Read our interview with the Australian Idol contestant below!
Image: Supplied.
With the top twelve taking to the stage for the first time over the weekend, last night we said goodbye to not one, but two Australian Idol contestants. Both Maya Weiss and Jasey Fox came to the end of their Idol journey, but it's just the start for their budding music careers. We caught up with Weiss to chat about her Idol journey and what the future holds.
28-year-old Weiss is considered one of the older contestants this season, with the shows cut-off age firmly placed at 28. She entered the audition room presenting a great aesthetic, her green eye shadow matches her outfit, and gave the aura of an emerging superstar. She oozed charisma as she performed Wings from Little Mix. It was clear we were just scratching the surface on Weiss’ talent as she progressed to the next round.
In the bootcamp round, she was tasked with singing Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman during the chorus line challenge, progressing to the next round where she united with Phoebe Stewart, Sharin Attamimi, Montana Lara and Royston Sagigi-Baira to form ‘5 Soul’. Together, they tackled Jess Glynn’s I’ll Be There, working wonderfully together to deliver a moving performance where each contestants performance felt organic. No one overpowered anyone else, and it was just a wholesome performance to end with.
Weiss progressed to the top thirty two, where she took on Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody. Nerves seemed to get the better of the singer, almost over performing the song but still delivering a captivating performance. She had to go head-to-head with Tahlia Eve Pizzicara, who had performed the same song, in a final sing-off. Weiss ultimately progressed through to the top twenty four.
She returned to the Idol stage with something to prove to the judges. She’s hoped to tone down her nervous energy into a more focused performance, saying “my biggest battle is definitely over-moving, over-giving. So I’m gonna give a strong controlled performance.” Weiss sung Avicii’s Addicted To You, and showed off more of her range and depth as a vocalist. There’s this tone and quality to Weiss’ voice that not only sets her apart from the competition, but also sets her apart within the Australian music industry. She smashed this performance, so much so that Sandilands says, “I don’t even want to ramble on, I think we just go straight to top twelve,” and awards Weiss his touchdown. She delivered on stage presence, vocals and engagement, earning her place in the top twelve. Shark says Weiss is already a pop-star, and Connick Jr. dubs it her best performance.
For her top twelve performance, Weiss performed Pnau’s remix of Cold Heart by Elton John and Dua Lipa. She was feeling the nerves taking on one of the biggest hits of last year and that her fate lies in the hands of the nation. From the minute she stepped on stage, she owned it. She delivered flawless vocals, engaged with her audience and has a great stage presence. Weiss also put her own little spin on it, delivering new melodies on the well known track. The judges had a different view, they thought it was a bit ‘karaoke’ and not an authentic song choice for Weiss. Connick Jr wonders “how much originality” she’s bringing to dance-pop. However, Shark does remark, “the Australian music industry needs you, because you are a powerhouse,”
Unfortunately, Weiss joined Ben Sheehy, Jasey Fox and Noora H in the bottom four. The contestants got one more chance to perform on the Idol stage, with Weiss having prepared David Guetta and Sia’s Titanium. She’s emotional, but delivers an incredible vocal performance, belting out notes that we’ve yet to hear from her. Whilst Australia's votes didn't pull through this time, with Weiss and Fox eliminated from the competition, the musician is already looking towards the future with plans to return to the stage with new music.
I'm Vasili from MILKY. I've been writing MILKY's Australian Idol recaps, which I know you've seen cause I saw you share it like yesterday. But it's so nice to finally meet you.
Yes, I really appreciate everything you've been writing by the way. Like it's so nice, it's very accurate [laughs].
Thank you. You've been one of my favourite contestants since the beginning. I was just saying to Jasey that I was a bit shocked with last nights elimination, I wasn't expecting both of you to be here today. Like I I was a bit shocked.
Oh man, it is what it is. That's all I can say.
You know that I loved your performance on Sunday night. I thought it was great and truly a world-class performance. But what are your thoughts on it?
Yeah. I feel like I did as well as I could considering the song. You know, it's definitely not a song that shows off soul vocals, you know, it's much more for a little bit of a different style of singer. I think you get given something, in my case I got given this, I didn't want to be difficult and I just did the best I could with the circumstances and I don't think it was that bad either. Like I really think there was a lot of different style songs that obviously get quite an emotive response. But I just think, yeah, I did all I could have done with that.
I think like both you and Jasey are two contestants that came into the competition quite strong with confidence but also continued to grow and own the stage more and more throughout the competition. I was at the filming of the show and the woman seated next to us said that it felt like she was at a Maya Weiss concert when you performed. So I hope you know that a lot of people out there really loved the performance. It has been 14 years since Australian Idol last aired. How do you think in current times that the show can change the trajectory of someone's life and career, and how do you think it's done so for you so far?
Well I've had such a incredible reach to new people, which has been amazing thanks to the show. And I just have had so many new people kind of coming out of the woodwork. Mm-hmm. But I also think, yeah, people just have to remember that the way the judges talk and the way that we're kind of put out into the world, it isn't always a exact representation of us as artists and I think people just need to find love with people anyway they can.
I totally understand and the good thing is Idol is just an intro to who you all are as artists, and now the viewers and those who loved your performances can branch out and find your original music. I know the comment is said a lot that things can come off as a bit karaoke, but when you think about it Idol is almost the ultimate karaoke competition because like you're not up there singing your own original songs. You mentioned the judges feedback there, hearing Megan Trainor saying that she would take you and Jasey on tour is pretty reaffirming. What does hearing something like that mean to you?
