THE Kiama Relay for Life's first prize in the raffle took him to an audition in September, and now Kiama's Sean Emmett is returning to the relay after finding national fame.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sean, 14, has spent recent months performing in Young Talent Time's regular cast.
"Mum won the raffle in the Relay for Life last year, which was a trip to Sydney, and we planned to see the NRL grand final," he said.
"A friend said the YTT auditions were on that weekend so I auditioned."
After hearing nothing for three weeks, Sean was surprised to receive a callback audition.
Until then, the former Ss Peter and Paul Catholic School student had been singing and playing guitar, regularly gracing the streets of Kiama busking or performing at Jamberoo Pub.
His interest in music came from watching his mum perform in her band.
"I remember dancing and singing along and I loved being around the band - one day I started singing and Mum said I should keep it up," he said.
He didn't know what to expect making the transition from relaxed pub gigs to a full-scale production broadcast across the nation.
"It made me work harder and it made me think I could do something with music," he said.
Sean and his family moved to Sydney to cut down the travel time and as part of the cast, Sean worked on pieces every day after school, including choreography.
"Sometimes we'd go over songs for shows in the next two weeks," he said.
"My favourite was Beat It because not only did I get out of dancing, but Serena nailed it and I got to play the guitar solo."
But Sean said the best part of the show was working with some of Australia's leading musicians, including John Foreman.
"He's a genius in music," he said. "It gave me the inspiration to believe in myself."
Sean said he would like to make an album of his own music and tour.
"If I can make people happy by listening to me, that makes me excited," he said.
He will perform solo at the Kiama Relay for Life this Saturday, May 5 on vocals and guitar in his first year participating in the relay.
"I'm really excited about going this year - it's a great event and I'd love to be part of it," he said.
The YTT cast will also tour Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne in July - for more information, visit www.yttlive.com.au
