2012: The X Factor Australia 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. 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.
Performances on The X Factor denotes having reached the ARIA Singles Chart. denotes having been in the bottom two. denotes having been eliminated.
2013–2016: Yours In January 2013, Willemse embarked on the X Factor Live Tour with Samantha Jade,
The Collective,
Bella Ferraro, Shiane Hawke and Jason Owen. They performed shows in the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. He is the first artist signed to
DNA Songs' label through Sony. He released "
You" on 27 September 2013, as his first single with the label. In Australia, it peaked at number four on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified two times Platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association for sales over 140,000 copies. On 24 January 2014, Willemse released a cover of "
I Am Australian" with
Dami Im, Jessica Mauboy,
Justice Crew, Samantha Jade and
Taylor Henderson, to coincide with the
Australia Day celebrations. The song peaked at number 51 on the ARIA Singles Chart. and debuted at number 14 on the ARIA Singles Chart. and peaked at number 4. In October 2014, Willemse performed at Australia's first ever neo-soul, jazz and hip-hop festival,
Soulfest. In November 2014, he was the supporting act for
Mariah Carey's Australian leg of her tour,
The Elusive Chanteuse Show. In December 2014, Willemse and other Australian singers recorded a cover version of
Kate Bush's "
This Woman's Work" under the name "Hope for Isla and Jude", and released it as a charity single to help raise funds for two siblings who suffer from the rare disease
Sanfilippo syndrome. Their version debuted at number 79 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Willemse's debut studio album
Yours was released on 23 October 2015. On 8 December 2015, Nathaniel released a new single "
Jungle Boogie", a
Kool & the Gang cover. It was used as the promotional song in the season two launch campaign for the Australian version of ''
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!''. In March 2016, it was speculated that Willemse had been dropped by record company Sony Music, along with other X Factor finalists
Reigan Derry,
Marlisa Punzalan and
Dean Ray. In June 2016, it was confirmed when Willemse announced he had signed a deal with 123 Agency.
2017–present: "Vapours" In January, Nathaniel confirmed the release of a new single "Vapours" on 27 January. "This single is about being intoxicated by someone, or by an experience. My head space at the time was I just wanted something different, honest and a little rebellious. I wanted to experiment with different sounds and sonic landscapes". From October 2017 to January 2018, Willemse starred in "Let's Get it On" a musical production celebrating the life and music of
Marvin Gaye. ==Personal life==