Isaiah Firebrace
Isaiah Firebrace (born 21 November 1999) is an Australian singer who won the eighth season of The X Factor Australia in 2016. He then represented Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Don't Come Easy", where he finished 9th.[1]
Isaiah Firebrace | |
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Firebrace at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest | |
Background information | |
Born | Portland, Victoria, Australia | 21 November 1999
Origin | Moama, New South Wales |
Genres | Pop, Soul |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 2016–present |
Labels | Sony |
Associated acts | Adam Lambert, Jessica Mauboy |
Website | isaiahofficial |
Life and career
Early life
One of twelve children, Firebrace was born in Portland, Victoria, and raised in Moama, New South Wales, Australia. Firebrace is an Aboriginal Australian; his father is Yorta Yorta and his mother Gunditjmara.[2] Firebrace first came to public attention when he entered the Fast Track Singing Competition in Melbourne.[3] This led to a scholarship at the David Jaanz School of Singing.[2]
2016: The X Factor and debut album
Isaiah auditioned for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia, singing a cover of Adele's "Hello". Making it through to Bootcamp, he performed a cover of Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You". From the live shows, he advanced to the Grand Final.[4]
On 21 November 2016, at the Grand Final, Isaiah performed Avicii's "Wake Me Up" with Jessica Mauboy, and his winner's single "It's Gotta Be You", winning the contest. His winner's single peaked at number 26 on the Australian Singles Chart. The song also charted in Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden.[5]
On 9 December 2016, Isaiah released his debut studio album Isaiah. The album peaked at number 12 on the Australian Albums Chart.[5]
The X Factor performances and results (2016) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Episode | Song | Original Artist | Result |
Audition | "Hello" | Adele | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp | "If I Ain't Got You" | Alicia Keys | Through to live shows |
Live show 1 | "Lay It All on Me" | Rudimental ft. Ed Sheeran | Safe |
Live show 2 | "Let It Be" | The Beatles | Safe |
Live show 3 | "Happy" | Pharrell Williams | Safe |
Live show 4 | "A Change Is Gonna Come" | Sam Cooke | Safe |
"FourFiveSeconds" | Rihanna | ||
Grand Final | "Halo" | Beyoncé | Winner |
"Wake Me Up" (with Jessica Mauboy) | Avicii | ||
"It's Gotta Be You" | Firebrace | ||
2017–present: Eurovision Song Contest
Following his X-Factor win, Firebrace reported that he was interested in representing Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest, and put his name forward for possible participation in the 2017 contest.[6] On 7 March 2017, broadcaster SBS announced that they had internally selected Firebrace to represent Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kiev, Ukraine. His entry, "Don't Come Easy", was written by DNA Songs, who also composed Dami Im's entry "Sound of Silence".[1]
On 9 May 2017, he qualified from the first semi-final and competed in the final on 13 May, finishing in 9th place.
Throughout 2019, Firebrace completed a 55-date 'Spirit and Beyond' tour through central and regional Australia, where he made it a priority to speak with as many Aboriginal school children as possible to pass on powerful messages about working hard to achieve goals and the importance of finding a passion.[7]
In 2019, Firebrace sang the Australian National Anthem at the TAB Million Dollar Chase greyhound race[8] at Wentworth Park.
