2003–2004: Australian Idol and Just as I Am In May 2003, Sebastian successfully auditioned for
Australian Idol, singing
Stevie Wonder's "
Ribbon in the Sky". He progressed through the
Idol series, establishing a strong fanbase and praise from the judges, who often made reference to his afro hairstyle which became a focal point of his image. He then travelled to the UK to compete in
World Idol. Although he impressed the judges, with several suggesting he could win the competition, he finished seventh. Sebastian's winner's single "
Angels Brought Me Here" debuted at number one and was the highest selling single in Australia in 2003, reaching 5× platinum certification. Sebastian's debut album
Just as I Am was released in December 2003 and also achieved number one. Its first week sales of 163,711 units are the second highest one week sales in Australian chart history, the highest for an Australian act. It eventually reached sales just short of 7× platinum, and is the highest selling album ever released by an Australian
Idol contestant. "Angels Brought Me Here" also reached number one in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and New Zealand.
Just as I Am reached number three and double platinum certification in New Zealand, with "Angels Brought Me Here" achieving platinum certification there. The second single "
All I Need Is You" reached number one and platinum in Australia, and peaked at number five in New Zealand. In early 2004 Sebastian appeared at the Asian MTV Awards, was a guest judge on
New Zealand Idol and performed on
Indonesian Idol. He was also nominated for Highest Selling Album for
Just as I Am. Sebastian embarked on a national tour in November, with a second stage from March to June 2005. Sebastian performed at the 20th Anniversary SAFM Sky Show in Adelaide in front of approximately 150,000 people along with
Slinkee Minx, one of the largest open-air concerts held in Australia in 2005. Two further singles were released from the album, "
Kryptonite" which peaked at number fifteen, and "
Oh Oh" at number eleven. He also received a Highest Selling Album ARIA Award nomination for
Beautiful Life, and was named as a state finalist in the
Young Australian of the Year Awards. Between May and August 2006, Sebastian appeared as a mentor on the inaugural
It Takes Two, in which performers from non-musical fields are teamed with professional singers to perform a duet each week. Sebastian's partner was three-time Australian Olympic swimmer
Sarah Ryan and they finished second. During this period Sebastian also recorded his third album
Closer to the Sun which was a mix of genres including
pop,
R&B,
soul,
pop rock and
jazz and mainly co-written with Australian musicians. The lead single "
Taller, Stronger, Better" debuted at number three in August 2006, and achieved gold certification. The album peaked at number four and was certified platinum. The second single "
Elevator Love" reached number 11 and gold certification. Sebastian received an award for most played Urban work for "Oh Oh" at the 2006
APRA Music Awards. "Oh Oh" was also awarded Best Video and Sebastian named Best Male Artist at the
Urban Music Awards, and for the second year in succession he received the Fav Aussie award at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.
Closer to the Sun's third single "Cover on My Heart" was released in August 2007, peaking at number thirty two on the ARIA Singles Chart.
2007–2008: The Memphis Album and Tour on stage during The Memphis Tour In early 2007 it had been announced Sebastian would be recording a tribute album of soul classics in
Memphis, Tennessee, with
Stax musicians who played on and wrote some of the original songs. The album was recorded at
Ardent Studios, Memphis in August 2007, with
Steve Cropper,
Donald 'Duck' Dunn, and
Steve Potts (a.k.a.
The MGs), with Lester Snell on keyboards. Cropper also co-produced the album with Sebastian, which was recorded on analogue tape live in the studio. Sebastian wrote about his time in Memphis in a series of blogs for Australian newspapers, "I started recording four days ago with the band members from Booker T and the MGs. And in the four days, we cut 15 tracks. It's been such a great experience to watch these guys work. I mean, they are mostly in their late 60s and have such a wealth of experience." Cropper later spoke on AllMemphisMusic, an online Memphis radio station, "This kid came into Memphis, and just blew everybody's socks off. [...] he just took us by storm." Shortly after Sebastian's return to Australia it was announced that The MGs would tour Australia with him in early 2008.
The Memphis Album debuted at number three in November 2007, and was the seventh highest selling Australian artist album of the year. The critically acclaimed album reached double platinum certification in 2008.
