Royston Sagigi-Baira might be a finalist on Australian Idol, but to every remote Indigenous community in Cape York he is already a star.
He has proved that you can make your dreams a reality no matter where you come from and the people of the cape are throwing their support behind him.
A Thanakwith and Wagadagam man, 24-year-old Royston grew up in the small community of Mapoon at the tip of Far North Queensland, which has a population of about 400.
“Most kids wanted to play rugby or go fishing, but I just wanted to sing,” Royston says.
“It’s all I ever wanted to do.”
He says his “ah-ha” moment happened in grade two, when his teacher was giving out prizes and handed him the High School Musical movie.
“I took it home and watched it over and over again and completely fell in love with music, especially singing,” Royston says.
“I knew then that I just wanted to sing for the rest of my life.
“It’s crazy how much of an impact that movie had on me and how much it inspired me.”
Royston said the only real opportunities to sing when he was growing up were in church and school and he never imagined it would lead him down the path of a spot on Australian Idol.
Royston is one of the final three contestants on the show and will battle it out in the grand final this weekend for a recording contract and prize money.
He says being on the show has been incredible in so many ways.
“The whole experience has been so much fun, performing on a big stage with sets and props, getting your hair and make-up done and getting to wear cool clothes,” Royston says.
“It’s also great exposure as a singer and can help catapult you into the music industry.”
His childhood pastor and lifelong friend James Hughes says he is not surprised Royston has made it this far in the competition because he always saw his star potential.
“I first met Royston when he was just six years old and I moved to Mapoon as the pastor,” James says.
“Even then Royston’s voice was just beautiful.
“His voice has always been like honey and just slides through a song — it’s magical to listen to.”
James said Royston always stood out because he was adamant he was going to be a singer when he grew up and nobody else in the community took that kind of stuff seriously.
“Most kids in Aboriginal communities only get sports stars come and visit and they tend to be the main role models, or idols, for kids in the cape,” he says.
“But Royston knew what he wanted to do with his life and to his credit he has worked hard for it.”
Not only did Royston sing in church and school, he moved away to follow his dreams of a music career and went to the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA) in Brisbane and has worked with a voice coach.
He is now in his second year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music) degree at the Queensland University of Technology, but has deferred this semester to appear on the show.
Royston’s brother Richard Sagigi says he is blown away by the amount of support Royston is receiving from the cape communities.
“I’ve been late to work nearly every day since the show started because everyone in the community stops me to talk about Royston,” he says.
“Everyone has been following Royston’s journey and watching the show every week and voting and it’s all people are talking about.”
Richard says Royston probably inherited his love of music from his uncles, who sung reggae and played guitar and drums.
“I think maybe that musical talent skipped the rest of us and was only passed on to Royston, but we couldn’t be prouder,” Richard says.
Richard will be in Sydney this weekend to support Royston during the grand final thanks to a community fundraiser.
He says it’s not often remote Indigenous communities across Australia are represented on television talent competitions and thinks this is why so many people are throwing their support behind Royston.
Royston says he is not just representing his mob, the cape and Far North Queensland, but everyone who has ever dreamed of something bigger.
“I want them to know they can do these deadly things too,” he says.