2006: ''The Winner's Journey'' Leith signed a recording contract with
Sony BMG and his debut single, "
Night of My Life", was released as a paid digital download from
Bigpond Music soon after the conclusion of the grand finale, with an official CD release on 28 November, which included an original composition written and produced by Leith titled "Come to Me". The single was certified "Gold" (35,000 copies sold) within 72 hours of its release. On 3 December 2006, the single debuted at number 1 and stayed in that position for 4 weeks, being accredited
Platinum (70,000 copies shipped) in its first week of release. It was the fastest-selling debut single released during 2006, and also the most added song to radio. The video for "
Night of My Life" debuted on national television on Saturday 9 December 2006. Set in the urban streets of
Chippendale, New South Wales, the video was produced by Cutting Edge Productions. Although with an official release date of 9 December, on 6 December 2006, Leith's CD/DVD pack entitled ''
The Winner's Journey with all his Idol'' performances and two original tracks began appearing in non-
ARIA accredited stores. The release debuted at number 3 with
Platinum accreditation (70,000 copies shipped) on the
ARIA Album Charts released on Sunday, 10 December 2006, and rose to number 1 on the following week, with 89,000 units sold and certified platinum four times (280,000 copies shipped). It sold a 2006 record of 101,206 units in the pre-
Christmas week and continued to stay in the same position of number 1 for the next four weeks. In late December 2006, Leith signed with Sony BMG Ireland and, on 18 January 2007, "Night of My Life" entered the Top 10 singles chart in
Ireland. The next week it rose up two spots to the position of number 8. Leith performed in a nationally televised concert, Australia Day Live, on the eve of
Australia Day in 2007, in the nation's capital,
Canberra. He performed two songs,
Peter Allen's "Tenterfield Saddler" with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, and "Night of My Life". In late February 2007, Leith embarked on a two-week, 14 show tour of major Australian East Coast cities. Labelled ''The Winner's Journey Tour
, the concerts featured many of the songs performed by Leith during Australian Idol, as well as showcasing new original songs destined for his forthcoming studio album, including the folk/acoustic piece "Song for Jarvis", dedicated to his son, and "Beautiful", a band piece written by Leith during his trip to Ireland after winning Australian Idol''. Supporting Leith on the tour was Sydney singer-songwriter and friend
Mark Wilkinson. On 22 February 2007, Leith was presented with two
ARIA No. 1 Chart Awards for his first single "Night of My Life" and first album ''
The Winner's Journey''. These awards are presented to Australian artists whose singles and albums reach no. 1 on the
ARIA national single and album charts over the thirteen months from December 2005 to December 2006. In March 2007, Leith again performed "Night of My Life" and was nominated for "Spankin' New Artist" and "Best Male Artist" awards at the
MTV Australia Video Music Awards 2007. On 9 July 2007, Leith was nominated for a 2007 Helpmann Award in the category of Best Performance in an Australian Contemporary Concert (other nominees are
David Campbell,
Kylie Minogue and
Olivia Newton-John). The annual Helpmann Awards recognise distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in the many disciplines of Australia's vibrant live performance sectors, including musical theatre, contemporary music, comedy, opera, classical music, dance and physical theatre. The Helpmann Awards, named in honour of Sir
Robert Helpmann and to commemorate his memory and achievements, are similar to the
Tony Awards on
Broadway and the Olivier Awards in London. In early November 2007, Leith performed "22 Steps" on the TV soap opera
Neighbours.
2007–2008: Where We Land Leith's second single "
22 Steps" was released to Australian radio on 22 June 2007 and then was in stores on 21 July, which debut and peaked at number 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The studio album
Where We Land followed and was released on 18 August 2007. It debuted at number one on 27 August in the
ARIA Albums Chart. This is his second number one album within seven months. Damien is also the first
Australian Idol winner to score two consecutive number 1 albums. Leith had an appearance on
Rove on 26 August 2007 and he performed live during the semi-finals of
Australian Idol 2007 on 30 August. The second single from the album is "All I Want Is You", which he performed on 8 October verdict show on
Australian Idol 2007. Leith embarked on a national
Where We Land tour around Australia, performing his own material from the album, which began in November. The original schedule of the tour only included venues located along the east coast, but it was announced on 28 September that the tour will be extended to include
Adelaide and
Perth. In October 2007, Leith was nominated for three Australian
ARIA Music Awards including; Best Breakthrough Single and Highest Selling Single for "
Night of My Life", which he was unsuccessful in. He was also nominated for Highest Selling Album for ''
The Winner's Journey'', which he won. In February 2008, Damien began hosting
Network Ten's television series
Saving Kids. It was filmed at
Sydney Children's Hospital, allowing viewers to see medical miracles unfolding in the stories of children being treated for serious illnesses and horrific injuries. His song "Not Just for the Weekend" from his debut studio album served as the theme song and was released as a promotional single to promote the show.
