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Australian Idol’s Isaac McCallum reveals the road that took him to street busking

Winning Australian Idol would change his entire life

Isaac McCallum is the small-town boy from Ulladulla with his entire community supporting him on Australian Idol 2024.

The 23-year-old musician was homeless for six months before competing on Australian Idol, and worked as a trolley boy at Woolworths. When Isaac got time off work, he spent his evenings busking, desperately trying to make his mark on the music industry.

Isaac finally landed that opportunity after auditioning for Australian Idol and working his way towards the goal of taking out the competition and taking home the $100,000 prize money.

Isaac McCallum on Australia Idol.

When did Isaac McCallum start busking?

Isaac’s mum encouraged him to get into music from a young age.

“My mum has inspired me to be the man I am today,” he told the Region Illawarra.

“When I was younger, she’d encourage me to get on the stage at karaoke nights, saying, ‘If you don’t do it, you’re gonna regret it’, so I always got on the stage.”

The musician revealed that he decided to begin busking on a whim when he was a teenager.

“I started busking about six years ago. One day I got up and thought, ‘Stuff it, I’ll just go out and test it out’ – and from there my confidence kept building and building, and here I am.”

What songs has Isaac performed on Australian Idol?

Isaac tends to lean towards performing pop songs, and during his time in the competition he’s belted out I See Fire by Ed Sheeran, Wonder by Shaun Mendes and 7 Years by Lukas Graham.

Check out the full list of songs Isaac’s performed on Australian Idol.

  • Bruises by Lewis Capaldi.
  • Grenade by Bruno Mars.
  • Perfect by Pink.
  • 7 Years by Lukas Graham.
  • Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur.
  • Wake Me Up by Avicii.
  • I See Fire by Ed Sheeran.
  • Wonder by Shawn Mendes.
Isaac McCallum on Australian Idol

Australian Idol continues at 7.00pm on Sundays and Mondays and Tuesdays at 7.30 pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.

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