
Scone Grammar School took to Facebook yesterday to let the community know when to tune in and to rally behind their 2022 graduate.
"Join Scone Grammar School, Scone, and the wider Upper Hunter community to cheer Hamish on from many lounge chairs throughout the Upper Hunter," the post read.
"Our humble 2022 Scone Grammar School Captain has a beautiful voice and has been incredibly generous in sharing it with our SGS community, and our wider Upper Hunter community. Good luck, Hamish!"
The post was met with a stream of well-wishes and congratulations in support of the rising talent.
Australian Idol will air on Channel 7 from 7.30pm to 9.15pm this coming Monday 6 February 2023. Many local television sets will pick up Channel 7 or stream it for free from 7plus, which can be downloaded from an app on your device, or you log into it from an internet browser. https://7plus.com.au/
You can follow Hamish on his journey via his instagram @hamising_guiana
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