In July 2020, Firebrace released "Know Me Better". He said "This song actually means a lot to me because I finally feel like I'm starting to know myself better and I am heading in the direction I want to with my music. I've been in the studio a lot over the last three years and have experimented with lots of styles but 'Know Me Better' is a song that I'm really proud to release. I love the song, I love the production and I just can't wait to be able to show people this song".[7] Firebrace also announced that he was writing a children's book, "The Purple Platypus", which pushes a positive message for kids who feel different.[7]
In August 2020, Firebrace was revealed to be competing as the "Wizard" on the second season of The Masked Singer Australia. He was the sixth contestant eliminated, placing 7th overall.[9]
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
AUS [5] |
NZ Heat. [10] | ||
Isaiah |
|
12 | 5 |
As lead artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS [5] |
BEL (Fl) Tip [12] |
DEN [13] |
NLD [14] |
NZ Heat. [15] |
SWE [16] | ||||||||||||||
"It's Gotta Be You" | 2016 | 26 | —[upper-alpha 1] | 21 | 60 | 6 | 15 | Isaiah | |||||||||||
"Don't Come Easy" | 2017 | 69 | 47 | — | — | — | 50 | Eurovision Song Contest 2017 | |||||||||||
"Streets of Gold"[20] | — | — | — | — | — | — | TBA | ||||||||||||
"Close to Me"[21] | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Spirit"[22] | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
"What Happened to Us"[23] | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
"Thinking About You"[24] | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Know Me Better"[25][26] | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
"You"[27] | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
As featured artist
Song | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"You're the Voice" (as part of United Voices Against Domestic Violence)[28] |
2017 | Non-album single |
Notes
Non-single album appearances
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Something Stupid" (with Jessica Mauboy) |
2017 | The Secret Daughter Season Two: Songs from the Original 7 Series[29] |
"Don't Change" | 2018 | Countdown: Live At The Sydney Opera House[30] |
"Dont Dream Its Over" | ||
"Solid Rock" (with Shane Howard) | ||
"Dont Dream Its Over" (with Stan Walker) |
2020 | Deadly Hearts: Walking Together[31] |
References
- Escudero, Victor M. (7 March 2017). "Isaiah is Australia's artist for Kyiv!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- Durham, Penny (6 May 2017). "Q&A: Isaiah Firebrace, singer, 17". The Australian. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- "X Factor favourite Isaiah Firebrace living the dream". Bendigo Advertiser. Bendigo. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- "The X Factor Australia: Isaiah Firebrace takes out grand final". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
- Peaks in Australia:
- All except noted: "australian-charts.com – Discography Isaiah". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- "Don't Come Easy": "ARIA Chart Watch #421". auspOp. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
- Granger, Anthony (29 November 2016). "Australia: Isaiah Firebrace Puts Name Forward For Eurovision 2017". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- "Isaiah Firebrace drops radio-ready single "Know Me Better"". The Music Network. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- "TAB Million Dollar Chase - TAB Million Dollar Chase Hub - MDC Event Information". The Dogs. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- Whitehead, Mat (26 August 2020). "Isaiah Firebrace Couldn't Tell His Dad He Was On The Masked Singer". 10 Play. ViacomCBS ANZ. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- "Isaiah by Isaiah". iTunes Australia (Apple). Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- "ultratop.be – Discografie Isaiah". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- "danishcharts.dk – Discography Isaiah". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- "dutchcharts.nl – Discografie Isaiah". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- "swedishcharts.com – Discography Isaiah". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2018 Singles". ARIA. 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
- "CERTIFICERINGER Danish single certifications". IFPI Denmark. p. 104. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
- "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista" (Enter "Isaiah" in the search bar, click on "Visa" below "It's Gotta Be You"). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
- "Streets of Gold – Single by Isaiah on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
- "Close to Me by Isaiah on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
- "Spirit by Isaiah on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- "What Happened to Us on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- "Thinking About You – Single by Isaiah". Apple Music. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- "Know Me Better on Apple Music". Apple Music. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- "Singles to Radio". The Music Network. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- "You on Apple Music". Apple Music. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "You're the Voice (single)". Apple Music. 30 May 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- "Secret Daughter Season Two, The - Otv (Songs From The Original TV Series)". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- "Secret Daughter Season Two, The - Otv (Songs From The Original TV Series)". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- "VA Deadly Hearts 3". JBHiFi. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
External links
Awards and achievements | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Cyrus Villanueva |
The X Factor Australia Winner 2016 |
Succeeded by None Show axed |
Preceded by Dami Im with "Sound of Silence" |
Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 |
Succeeded by Jessica Mauboy with "#We Got Love" |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Isaiah Firebrace. |