Biography

The moment Royston Noell begins to sing, it seems obvious he was destined to be on stage. The 25-year-old has a voice that doesn’t come around very often – captivating, soulful, and born to take your breath away. It’s a gift that carried him to the top, becoming the first Australian Idol winner in over a decade. But despite his talent, Royston Noell – a proud Thanakwith and Wagadagam man – wasn’t sure this life he dreamed of could ever be his.

 

“Growing up in Mapoon isn’t like growing up in the city; we still practice a lot of tradition hunting, have a strong sense of community,” explains Royston. “I was so different to a lot of the other kids growing up; other kids wanted to be footy players or be like Cathy Freeman, but all I wanted to do was sing. Although, it felt very isolating being the only kid in my school of 60 kids that sang.”

 

Music became a way of surviving; after coming out as queer, Royston learned to find resilience in song.

 

“There was some homophobia at school, and I tried to avoid singing in front of other people because of it, but once I started the journey of embracing who I was, my story, my truth (because it is a journey), I no longer felt the need to supress my love for singing. It felt so freeing. I’ve received so many messages from people telling me my journey as a queer First Nations artist has helped them,” says Royston.

 

If anyone knows the power of perseverance, it’s Royston Noell. Having conquered Australian Idol and blown the country away with his voice, heart and story, he is now ready to share this next chapter.

 

“I put a lot of my heart and soul into this. This EP is the output from the creative journey I undertook after winning Idol. This project has been a long time coming, but I’m so grateful I had the time needed to truly put together a body of work that I was proud of. To really figure out what I wanted to say and give to the world as an artist. During this time, I found a reason to express myself a little more, I truly found how to operate as an artist. I’ve still got a lot more to learn and a lot more to do, but as of today, I’ve found a place with my voice, with my creative output to finally have something that I can say with confidence,” explains Royston.

 

“I didn’t want to put out just anything,” he continues. “I could have rushed into this. If I had released an EP a year ago, it wouldn’t have been a strong body of work. This is an album about the different journeys I undertook that have helped me find myself, find my voice, push myself for my dreams and remembering to still have fun while doing it. You know, the most beautiful thing about sunrise is that no matter what’s going in your world, there is another day promised, and the sun will rise. There’s always a chance for light, even if there’s a stormy or cloudy day.”

 

Sunrise EP is separated into three distinct chapters with two songs a piece – The Blooming, The Climb and Sunshine Bliss, which represent a chronological order timeline in my life from start to end. The title Sunrise symbolizes more than just being in the light; it also represents the transition from darkness to illumination, capturing the journey of self-discovery, the pursuit of passion, and living in the moment whilst embracing each day as if it were your last.

First track to be released will be ‘Say It Loud’ on September 27 which will serve as a reintroduction of his incredible voice, and as Royston explains, “This song reflects the struggle of self-acceptance and the challenge of embracing who you truly are. For me, that struggle was tied to my sexuality. I couldn’t ‘Say It Loud’ for a long time, and this song captures that significant part of my life that I was scared to reveal.”

 

This will be followed by ‘Feeling Good’ in October (“We all need to live free. I wanted to do a fun dance song that just makes you feel good.”) plus the EP announcement, and then ‘Way Up’ in November (“This is a motivation song, correlating with my journey of trying to pursue music after high school. When I got to the session in LA, I said I wanted to do a song that you could metaphorically visualise climbing a mountain to your dreams.”) with the Sunrise EP officially releasing in February with ‘Live Everyday’ (“This is another feel good song. It’s just about living in the moment and having fun.”). Each track on the EP will be accompanied by a really strong visual encapsulation of the song, so fans can follow the journey from darkness into light – one we can all relate to no matter what our background is.

 

Each song on Sunrise tells the personal story of this First Nations superstar from a tiny town who dared to dream even when the odds were against him. He’s the boy from the community who put Mapoon on the map. Royston Noell has stepped out of the dark, and ready to take on the world.