Far away from home, I fell in love with Australian music again
Washington: On a recent Wednesday night, I found myself in New York revisiting the new Australian bar that's opened up in Lower Manhattan. I first wrote about Old Mates pub in April, finding it was a surprise hit with discerning New Yorkers as well as the expat crowd.
I came back to see The Wiggles. Not in their usual coloured skivvies, but in casual pub attire for a free gig at the end of their month-long US tour.
The crowd might have been adults-only, but the set list wasn't, with plenty of Wiggles favourites mixed with karaoke renditions of You're So Vain and a rocking version of The Cockroaches' She's the One. The boisterous New York audience wouldn't let them leave without performing Hot Potato, while Dominic Field – sans Wiggles' tree costume – brought the house down with the hoedown-style Rattlin' Bog, an Irish folk song.
For the uninitiated, Field – or the Tree of Wisdom, as he's known on stage – dances up a storm while the band works its way through the epic song, which is cumulative (the verse grows each time around, like The Twelve Days of Christmas) and gets progressively faster.
'It was incredible,' blue wiggle Anthony Field, Dominic's uncle, told me after the show. 'It was packed full of Aussies and a lot of Americans who grew up with The Wiggles. This is our last night in America, so we just wanted to let some steam off. We didn't do it for money; we didn't get paid.'
We got talking about the lure of a slice of home during long stints abroad. It might be the sound of an Australian accent while walking the streets (not uncommon in the United States, I can assure you). It might be the appearance of a flat white on a menu (rarer), or just any coffee that's strong and well-made (rarer still).
For me, it's Aussie music. I've been cleaning the apartment to the best of Savage Garden, roaming Washington with Missy Higgins coursing through my headphones, playing Ball Park Music while driving to the beach. And I tuned into Triple J's recent Hottest 100 of Australian Songs (Cold Chisel and Powderfinger both should have been higher, but clearly their vote was split across two top-20 tracks).
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But the moment carried a lot of emotional weight as he realised, in real time, that his dream was becoming a reality. "I have definitely sung my song better," he said, "but it was just all the emotions rushing through when I saw that I had actually made it. "I couldn't hold it together." Charlie earned a prized four-chair turn from the coaches on the popular talent quest's 14th season: Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating. Overwhelmed by the experience, Charlie said the emotions took over the moment he saw the first coach turn around "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes - it was crazy. I wasn't really expecting to get any chair turns, to be honest. To see one turn around, I was bawling my eyes out." As the chairs continued to turn, the emotions only intensified. "To see all four [coaches turn around], I started to wipe my eyes, and I could barely talk. And then to look over at my family - it was a very emotional moment for all of us." In the blind auditions, coaches build their team of hopefuls based solely on their voice, without seeing the contestants. If a voice captures their attention, they hit the button and spin their chair to see the performer and signal their interest. When more than one chair turns, the artist gets to decide which coach to team up with. But if no chairs turn, the journey ends there. Charlie performed a haunting, slowed-down, and at times tear-filled rendition of Djo's 2022 hit End of Beginning. Soulfully delivered, Charlie's version of the synth-pop track struck a chord far beyond the music itself. Coach and Grammy Award winner Richard Marx turned his chair within seconds of Charlie starting his performance, with Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke spinning around soon after. Spice Girl Melanie C and Boyzone lead vocalist Ronan Keating turned their chairs just as Charlie finished singing. Keating, who teared up along with the rest of the coaches, walked up on stage to embrace the 17-year-old after his emotionally-charged performance. "I felt all of that," he said as he hugged Charlie. "That was beautiful." Marx described Charlie's rendition as "heartbreakingly beautiful", while Miller-Heidke labelled the teen's performance as "something pure and from the heart". "You just made me feel something that I've never felt in this chair before," she said. After he completed his goosebump-inducing performance, Miller-Heidke asked what led to such a powerful moment on stage. Charlie then shared his heartbreaking story about his dad, a former pastor and prison chaplain, who was left in a wheelchair after suffering a severe brain injury in a workplace accident. "Music is something me and Dad can do together...," he said. "My dad had an accident at work, pretty much half his brain is gone forever, and he suffered from really bad seizures everyday for a long time. "He [had] brain surgery last year, and the seizures have stopped. I gave music my hardest crack and it's really emotional to see it's paying off." The teenager, who gave up a promising footy path to follow his heart, said