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Royston Sagigi-Baira
Born1999
Australia
OriginMapoon, Queensland, Australia
OccupationSinger
InstrumentVocals
Years active2018-present
LabelsSony Music Australia (2023+)

Royston Sagigi-Baira, also known as Royston Noell,[1] is an Australian singer best known for winning the eighth season of Australian Idol in 2023. He officially won the title in March 2023, $100,000 prize money and a recording contract with Sony Music Australia.[2]

Early life

Royston Sagigi-Baira is a Thanakwith (Aboriginal) and Wagadagam (Torres Strait Islander) man from Mapoon, Queensland.[3]

Sagigi-Baira reflected saying "Most kids wanted to play rugby or go fishing, but I just wanted to sing It's all I ever wanted to do.".[4] In year 2, his teacher gave him High School Musical DVD as a prize, saying "I took it home and watched it over and over again and completely fell in love with music, especially singing."[4]

Sagigi-Baira sang in church and in school. Sagigi-Baira attended the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA) in Brisbane and as of 2023, is in his second year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music) degree at the Queensland University of Technology.[4]

Career

2018-2022: All Together Now

In 2018, Sagigi-Baira competed on the Australian version of All Together Now, becoming the first contestant to snag a perfect score of 100 performiong Sam Smith's "Lay Me Down"[5] eventually placing third behind Lai Utovou and Tarryn Stokes.[6]

During NAIDOC Week in July 2022, Aboriginal Christian leader, poet and writer Brooke Prentis spoke with Sagigi-Baira on national radio about the theme "Get Up! Stand up! Show up!"[7]

In November 2022, Sagigi-Baira released his debut single "When I Fall Apart" under the name Royston Noell.[8][9]

2023: Australian Idol

Main article: Australian Idol (season 8)

In 2023, Sagigi-Baira audition for the Seven Network reboot of Australian Idol with the song "I'm Not the Only One" by Sam Smith, receiving a golden ticket to the top 50.[10][11] He went on to advance through from the top 50 to the top 24, and then made it to the top 12 live shows.[12][13]

Sagigi-Baira continued to impress Australia weekly, advancing through to the top ten, then top eight and then top 6 before finding himself in the grand finale, and final three.[14][15]

Upon being announced as a grand finalist Noell said "I can't believe this. This is crazy. This is a testament [to the fact] that no matter where you come from, as long as you work hard, you can follow your dreams, and they can come true."[16]

Australian Idol performances and results (2023)
Episode Song Original Artist Result
Auditions "I'm Not the Only One" Sam Smith Through to Top 50
Top 50 Part 1-Round 1 "Wrecking Ball" Miley Cyrus Through to Round 2
Top 50 Part 1-Round 2 "I'll Be There" Jess Glynne Through to Part 2
Top 50 Part 2 "Everything I Wanted" Billie Eilish Through to Top 24
Top 24 "Versace on the Floor" Bruno Mars Through to Top 12
Top 12 "Man In The Mirror" Michael Jackson Through to Top 10
Top 10 "I Won't Let You Go" James Morrison Through to Top 8
Top 8 "The Climb" Miley Cyrus Through to Top 6
Top 6 "True Colors" Cyndi Lauper Perform Head to Head
Top 6-Head to Head "I Want to Know What Love Is" Foreigner Through to Grand Finale
Grand Finale-Top 3 "I Can't Make You Love Me" Bonnie Raitt Through to Top 2
Grand Finale-Top 2 "When You Believe" Whitney Houston Winner
"Invincible" winners single

After a performance on Whitney Houston's "When You Believe", Sagigi-Baira was announced as the winner.[17][18][19]

Immediately after the announcement, his winners single "Invincible", written by Toni Watson (known professionally as Tones and I), was released.[20][16] The song was compared to Rihanna's "Diamonds" on Radio 6PR.[21]

Personal life

Sagigi-Baira is currently residing in Cape York, in far north Queensland.[22]

Discography

Singles

List of singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
AUS
"When I Fall Apart"[8] 2022 — TBA
"Invicible"[16] 2023 —

Awards and nominations

National Indigenous Music Awards

The National Indigenous Music Awards recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia. They commenced in 2004.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2023 Himself New Talent of the Year Nominated [23][24]

References

  1. ^ "Royston Noell - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  2. ^ Green, Stephen. "Royston Sagigi-Baira Wins Australian Idol 2023". themusic.com.au. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  3. ^ "Rising Indigenous star Royston Sagigi-Baira wins Australian Idol". National Indigenous times. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Royston Sagigi-Baira's journey from Cape York to the Australian Idol grand final". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  5. ^ "All Together Now: 'What a voice, what a moment'". Courier Mail. 14 October 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Brisbane draftsman Lai Utovou wins All Together Now". Courier Mail. 25 November 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Royston Sagigi-Baira: Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  8. ^ a b "This is a very long time coming, but I'm excited to announce the upcoming release of my debut single, 'When I Fall Apart'". Facebook. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Check out Royston Noell's debut single". Gittaway Ganyi. November 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  10. ^ Australian Idol 2023 | Royston Sagigi Baira - I'm Not the Only One | Auditions, retrieved 2023-03-27
  11. ^ "Royston Sagigi-Baira came and delivered that performance!". Twitter. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  12. ^ "Australian Idol: Top 12 Face Public Vote". B&T. 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  13. ^ Barion, Angeline (2023-02-23). ""Australian Idol" 2023 Top 12: Who Made the Cut?". POPSUGAR Australia. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  14. ^ "Australian Idol 2023 Top 3 finalists revealed". 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  15. ^ Staff Writer. "Australian Idol Reveals Top Three Finalists For 2023 Season". themusic.com.au. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  16. ^ a b c "Royston Sagigi-Baira Wins Australian Idol 2023". The Music. 26 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  17. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Royston Sagigi-Baira is the winner of Australian Idol 2023!". MSN. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  18. ^ "Royston Crowned Winner Of Seven's Australian Idol As Phoebe Suffers Fall". B&T. 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  19. ^ Molk, Steve (2023-03-26). "ROYSTON wins AUSTRALIAN IDOL". TV Blackbox. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  20. ^ "royston noell invincible". Bing. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  21. ^ "Is Royston's Invincible like Diamonds in the Sky?". TV Tonight. 26 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  22. ^ "Royston could become an Australian Idol, but in his tiny Indigenous community he's already a star". ABC News. 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  23. ^ Mary Varvaris (12 July 2023). "Budjerah & Wildfire Manwurrk Lead NIMA Finalist Nominations". The Music. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Here Are All the Winners from the 2023 National Indigenous Music Awards". Music Feeds. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
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