Memphis Flyer, a weekly alternative newspaper serving the Memphis area wrote a series of articles about Sebastian recording with The MGs. AllMemphisMusic, which specialises in playing music originating from Memphis, began playing
The Memphis Album songs in late December 2007. They also had two special programs featuring songs from the album and interviews with some of the people involved in recording it. The
MGs came to Australia in February 2008 to be Sebastian's backing band for his national tour. He spoke on radio about what it felt like fronting the MGs, "There were so many moments when I just had to take a step back and think 'This is unbelievable'. Like the history that is behind me, and I'm singing these songs. You know they start playing Dock of the Bay, and the guys that played it are on the stage. You know the guy who wrote the song with
Otis Redding is playing guitar." Cropper later spoke on AllMemphisMusic, "hearing him singing our music, which was born and raised and produced and recorded in Memphis, Tennessee. [...] It just filled our hearts." One of the Melbourne concerts was filmed for a live DVD/CD titled
The Memphis Tour. Sebastian was nominated for a
Helpmann Award for Best Performance in an Australian Contemporary Concert for
The Memphis Tour, and was awarded two Australian Club Entertainment Awards, best Original Music Performer and Outstanding Club Performer of the Year.
The Memphis Album received a nomination for Highest Selling Album at the 2008 ARIA Awards, his third album to be nominated in this ARIA Awards category.
2008–2010: Like It Like That performing "
Art of Love" at
Club Nokia in LA in July 2010 In 2008 Sebastian was signed to release an album in the US, and in November he returned to America to work on it. He recorded songs with John Mayer's band, and
John Mayer himself played guitar and sang backing vocals on three of the tracks. He moved to New York in early 2009 to prepare for the release of the US album which was a mix of Memphis soul covers and original songs. He performed showcases at the
SXSW Music Festival in Austin Texas, and a residency at the Drom in New York. His song "
Like It Like That" was chosen as the theme song for the
NBC network's summer promotional campaign. The US release was then delayed due to restructuring of Victor Records, but it was later reaffirmed the album would be released in 2010. "Like It Like That", the title track of Sebastian's fifth album, was released in Australia in August 2009 and reached number one. "
Art of Love", a duet with
Jordin Sparks, was released as the second single. It peaked at number eight and reached 2× platinum certification. It also charted at number seven in New Zealand, gaining platinum certification there. Sebastian toured in Australia during February 2010 and again in June and July. The US album, now identical to the Australian album, was given limited release on the
Red Ink label in June 2010, with distribution via iTunes and
Barnes & Noble stores. He was chosen as a judge on the 2010 series of Australia's
The X-Factor, and to fulfil commitments to X-Factor and also the release of his album in America Sebastian divided his time between Australia and the US during the show. He toured the US
West Coast between July and September, including guest performances singing "Art of Love" with Sparks at three of her
Battlefield Tour concerts, and also played support for
Chicago at a concert in
Oregon. Sebastian was nominated for six
ARIA Music Awards for
Like It Like That. He received nominations for Best Pop Release, Best Male Artist, Most Popular Australian Album and Most Popular Australian Artist, with "Like It Like That" and "Art of Love" receiving nominations for Most Popular Single. Sebastian released a
retrospective album titled
Twenty Ten in November 2010. The album reached number four on the
ARIA Album Chart. It spent twelve weeks in the top ten and was the fifth highest selling Australian artist album of 2010. It was certified double platinum in 2014. It also reached number twenty four on the
New Zealand Albums Chart, and has been certified gold there. The album was a two disc release. The first disc had 18 songs from his previous albums and two new tracks, with the second disc containing acoustic versions of ten of the songs. "
Who's That Girl" featuring US rapper
Eve, was released as the only single. The dance-driven
electro R&B song was a departure from Sebastian's previous pop, R&B and soul releases. Eve performed the song with Sebastian on
The X Factor Grand Final. "Who's That Girl" reached number one and 6× platinum certification in Australia, and number one and 2× platinum in New Zealand. He supported
Boyzone on their 2011 UK tour, and
Lionel Richie on his Australian and New Zealand tour. They re-recorded Richie's 1983 single "
All Night Long" to raise money for Australian and New Zealand
flood and
earthquake relief. The track was produced by
RedOne. Richie and Sebastian performed the song together at most of the concerts on the Australian leg of the tour. It peaked at number twelve in New Zealand and number twenty six in Australia. He also won the Highest Selling Single ARIA Award for "Who's That Girl", and received nominations for Single of the Year, Best Pop Release and Most Popular Australian Artist.
2011–2013: Armageddon In November 2011 "
Don't Worry Be Happy", a pop song Sebastian wrote after encountering an angry motorist in Los Angeles, was released as the lead single of his seventh album
Armageddon. It peaked at number five and reached 5× platinum certification. In 2012, Sebastian appeared as a judge on
The X Factor for a third and final year (until 2015). He was given the Over 25s, and was assisted in selecting his top three contestant by
Alicia Keys. His contestant
Samantha Jade was the winner.