2008: Catch the Wind On 26 April 2008, less than a year after the release of his first studio album,
Where We Land, Leith released his second album,
Catch the Wind: Songs of a Generation. The album contained his own interpretations of classic folk songs. The album debut in the
ARIA Albums Chart at number 3 on 4 May and rose to its peak at number 2 the next week held off the top spot by
André Rieu and
Mirusia's
Waltzing Matilda. It was certified Gold in its third week. Leith performed a series of live shows across Australia for his Catch the Wind tour which began in May and ran until late July. The tour was up-close and personal set in small venues with only two other band members.
2009: Remember June Leith's third studio album,
Remember June, was released in Australia on 9 October. It debuted at number 25 and spent two weeks in the ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart, and 3 weeks in the ARIA Top 20 Australian Artist Albums Chart. The first single from the album, "To Get to You", went to radio on 14 September, and was released 25 September. The second single "Forgive Forget" was released in April 2010. It reached No. 65 on the ARIA Singles Chart, No. 1 on the ARIA Physical Singles Chart, and No. 13 on the Australian Artists Single Chart. He has also released his second novel which has a father and son relationship plot, and was released by HarperCollins. The book is also called
Remember June. His first novel, "One More Time" was published in 2007.
2011: Roy In an interview with Australian magazine
New Idea, Damien mentioned he had recorded his fourth studio album in the United States. It was released on 15 April 2011. It is an album of
Roy Orbison covers, entitled
Roy, and was released to coincide with what would have been Orbison's 75th birthday. This album was produced by
Barbara Orbison, Roy's widow, who died on 6 December 2011, aged 61. The album peaked at number 2, and spent 25 non-consecutive weeks on the
ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart and gained platinum certification.
2012–2014: Now & Then and Chapter Seven On Friday, 20 April 2012, Damien's fifth studio album
Now & Then was released. It debuted at number 14 and peaked at number 12 on the
ARIA Charts, and spent four weeks in the top 50. Two singles, "Beautiful" and "Run", were released. Neither single impacted on the ARIA Charts. "Beautiful" was featured in an Estee Lauder TV commercial airing on various networks in the United States in late 2012. On 1 November 2013, Damien's released a new album called
Chapter Seven. It was preceded by single "Without a Fight", which was released on 13 September.
Chapter Seven spent one week in the ARIA Top 100, peaking at number 57. Its three singles, "Without a Fight", "Halfway Heart" and "You and I" did not chart. In May 2014, Leith released a new single titled "One and Only Mum". In August 2014, Leith released a triple A-sided single of "Last Goodbye"/"Fields of Gold"/"Girl Back on Blue Bayou" via Leithal Enterprises with
Joe Melson. In November 2014, Leith released a Christmas
extended play titled ''It's Christmas Time''. It featured the traditional Christmas carols "Silent Night", "Jingle Bells", "It's Christmas Time", "Auld Lang Syne" and "Deck the Halls".
2015-2017: Songs from Ireland In February 2015, Leith announced his eighth album titled
Songs from Ireland. The release reunites him with Sony Music Australia as he covers classic Irish songs including "Molly Malone", "Galway Girl" and "Wild Colonial Boy" and was released in March. In 2016, Leith will travel Australia with the "Winner’s Journey: 10th Anniversary Tour". Leith said; "It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years since I first stepped onto the 'Australian Idol stage'. One thing is for certain, I wouldn’t be doing what I am today without all the amazing support from fans over the years. From my albums, to my books and concerts, you've been there all the way and I can't thank you all enough." In January 2017, Leith won his first
Golden Guitar award at the
Country Music Awards of Australia winning Song of the Year for "Call Me Cray" which he co-wrote with
Travis Collins. In 2017, Leith toured the 'Roy – A Tribute to Roy Orbison' show across Australia.
2018: Damien Leith Storytime and Gospel In 2018 Leith commenced a new project called 'Damien Leith Storytime' and features bedtime stories for kids. He released an EP in February. In August, Leith released his ninth studio album,
Gospel; an album inspired by
Elvis Presley. As of late August 2018, Leith joined
Muswellbrook-based radio station
98.1 Power FM as a breakfast announcer. In 2020, Leith performed "
Uninvited" with
Greg Gould from Gould's album
1998. ==Personal life==