The Voice's Lachie Gill shares surprising advice for future contestants

After winning last year’s season of The Voice Australia, Lachie Gill has shared his advice for future contestants hoping to replicate his success in the competition.

The PE teacher-turned-singer-songwriter, who is set to release his debut original EP ‘Write It Out’ on November 17, tells Yahoo Lifestyle that applicants must have a strong belief in themselves and their abilities before they audition.

“The biggest thing I tell people is you have to be strong in who you are and what sort of music you want to do because, at the end of the day, they're making a TV show,” he shares.

“There's a lot of artists that actually work on the show as producers and they would never try and sabotage someone or make someone look bad on purpose, but they're trying to make a show. So if they see a storyline or a way to pivot an artist to make them do some sort of music, they're going to do that.

“And if you're not willing to step up and say, 'That's not the sort of music I do or the sort of artist I am', you can find yourself doing things that maybe you weren't super comfortable doing just because in the moment it's super stressful.”

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Before he appeared as a contestant on season 11, Lachie applied for The Voice five years earlier but didn’t make it through to the TV auditions.

While he admits he was “devastated” at the time, he says he now sees the rejection as a “blessing” because he was able to figure out who he wanted to be as an artist and return when he felt ready.

“When I went back on the show I was very strong in the fact of like, I'm going to do this sort of music and it's going to make sense once I finish the show because I'll continue to do that music,” he recalls.

“I think if you get told to do something else on the show or sing a song that you're not really comfortable singing, you'll finish the show and do the sort of music that you like doing and [it won’t make sense for] people that have started following you. So be strong in who you are and the sort of music you want to do before going on or don’t do it.”

'Super excited'

Lachie’s determination to follow his artistic vision has clearly paid off as he is currently preparing to release a body of work he feels “super proud” of.

“I feel like although it's been a year and a half since the show, it's all happened very quickly. But I'm super excited for it,” he says about his upcoming EP ‘Write It Out’.

“This sort of music makes sense for me and I'm glad we got the songs into one project because it's a very good showcase of the sort of music that I'll continue to do for a long time.”

The Wasted Time hitmaker will also be hitting the road later this month for a series of concerts showcasing his new EP, which he says is his favourite part of being an artist.

“The last tour we did at the start of this year was live and intimate, so it was just me out there with my music friend playing piano,” he shares.

“I loved doing that, but at the same time some of my songs like ‘Sad Summer’ and ‘Happy It’s Ending’ are super high energy and super fun, so I wanted to be able to put on a show that shows that off as well. And this tour, I'm going to be able to do that.

“So I've practised my dance moves, sort of,” he laughs. “There’s no choreography, but I'm going to be able to get up on stage, hold the mic, not worry about playing guitar for a few of the songs and just have a bit of fun. So I’m super excited for it.”

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