In the last fortnight Guy Sebastian, the inaugural Australian Idol winner back in 2003, has popped up on various major radio shows up for whatever questions are asked or activity set, with his new single Maybe under his arm. With the Australian music industry struggling currently for an array of reasons, Guy is showing perhaps a template for how both can work together symbiotically.

Firstly there was a face to face interview with the Nova Network‘s Kent ‘Smallzy’ Small where Guy shared the extraordinary story of being arrested at gunpoint in the US:

Guy: So I was living at Ian Thorpe‘s house in LA, I was renting it for a little while and I parked my car there and when I came back home it was gone. I went to the Hollywood sheriff’s office and I was said ‘I think my car’s been stolen from outside, literally in the driveway and they were like ‘no we can see it’s been towed, but they haven’t put their company on here so we can’t tell’…so I’m going from tow company to tow company and this went on for three or four weeks. 

Smallzy: It must’ve been a nice car?

Guy: Nah it wasn’t. I bought it on eBay I think…literally bought it on eBay! There’s like a thousand tow companies and so I told them I cannot find it and that they’d have to mark it as stolen. So they marked it as stolen which then alerted the tow company or something. So then I got this message saying that it’s in Van Nuys…I go to pick it up and they charge me $4000 to get it out of the lot because it had been there so long. Turned out they towed it nights before, just took it out of my driveway, apparently it’s a scam they do. So I go to pick it up and I’m livid so Jules (Guy’s wife Jules Sebastian) drives off and I head down to the car, was right near the house. I start washing the car and I’m on the phone to the police, going like ‘I’ve got my car back’ and this car was covered in thick dust after being sitting in the lot…so I’m cleaning it and I’m still on hold to the sheriff then I see this police car pull up and and then another police call pulls up and then next minute there is eight or nine cops with their guns drawn saying ‘get on the f***ing ground’…and I’m still on the phone and they pull the phone out and throw it…it was like a movie. I’m going ‘this is my car, my ID is there…I’m actually on the phone to you guys now’…but they wouldn’t hear it! They put me in cuffs and pushing my face into wet concrete floor. 

Smallzy: What a story! 

Guy: I was so confused…like what wrong with you guys! 

The tables were turned when on The Hit Network‘s Carrie and Tommy, Carrie Bickmore admitted that she had hidden herself upstairs in her own house on Christmas morning while Guy, Jules and their kids opened their presents during a house swap between Carrie and Guy’s families. At Guy’s house during that period Carrie’s cousin Fran had visited and taken a browse through Jules’s wardrobe.

That led Carrie to get Guy to call Fran with a stitch up:

Carrie: We (Carrie and Guy) house-swapped over Christmas. My cousin came to stay while I was house-sitting your house, and she went into Jules’ wardrobe. She didn’t touch anything, she was incredibly respectful, she was just excited to be in Jules’ wardrobe. I’ve stitched her up. I’ve said you watched her on the security camera and saw her mocking your wife. (Asking) did you touch any of Jules’ clothes? I told her you were upset; she loves you guys. She’s melting down…

Guy: Oh no, she’s going to hate me after this…

Carrie: … Okay, I’m calling (Fran) now.

Guy: Hello Fran. Carrie was just telling me… there’s a whole bunch of texts going back and forth… I just had some stuff in the wardrobe that went missing. I checked the cameras and that’s what prompted me to check the cameras.

Poor Fran: Are you stitching me up?

Guy: No, no, no. I was just saying to Carrie that I didn’t want Fran to panic but the only thing from seeing the cameras is more so just … I’m pretty protective of Jules. I just wanted to make you sure you weren’t mocking her or taking the piss of her a little bit. She’d be gutted.

Fran: We weren’t mocking her! We adore her!

Guy: That’s why I reached out to Carrie. She’s always been nice to Jules but from watching it and what she’s saying to you… it was just you were in her space.

Fran, digging a hole: Oh no, did you see me on the cameras every day lying on your floor and staring at your shoes?

Guy: … Ah… no …

Fran: Oh… well I did.

Tommy interjects, trying to ‘help’: Fran, I think you’ve overcompensated too hard the other way! (laughs)

Fran: Oh my God, I’m going to kill you all!

Carrie: Fran, I didn’t know you lay on the floor watching her shoes! You weirdo! (laughs)

Guy: You gave away way more than you needed to! (laughs)

Tommy: Lying on the floor, every day! (laughs)

Fran: Did you make this up from the very beginning? We are done, Carrie!

Then, in the only occasion for Guy that doesn’t involve injury, arrest or embarrassment, Guy joined Jase and Lauren on Melbourne’s Nova 100 as part of a special Mothers Day lunch last Friday giving a live performance.

The Breakfast team of Jase Hawkins, Lauren Phillips and Clint Stanaway (pictured with Guy above) welcomed guests, including Lauren’s mum Liz and Clint’s mum Toni. They also acknowledged the mums who couldn’t be there, with Jase sharing a personal tribute to his late mum, Janet.

After lunch Guy sang acoustic versions of Battle Scars and Before I Go before wrapping up with the new single Maybe and getting everyone in the room up on their feet.

The next day, Saturday May 10, Guy was encouraged by Brendan Fevola from 101.9 The Fox FM‘s breakfast show of Fifi, Fev and Nick, to lace up his AFL boots and assist the struggling Dandenong Masala Football Club.

L-R – Brendan Fevola, Fifi Box and Guy Sebastian

Prior to the match the Dandenong Masala Football Club was on the brink of collapse after a 229-point loss and just two players showing up to pre-season. All last week the show sent shouts outs to the club promising a match they dubbed the “Dandenong Superbowl”. More than 2,500 locals came down to the Lois Twohig Reserve to watch the underdogs take on South Melbourne.

At half time, Guy again treated the crowd to a performance of Maybe. Fev kicked six goals and Guy played through the midfield until, well you can watch below.

Masala held on after a late game fight back for a 7.13 (55) to 8.5 (53) victory.

Afterwards Fev said:

“It was unreal to pull the boots on and run out with the Masalas. The crowd was absolutely electric, and to help deliver their first win in three years – that’s something I’ll never forget. This wasn’t just a win on the scoreboard; it was a win for the community, and a win for the underdogs. Massive credit to The Fox and the Fifi, Fev & Nick team for backing this team and making some magic happen. Dandenong – you’ve got a team to be proud of!”

Guy added:

“It was unreal to pull the boots on and run out with the Masalas. The crowd was absolutely electric, and to help deliver their first win in three years – that’s something I’ll never forget. This wasn’t just a win on the scoreboard; it was a win for the community, and a win for the underdogs. Massive credit to The Fox and the Fifi, Fev & Nick team for backing this team and making some magic happen. Dandenong – you’ve got a team to be proud of!”

The club had such a spike in canteen sales there were several emergency restock runs to the shops. Club president Billy Bolch called it “the best day in the club’s history”.

Below is last week’s RCS Media Monitors National Radio Airplay Chart. You will see that Maybe was up 7 places to No 16 with nearly 500 plays on Australian radio stations. The song itself has not quite 50,000 plays on YouTube and 482K on Spotify. By comparison Ed Sheeran‘s new one, Azizam, released around the same time, has 17 million on YouTube and 70 million on Spotify. For all that Guy has done with and for radio stations, I hope that listeners will actively give it back. The song’s a banger.