'I didn't think I'd sing again': Jack Vidgen reveals his comeback almost didn't happen

When Jack Vidgen decided to step away from the spotlight after winning Australia’s Got Talent when he was just 14 years old, he admits he thought he might never actually sing again.

But now the 23-year-old is back bigger and better than ever with a new single and the chance to represent his country at one of the biggest singing competitions in the world - Eurovision.

“This opportunity and my new song - being able to do something like that and singing it on such a big stage, I guess it felt very out of reach for quite a while,” Jack tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

Jack Vidgen on falling out of love with singing

Jack has previously spoken about why he left the country and headed to LA soon after after his rapid rise to fame as well as his eventual fade from the public eye.

The escape was aimed at facilitating his music career after he achieved post-AGT success when his debut album Yes I Am, peaked at No.3 on the ARIA charts. However, the overseas stay eventually caused him to fall out of love with singing.

“I wasn't enjoying it and wasn’t loving singing for people anymore,” he tells us.

“But even throughout that break of stepping away from singing and the public music was still always the constant throughout all of that.”

He says music was always his first love, but at one point he didn’t think he would ever get back into it again.

“There was a while where I didn't think I would do it again and I didn't think I'd sing again,” he admits. “But it's been really beautiful that I've been able to do it in a way that's been so positive.”

Jack Vidgen makes return to the stage on The Voice

Jack made his return to the stage on The Voice in 2019, blowing judges away with his blind audition, even though he reveals he was a bundle of nerves because it was the first time he had done any singing in years.

“The Voice was a really beautiful experience for me and it was very, very healing,” Jack says of his time on the show, which saw him join Guy Sebastian’s team and make it to the finals.

“It was amazing. Everyone's response to me coming back. There are definitely like two sides of it, the negative and the positive, but just focusing on the positive is what I've done and it's been really great for people to give me a second chance because I feel like a lot of people don't get that.”

Despite being welcomed back with open arms by fans and on social media, many followers of the Channel Nine talent show couldn’t ignore his transformation, with plastic surgery rumours swirling around the singer’s comeback.

But he didn’t let any of that top him from continuing on his path, which soon after saw him return to familiar territory and compete on on America's Got Talent: The Champions. He did make it far on the show but received huge praise from judge Simon Cowell who called his voice “extraordinary”.

Why Jack Vidgen wants to win Eurovision - Australia Decides

Jack says he generally hasn’t entered any of the singing contests with the aim of winning, but when he steps on stage for Eurovision - Australia Decides 2020 it will be different.

“I've kind of just been going on to enjoy the experience and without any expectations or anything like that,” he says.

“But it feels different for Australia Decides. It feels like something that I would just absolutely love to do. I would love to perform at Eurovision, it's just so extravagant and camp and beautiful and big and it would be amazing.”

He also says it would be an honour to have the chance to perform his own song I am King, I am Queen on such a big stage.

“When I wrote the song I didn't really set out to write a song for Eurovision. It was just kind of me writing in my journal and then adding a melody to it,” Jack explains.

“I didn't know what to expect because it has been so long since I've released music. I'm really grateful and I'm getting so many messages just from people about how they interpret the song and it's so different for everyone.”

Jack will be up against the likes of Vanessa Amorosi, Casey Donovan, and The Voice winner Diana Rouvas for the chance to sing at Eurovision.

Watch Jack perform at Eurovision – Australia Decides, live on SBS on 8 February, at 8.30pm AEDT.

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