That's huge and she's so kind to say that. And Harry and I had a great chat afterwards as well, just about not fitting into anything on a representation of how we are as artists. It was just so nice to get to connect with them in that way.
Yeah, that's so lovely. Had you been able to stay in the competition, what was the one song that you would've loved to perform on stage for Australia?
I would've loved to maybe sing something a little bit more soul. Like I had One Night Only the Jennifer Hudson version coming up. I would've loved to reach that. I was mostly just a bit upset that I didn't get a ballad out of the show because I think that would've changed people's thinking. But I'm just gonna upload them myself, you know? Seeing this is a platform to just grow my career on my own now.
Exactly. That's so funny because Jasey was just telling me they with they could've performed a ballad, and also that they're looking forward to getting into the TikTok scene and sharing more covers, so maybe that could be something for you as well and sharing covers there.
Yeah, definitely. That whole side of it and just everything kind of moving forward with the people that I've got following me now.
Was there anything that throughout your Idol journey that you think you would've done differently? Or are you pretty happy with how everything went and everything that you put into it?
I think differently now knowing that I've gone home, I would've just fought a little bit harder for more songs that I know people would really like attach to. I just think that was my only thing. I try not to be difficult, but the biggest lesson I've learned out of this is just always stand your ground with your artistry.
What do you think was like the best piece of advice that you got throughout the competition? Be that from the judges, from someone on the production team or even like a fellow contestant?
Just do not doubt anything. I mean all of us contestants were constantly stuck in these like very anxiety inducing zones of course because we had very long days. Just have the belief that nothing else should affect our career besides our own passion for wanting to do this.
Like I said earlier, it has been such a pleasure watching both you and Jasey find your confidence on stage and continue to grow throughout the process. But what have you taken away from being involved in Idol and how has it prepared you for your career moving forward? Because obviously it is quite like a full on production and groulling schedule. And I guess such a niche experience that only a handful of people can understand, the contestants beside you.
Yeah, I think just a lot of stuff I learned was probably like how to work with cameras more and how to be, I guess just how to move my body in ways that work well for videos mm-hmm. Because I love to just like, you know, hype people up and I had to think more about what my face was doing. But that's the hard part too with these shows. Like people don't understand how many elements are involved and yeah, it's not just about the singers.
Who would you like to see take out the title of this years Australian Idol?
[Laughs] Well, it's hard to tell
Yeah, it's a hard one!
I definitely have a feeling Royston [Sagigi-Baira] will do well just based on my vibe. I mean I want them all to win because I feel like everyone's got their own thing that's special. And that's the hard part and the easiest part about leaving at this time. Like we were all so different and there's no way of boxing any of us. It's all just about like what the show and the general public kind of put out into the world I guess.
It's also hard because the audience has only just started to vote and so I feel like it's kind of a Ricki-Lee situation where people think that who they like is going to be safe and so they think, 'oh I don't need to start voting yet.' But they need to remember to vote, it's important.
Yeah, I've had a lot of those messages. I'm not gonna lie all these people saying 'I didn't think I needed to vote. I thought you were a shoe-in.' So that's been a positive thing I guess. But I don't mind, I think my career at the end of the day is a little bit, maybe I was just a tiny bit on a different, like me and Jasey are quite similar in the way that we understand ourselves a tiny bit more than some of the other contestants. And I think these shows they're really great. But I do think when you've got people at all different levels, it does get hard to know what to do with someone. So yeah, I just want to take out of it everything I've got and just kind of make some sick content and keep reaching people.
I love it. I was saying to Jasey that I feel like the both of you are two of the contestants that no matter what stage of the competition you left, whether it was now whether you won, you guys will go on to have a career in music because I think you guys know like who you are as artists and you know what you want, which is really special. But for anyone wanting to audition for Australian Idol next year, what would your advice be to them?
Definitely give it a go. You learn so much and you grow in so many, many ways. I definitely just think go on it and just have fun with it. Like that's the one part, I knew yesterday in my gut that I was gonna be in the bottom four for some reason. So I just had fun and I would tell anyone who wants to do it do it because it gives you the biggest window into what the music industry is like.
Out of all the auditions, I think yours is definitely one of the ones that I clearly remember, and there were a lot of auditions [laughs].
Thank you. And I'll keep singing, I'm just gonna pump it out so that I can keep growing with the fans and there's new people that I have met, like yourself, and yeah, just keep smiling [laughs].
Love it. To finish off, you've mentioned you wanna start doing some covers, but what else is next for you? Any original music on the way? Maybe some shows?
Yeah, I've just put out an album called Maya Vice To You before the show, so I was gonna do some shows on that album cause I didn't get the chance to. I think I'm gonna tour a little bit, just really try to get out of Melbourne [laughs]. I love being in Sydney, but yeah, I'm just gonna take it on the road but I just encourage anyone to stick around cause I've got some new music and I have some big things coming.
Exciting! You'll have to let us know when you eventually play in Sydney so we can come along.
Definitely I'll be back
It was so lovely chatting with you. And like I said, you were one of my favourite contestants, so I'm a bit shocked to be talking to you today, but I know this isn't the end of your musical output. That's another good thing about Idol, it's a show and a format that that has produced longevity for its contestants, whether they won or not. So I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot, a lot more from you and Jasey.
Yeah, absolutely. I just gonna keep it rolling and thank you for having me!
Thank you for your time and congratulations on making it to the top twelve. That's such a massive feat as well and you should be so proud.
Oh, thanks man. Hope we get to talk again soon!
Watch Australian Idol on Channel 7 Sunday night at 7:00pm AEDT. Stream it on 7 Plus.
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