Armageddon's third single "
Battle Scars", an
R&B ballad featuring a
hip hop rap by
Lupe Fiasco, was released in August. It debuted at number one, Sebastian's sixth number one single in Australia. He has the most number one singles for an Australian male artist in Australian music history, and is third overall for all Australian acts. Only
Kylie Minogue and
Delta Goodrem have achieved more. "Battle Scars" was the third-highest selling single in Australia in 2012 and the highest-selling single by an Australian act. It reached 14× platinum in 2023. He came to Australia in mid September to promote the single and the release of his album, and he and Sebastian performed "Battle Scars" live for the first time on
The X Factor. They also performed the song in America on the
Late Show with David Letterman. It was used in the US in the TV promotion for the movie
Red Dawn. "Battle Scars" spent 20 weeks on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 71. It has been certified 3× platinum in the US for sales of three million.
Armageddon was released on 12 October 2012. It reached number one in its seventh week and achieved 3× platinum certification.
Armageddon also charted at number 20 and gained platinum certification in New Zealand. "Battle Scars" was also nominated for an American
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration. The fourth single "
Get Along", a song about the harm caused by religious, cultural and racial intolerance reached number five and triple platinum certification. In early 2013 Fiasco and Sebastian continued the US promotion of "Battle Scars", performing on
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and
Conan. From March to June 2013 he toured Australia with the 47-date Get Along Tour. Sebastian won two 2013 ARIA Awards, Best Pop Release for
Armageddon, and Best Live Act for the Get Along Tour. He was also nominated for Album of the Year and Best Male Act for Armageddon and Song of the Year for "Get Along".
2013–2016: Madness and Eurovision Song Contest In October 2013, Sebastian released "
Like a Drum", the lead single from his eighth studio album. Debuting at number four, it became his 12th top ten single in Australia, and his tenth to reach the top five. "Like a Drum" was released in the United States, Canada, and Europe in January 2014 through
The Cherry Party and
RCA Records. The song reached number 20 on the
Billboard Dance Club Chart and 49 and platinum certification in Sweden. The second single, "
Come Home With Me", reached number 13 on the Aria Singles Chart and platinum certification. The fourth single "
Linger" reached number 17 and platinum certification. "Like a Drum" received 2015
APRA nominations for Pop Work of the Year and Most Played Australian Work. Sebastian was chosen as the Australian entrant in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2015, making him the first artist to represent Australia in the competition. He performed the song "
Tonight Again", and placed fifth in the competition overall. It achieved gold certification in Sweden. Sebastian toured in Europe in August and September, performing in Sweden, Germany, Norway and The Netherlands. He was nominated for 2015 ARIA Award for Best Male Artist for "Tonight Again". He returned to the judging panel of the Australian version of
The X Factor after a two-year absence to replace Redfoo. Sebastian received 2016 ARIA Award nominations for Best Male Artist and Best Video for "Black & Blue". The physical cd was released on 16 December. A third single, "
Mind On You", did not chart. In March and April 2017 Sebastian toured the Australian eastern states to preview songs from his next album. In September 2017, Sebastian released the single "
High On Me" and announced his album
Conscious would be released on 3 November 2017. He also announced a November tour of the mainland capital cities and Newcastle. "Keep Me Coming Back" and "Vesuvius" were released as promotional singles from
Conscious, ahead of the album release. It was also confirmed "
Set in Stone" was also included in the album. "Set in Stone" was nominated for an ARIA Award for Song of the Year. "Bloodstone", the second official single peaked at number 59 and was certified platinum, with
Conscious debuting at number four. Sebastian was a coach on
The Voice Australia from 2019 to 2024, and was replaced by
Richard Marx for the 2025 season. Sebastian was made a
Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the
2019 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of his "significant service to the music industry and charitable initiatives". On 1 October 2019, it was announced that Sebastian would host the
ARIA Music Awards of 2019. He received 2019 ARIA Award nominations for Best Male Artist and Best Pop Release, and won for Best Video and Song of the Year for "Choir". The album has been certified platinum In 2024 he was inducted into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame at the
South Australian Music Awards.
100 Times Around the Sun, his eleventh album, was released in August 2025, and debuted at number two. All Sebastian's albums have reached the top ten in Australia, with nine peaking inside the top five, including three number ones.
100 Times Around the Sun also charted at number 37 in New Zealand. ==Artistry==