it was humbling to receive such praise from the coaches. "To have people who are that solidified in the music scene, with all the accomplishments each and every one of them has made, to see that I made them feel like that - and that they reacted like that to my voice and the way I changed that song - made me very content with where I am in my journey. "It has given me a lot of confidence." In the end, Charlie chose to be on Miller-Heidke's team. He said it was by no means an easy choice between four "amazing coaches", but in the end, the decision came down to his roots. "What they said to me after they turned around, I was still undecided," he said. "But it all came down to: I love folk music, I write folk music, and that's the career I want to have. "Kate had folk roots when she first started out, and I just felt like, with her performing at Eurovision, and with her experience as an opera singer, a pop singer, a folk singer - doing all these different genres of music and having incredible achievements in every field - I thought she would help me become more of a well-rounded artist." "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes." Tears streamed down Charlie O'Derry's face before he could even finish his blind auditions performance on Sunday night's opening episode of The Voice Australia. The talented folk singer delivered a performance so raw and heartfelt, it brought the room to a standstill and had four seasoned pop stars - the show's coaches - wiping their eyes. Recalling the moment before it went to air on Seven, the 17-year-old from Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast said his performance was not his strongest work as a vocalist. But the moment carried a lot of emotional weight as he realised, in real time, that his dream was becoming a reality. "I have definitely sung my song better," he said, "but it was just all the emotions rushing through when I saw that I had actually made it. "I couldn't hold it together." Charlie earned a prized four-chair turn from the coaches on the popular talent quest's 14th season: Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating. Overwhelmed by the experience, Charlie said the emotions took over the moment he saw the first coach turn around "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes - it was crazy. I wasn't really expecting to get any chair turns, to be honest. To see one turn around, I was bawling my eyes out." As the chairs continued to turn, the emotions only intensified. "To see all four [coaches turn around], I started to wipe my eyes, and I could barely talk. And then to look over at my family - it was a very emotional moment for all of us." In the blind auditions, coaches build their team of hopefuls based solely on their voice, without seeing the contestants. If a voice captures their attention, they hit the button and spin their chair to see the performer and signal their interest. When more than one chair turns, the artist gets to decide which coach to team up with. But if no chairs turn, the journey ends there. Charlie performed a haunting, slowed-down, and at times tear-filled rendition of Djo's 2022 hit End of Beginning. Soulfully delivered, Charlie's version of the synth-pop track struck a chord far beyond the music itself. Coach and Grammy Award winner Richard Marx turned his chair within seconds of Charlie starting his performance, with Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke spinning around soon after. Spice Girl Melanie C and Boyzone lead vocalist Ronan Keating turned their chairs just as Charlie finished singing. Keating, who teared up along with the rest of the coaches, walked up on stage to embrace the 17-year-old after his emotionally-charged performance. "I felt all of that," he said as he hugged Charlie. "That was beautiful." Marx described Charlie's rendition as "heartbreakingly beautiful", while Miller-Heidke labelled the teen's performance as "something pure and from the heart". "You just made me feel something that I've never felt in this chair before," she said. After he completed his goosebump-inducing performance, Miller-Heidke asked what led to such a powerful moment on stage. Charlie then shared his heartbreaking story about his dad, a former pastor and prison chaplain, who was left in a wheelchair after suffering a severe brain injury in a workplace accident. "Music is something me and Dad can do together...," he said. "My dad had an accident at work, pretty much half his brain is gone forever, and he suffered from really bad seizures everyday for a long time. "He [had] brain surgery last year, and the seizures have stopped. I gave music my hardest crack and it's really emotional to see it's paying off." The teenager, who gave up a promising footy path to follow his heart, said it was humbling to receive such praise from the coaches. "To have people who are that solidified in the music scene, with all the accomplishments each and every one of them has made, to see that I made them feel like that - and that they reacted like that to my voice and the way I changed that song - made me very content with where I am in my journey. "It has given me a lot of confidence." In the end, Charlie chose to be on Miller-Heidke's team. He said it was by no means an easy choice between four "amazing coaches", but in the end, the decision