Nathaniel Willemse
| Nathaniel Willemse | |
|---|---|
Official Press Photo 2016
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| Background information | |
| Born |
14 July 1985 South Africa |
| Genres | |
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| Instruments | |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | itisnathaniel |
Nathaniel Willemse, (born 14 July 1985), often known simply as Nathaniel, is a South African-born Australian singer and songwriter most notable for finishing sixth on the fourth season of The X Factor Australia. In 2013, he signed a recording contract with DNA Songs' label through Sony Music Australia, and released the single "You", which peaked at number four on the ARIA Singles Chart.
Nathaniel Willemse was born in South Africa and moved to Melbourne, Australia when he was six years old. In 2006, he auditioned for Australian Idol series four and made it to the top 24 round before being eliminated. On 22 January 2008, Willemse released his debut single "Vertigo" exclusively on iTunes, through Mummy's Boy Records. The single's release also included two B-side tracks, "Shall Be Told" and "Home", each co-written by Willemse. On 29 October 2011, Willemse independently released his first extended play, EP, and second single, "You Are the One". Before applying for The X Factor Australia in 2012, Willemse was a vocal coach and a wedding singer.
Willemse successfully auditioned for the fourth season of The X Factor in 2012 singing John Mayer's "Gravity". During the super bootcamp stage of the competition, Willemse sang "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas and "You Give Me Something" by James Morrison. Willemse made it to the home visits as part of the Over 25s category. For the first live performance show on 17 September 2012, Willemse sang Beyoncé's "Love on Top" and received praise from all four judges. Mel B called the performance "incredible" and said that his voice is "bloody marvellous", while Ronan Keating added that he has a lot of soul. Willemse then made his way through to the top six. His performance of "The Scientist" debuted at number 75 on the ARIA Singles Chart after his performance in the fourth week. In week seven, Willemse was placed in the bottom two with Samantha Jade after his performance of "Red" by Daniel Merriweather. The performance reached number 91 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In the final showdown he sang "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye. Guy Sebastian labelled the decision as "stupid" while Keating said he was "embarrassed" by the viewer voting. After the judges split the decision at two votes all, Willemse was eliminated in deadlock after having the lowest number of votes.
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