Guy Sebastian reveals wild night he was pelted with stinky shoes in New York City: 'I kid you not!'

Daily Mail​

07-05-2025

Guy Sebastian might be used to having adoration thrown at him on stage in Australia, but across the pond it's a different story.
The multiple ARIA award-winning star, 43, recounted a very unusual gig in New York at the beginning of his post-Australian Idol career on The Kyle & Jackie O Show on Wednesday.
He revealed that he had taken his wife Jules to a club in the Big Apple, where the couple were living at the time.
He said that the club was hosting a 'jam night' and the Battle Scars hitmaker hit the stage to flaunt his talents.
Guy also admitted that it was the first time the mum-of-two had heard the star in action, and the reaction he received from the audience was quite surprising.
'When I sing in America, it's such a different reaction,' he said.
'Jules, the first time she saw me sing, we were living in New York, and I went down to this place called The Village Underground.
'And it's where one night you'll have, like, half of Beyoncé's band. D'Angelo's band, Maxwell. All their bands just gather here and jam and it's like an open mic night.'
Guy then admitted he was pelted with shoes by the audience, but not for the reasons many would think.
'I remember getting up and I sung like an Al Green song or something, and I started doing runs and they're looking at me wondering, "Who is this boy? Is he black? Is he Mexican? I don't know what he is, but that boy can sing,"' he said.
'I kid you not, ask Jules. It's a big compliment for them to throw their shoe at you and stuff. So, I'm getting shoes thrown at me.'
Host Kyle Sandilands then pressed Guy on whether he had been lied to about the intentions of the airborne footwear.
'No, it's a compliment,' Guy confirmed.
'And then they start throwing $20 bills at the stage. So, I would do a big run, and they get it because they all grow up in church and so they know the difficulty of it.
'It's a big compliment for them to throw their shoe at you and stuff...' he said
'Whereas when I do it here people are like, that's lovely.'
It was a compliment that Guy paid to one Voice contestant back in 2022.
After 22-year old Samoan singer Celestial Utai wowed the panel with her rendition of Beyoncé's Deja Vu, both guy and fellow coach Jessica Mauboy threw their shoes onto the stage as a mark of respect of the show-stopping performance.
Guy's admission comes after he recently announced a major shake-up of his management team.
The Angels Brought Me Here singer revealed, last month, that he had parted ways with his long-time manager Jennifer Fontaine, in favour of his own in-house management team.
Jennifer had guided Guy's career since his acrimonious split with former manager Titus Day back in 2017.
Speaking to News Corp, the former Australian Idol star said the pair remain friends and that an internal management team was always on the agenda for Sebastian.
'The thing with Jen is she knew I always wanted to have my own internal team and I wanted to be at the table on everything. It wasn't such a huge shock,' Sebastian said.
'She was there at a pretty vulnerable time for me and however this rolls out, I wanted us to remain great friends afterwards.'
It was also revealed that Lauren Stamper, who was previously Sebastian's day-to-day manager, would lead the revamped management team.
Lauren has also previously worked alongside Fontaine at her agency Private Idaho.
The singer's long-time tour manager George Said has also been retained in the fold at his Guytunes company, charged with booking live shows and tours.
The publication also reported that while Sebastian will release his tenth studio album on Sony, there are plans in the works to establish a new label to mentor burgeoning artists.