There is no doubt that Altiyan Childs has the “X factor”. But he very nearly gave it all away.
The 35-year-old admits he didn’t dare to believe winning was possible until his name was called out on November 22nd at the Grand Final. “It was such a tough journey for me. I don’t know how I got through a couple of those times. Maybe it was just the support from my father and Ronan Keating. And those people who’d hold-up the signs every week. I thought, “I can’t stop now.”
Altiyan admits the TV series was an experience well-removed from his comfort-zone. Over the course of the season, he lived a dream by fronting INXS, and struck up a friendship with Irish pop legend Ronan Keating, a judge on the show and his mentor, who played a pivotal role in Altiyan’s rise.
“Ronan has been an element of the divine in this whole equation. It’s hard not to believe in destiny when I look at how I ended up with him, who he was, what kind of heart he has, and how he seemed to resonate with me. I distinctly remember when I sang that first song on the first week on the live show and the way Ronan jumped up. I finally proved to him that he could put his faith in me. That was a crucial point to me; I didn’t need to talk with him. He just learned about me through the song. When the song started, he just looked in my eyes and felt the story. That’s how he got to know me.”The pair remains in close contact and its expected Ronan will continue to play a hand in the next stage of Altiyan’s career.
Altiyan’s X Factor ride was a hard-fought competition, loaded with thrills, drama and exhilaration all the way down to the wire. But the televised spectacle doesn’t compare to the route of Altiyan’s true journey.
Disillusioned with the music industry, Altiyan had turned his back on his dream of a career in music. But it was Altiyan’s determined father who encouraged his son to follow his dream and audition for the show.
“I’d been retired from music for about three years and I’d come to terms with the loss, the separation of music and me. Just as I got used to living life in a less-extraordinary way, I had my father approach me with an X Factor ad. But I kept saying ‘no’. I was scared.” A few months later, his father handed-down an ultimatum. X Factor was the chance to re-ignite the dream. “I’m not going to ask you,” he told his son. “I’m going to tell you that I want you to do this for me.” And so began Altiyan’s X Factor journey.
After plugging away for 20 years in his rock band Masonia, Altiyan had enjoyed a fleeting taste of success. The group landed a No. 41 hit on the ARIA singles chart in 2004 with Simple. Their first foray into the music business was not without challenges, and the whole experience put a strain on the band and they parted ways soon after.
A separation period began. In Altiyan’s words, he couldn’t just get over music. He had turned his back on it. Altiyan removed himself so far from music, he landed work as a forklift driver. “It never really left me, the fire never burnt out completely. But it got pretty close to that,” he recalls. “There was just like burning coals left over when my dad approached me. I was literally half the man I was previously.”
Musically, Altiyan identifies Prince as his source of inspiration. But in life, there’s only one guy who fits the bill. “Dad has been broken and all his pain transformed into the most compassionate heart that I’ve ever known. The sacrifices he’s made are beyond belief. When all the other parents were saying ‘get a real job,’ he was buying my band instruments. It’s such an incredible thing winning X Factor. I’ve been trying to do something for dad for so long. Since I was 10 years old, I was promising, ‘Dad, I’m going to come save you and get us a better life.’ It’s unbelievable to see him witness the birth of that promise.”
By Altiyan’s admission, his father has endured a wretched life. Abandoned as a youth, his dad struggled through a difficult upbringing. Altiyan was born in Mount Isa, the North West Queensland mining town. There was a lot of movement. The family too often made tracks, but there was also a lot of love. As a young teen, Altiyan relocated to Sydney’s North Shore, and its there that his parents put down permanent roots.
And it was at this time when Altiyan connected with music. The aspiring artist gathered some like-minded friends to form a band, the core of which would play-on for the next two decades under various guises. “It’s amazing to look back now, but in those days my drummer’s kick was a punching bag and his snare was a plastic bag wrapped around a bucket. We started with such extremely raw tools.”
The first phase of Altiyan’s relaunched career saw the release of the single Somewhere In The World, a track already familiar to the millions who watched Altiyan perform it on the X Factor Grand Final. Written and produced by Klaus Derendorf (Delta Goodrem, Santana, Pussycat Dolls), the song flew up the iTunes chart following its November 22 release.
On December 10th Altiyan’s eponymous debut album, comprising studio recordings of 11 tracks he performed on the Channel 7 series, including Livin’ On A Prayer, Never Tear Us Apart, Hey Soul Sister and Lady In Red will be released through Sony Music Entertainment Australia. A full-length album of new works will follow in 2011.
With the X Factor title in the bag, and a vision for success in place, Altiyan is confident he’s better-equipped now for what should be a fascinating ride. “I really am. I feel like I’ve been planning for 24 years to do this. I’m handling every facet of it all surprisingly well. One of the big changes from winning the show was that it reignited the fire that was starting to go out. I feel enhanced, refined and almost fine-tuned and ready to put everything into my music.”
