Forgotten Australian Idol winner's son, 17, is following in his musician footsteps

Daily Mail​

05-05-2025

It appears the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to Damien Leith's musically talented family.
The 49-year-old singer rose to fame back in 2006 when he took out the honours in Channel Ten singing juggernaut Australian Idol.
Although his stardom has somewhat faded in recent years, his son Jagger is certainly following in his footsteps to the stage.
The 17-year-old, who possesses quite a marketable face and chiselled form, has already released a string of singles, with his latest track titled I Miss You dropping back in January.
He's now joining his dad on the road for a string of shows as part of Damien's Ireland Orchestrated tour.
'He wasn't even born when I was on Idol, so it's a pretty amazing thing to be on stage with him,' Damien told Woman's Day magazine.
Damien added that while Jagger's pop sensibilities might differ markedly from his love of traditional folk and rock, he is always a font of advice for his son.
'Jagger will come to me all the time when he might be stuck on a lyric, or he might want ideas for a chorus and I always help him,' Damien added.
'He'll take my ideas on board but he's a pretty independent guy. Even though I'm his dad, if he doesn't like my ideas, he'll tell me.'
And Jagger's not the only one taking after their talented father.
Damien, who also shares son Jarvis, 19, and daughter Kikki, 14 with wife Eileen Stapleton, said all three children are quite musical.
The Idol winner added he hoped that his experiences in the music industry will help hold his children in good stead in their musical pursuits.
'I'm so proud of all three of my kids, they're obsessed with singing and acting,' he said.
'I tell them it's an amazing industry, but you need a tough skin and you've got to be prepared.'
Speaking about his musical brood to the Illawarra Mercury in 2023, Damien said his was the loudest house in the street.
'It is so noisy that any particular time there could be someone singing a song from a musical, while someone else is pounding on the piano while somebody else is playing electric guitar downstairs,' he said.
'I hear the things that they're [my children are] talking about and things that they're planning and it reminds me of when I was about 17 and I'm going "wow, I can't believe that they're so taken by it all"."
Damien sprung to national attention when he was crowned winner of the 2006 iteration of Australian Idol.
He was in good company too, beating the likes of runner-up Jessica Mauboy, Lisa Mitchell, Bobby Flynn and Dean Geyer for the title.
Damien parlayed his idol success into a career that has seen him release nine studio albums, including two number ones.
Damien also picked up an ARIA for his post-Idol album The Winner's Journey as well as a Golden Guitar in 2017 for his track Call me Cray.
When he is not on stage, Damien has also worked as a radio announcer in the Hunter Valley and Wollongong.
The multi-talent is also quite the accomplished author, having penned three tomes - One More Time (2007), Remember June (2007), and The Extraordinary Misadventures of Lake and Birdy (2025)