came down to his roots. "What they said to me after they turned around, I was still undecided," he said. "But it all came down to: I love folk music, I write folk music, and that's the career I want to have. "Kate had folk roots when she first started out, and I just felt like, with her performing at Eurovision, and with her experience as an opera singer, a pop singer, a folk singer - doing all these different genres of music and having incredible achievements in every field - I thought she would help me become more of a well-rounded artist." "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes." Tears streamed down Charlie O'Derry's face before he could even finish his blind auditions performance on Sunday night's opening episode of The Voice Australia. The talented folk singer delivered a performance so raw and heartfelt, it brought the room to a standstill and had four seasoned pop stars - the show's coaches - wiping their eyes. Recalling the moment before it went to air on Seven, the 17-year-old from Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast said his performance was not his strongest work as a vocalist. But the moment carried a lot of emotional weight as he realised, in real time, that his dream was becoming a reality. "I have definitely sung my song better," he said, "but it was just all the emotions rushing through when I saw that I had actually made it. "I couldn't hold it together." Charlie earned a prized four-chair turn from the coaches on the popular talent quest's 14th season: Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating. Overwhelmed by the experience, Charlie said the emotions took over the moment he saw the first coach turn around "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes - it was crazy. I wasn't really expecting to get any chair turns, to be honest. To see one turn around, I was bawling my eyes out." As the chairs continued to turn, the emotions only intensified. "To see all four [coaches turn around], I started to wipe my eyes, and I could barely talk. And then to look over at my family - it was a very emotional moment for all of us." In the blind auditions, coaches build their team of hopefuls based solely on their voice, without seeing the contestants. If a voice captures their attention, they hit the button and spin their chair to see the performer and signal their interest. When more than one chair turns, the artist gets to decide which coach to team up with. But if no chairs turn, the journey ends there. Charlie performed a haunting, slowed-down, and at times tear-filled rendition of Djo's 2022 hit End of Beginning. Soulfully delivered, Charlie's version of the synth-pop track struck a chord far beyond the music itself. Coach and Grammy Award winner Richard Marx turned his chair within seconds of Charlie starting his performance, with Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke spinning around soon after. Spice Girl Melanie C and Boyzone lead vocalist Ronan Keating turned their chairs just as Charlie finished singing. Keating, who teared up along with the rest of the coaches, walked up on stage to embrace the 17-year-old after his emotionally-charged performance. "I felt all of that," he said as he hugged Charlie. "That was beautiful." Marx described Charlie's rendition as "heartbreakingly beautiful", while Miller-Heidke labelled the teen's performance as "something pure and from the heart". "You just made me feel something that I've never felt in this chair before," she said. After he completed his goosebump-inducing performance, Miller-Heidke asked what led to such a powerful moment on stage. Charlie then shared his heartbreaking story about his dad, a former pastor and prison chaplain, who was left in a wheelchair after suffering a severe brain injury in a workplace accident. "Music is something me and Dad can do together...," he said. "My dad had an accident at work, pretty much half his brain is gone forever, and he suffered from really bad seizures everyday for a long time. "He [had] brain surgery last year, and the seizures have stopped. I gave music my hardest crack and it's really emotional to see it's paying off." The teenager, who gave up a promising footy path to follow his heart, said it was humbling to receive such praise from the coaches. "To have people who are that solidified in the music scene, with all the accomplishments each and every one of them has made, to see that I made them feel like that - and that they reacted like that to my voice and the way I changed that song - made me very content with where I am in my journey. "It has given me a lot of confidence." In the end, Charlie chose to be on Miller-Heidke's team. He said it was by no means an easy choice between four "amazing coaches", but in the end, the decision came down to his roots. "What they said to me after they turned around, I was still undecided," he said. "But it all came down to: I love folk music, I write folk music, and that's the career I want to have. "Kate had folk roots when she first started out, and I just felt like, with her performing at Eurovision, and with her experience as an opera singer, a pop singer, a folk singer - doing all these different genres of music and having incredible achievements in every field - I thought she would help me become more of a well-rounded artist."