The 35-year-old admits he didn’t dare to believe winning was possible until his name was called out on November 22nd at the Grand Final. “It was such a tough journey for me. I don’t know how I got through a couple of those times. Maybe it was just the support from my father and Ronan Keating. And those people who’d hold-up the signs every week. I thought, “I can’t stop now.”
Altiyan admits the TV series was an experience well-removed from his comfort-zone. Over the course of the season, he lived a dream by fronting INXS, and struck up a friendship with Irish pop legend Ronan Keating, a judge on the show and his mentor, who played a pivotal role in Altiyan’s rise.
“Ronan has been an element of the divine in this whole equation. It’s hard not to believe in destiny when I look at how I ended up with him, who he was, what kind of heart he has, and how he seemed to resonate with me. I distinctly remember when I sang that first song on the first week on the live show and the way Ronan jumped up. I finally proved to him that he could put his faith in me. That was a crucial point to me; I didn’t need to talk with him. He just learned about me through the song. When the song started, he just looked in my eyes and felt the story. That’s how he got to know me.”The pair remains in close contact and its expected Ronan will continue to play a hand in the next stage of Altiyan’s career.
Altiyan’s X Factor ride was a hard-fought competition, loaded with thrills, drama and exhilaration all the way down to the wire. But the televised spectacle doesn’t compare to the route of Altiyan’s true journey.
Disillusioned with the music industry, Altiyan had turned his back on his dream of a career in music. But it was Altiyan’s determined father who encouraged his son to follow his dream and audition for the show.
“I’d been retired from music for about three years and I’d come to terms with the loss, the separation of music and me. Just as I got used to living life in a less-extraordinary way, I had my father approach me with an X Factor ad. But I kept saying ‘no’. I was scared.” A few months later, his father handed-down an ultimatum. X Factor was the chance to re-ignite the dream. “I’m not going to ask you,” he told his son. “I’m going to tell you that I want you to do this for me.” And so began Altiyan’s X Factor journey.
After plugging away for 20 years in his rock band Masonia, Altiyan had enjoyed a fleeting taste of success. The group landed a No. 41 hit on the ARIA singles chart in 2004 with Simple. Their first foray into the music business was not without challenges, and the whole experience put a strain on the band and they parted ways soon after.
A separation period began. In Altiyan’s words, he couldn’t just get over music. He had turned his back on it. Altiyan removed himself so far from music, he landed work as a forklift driver. “It never really left me, the fire never burnt out completely. But it got pretty close to that,” he recalls. “There was just like burning coals left over when my dad approached me. I was literally half the man I was previously.”
Musically, Altiyan identifies Prince as his source of inspiration. But in life, there’s only one guy who fits the bill. “Dad has been broken and all his pain transformed into the most compassionate heart that I’ve ever known. The sacrifices he’s made are beyond belief. When all the other parents were saying ‘get a real job,’ he was buying my band instruments. It’s such an incredible thing winning X Factor. I’ve been trying to do something for dad for so long. Since I was 10 years old, I was promising, ‘Dad, I’m going to come save you and get us a better life.’ It’s unbelievable to see him witness the birth of that promise.”
By Altiyan’s admission, his father has endured a wretched life. Abandoned as a youth, his dad struggled through a difficult upbringing. Altiyan was born in Mount Isa, the North West Queensland mining town. There was a lot of movement. The family too often made tracks, but there was also a lot of love. As a young teen, Altiyan relocated to Sydney’s North Shore, and its there that his parents put down permanent roots.
And it was at this time when Altiyan connected with music. The aspiring artist gathered some like-minded friends to form a band, the core of which would play-on for the next two decades under various guises. “It’s amazing to look back now, but in those days my drummer’s kick was a punching bag and his snare was a plastic bag wrapped around a bucket. We started with such extremely raw tools.”
The first phase of Altiyan’s relaunched career saw the release of the single Somewhere In The World, a track already familiar to the millions who watched Altiyan perform it on the X Factor Grand Final. Written and produced by Klaus Derendorf (Delta Goodrem, Santana, Pussycat Dolls), the song flew up the iTunes chart following its November 22 release.
On December 10th Altiyan’s eponymous debut album, comprising studio recordings of 11 tracks he performed on the Channel 7 series, including Livin’ On A Prayer, Never Tear Us Apart, Hey Soul Sister and Lady In Red will be released through Sony Music Entertainment Australia. A full-length album of new works will follow in 2011.
With the X Factor title in the bag, and a vision for success in place, Altiyan is confident he’s better-equipped now for what should be a fascinating ride. “I really am. I feel like I’ve been planning for 24 years to do this. I’m handling every facet of it all surprisingly well. One of the big changes from winning the show was that it reignited the fire that was starting to go out. I feel enhanced, refined and almost fine-tuned and ready to put everything into my music.”
