JULIAN SIMONSZ – ONE NIGHT ONLY
“One day, I was sleeping and I was suddenly shaken awake and told to ‘watch this video’. I’ve had very little sleep because of a couple of busy days so of course I try to ignore it and go back to sleep but still - I was shaken awake on the insistence that I need to see this….. And that’s when I saw him,” shares Bathiya Jayakody as he unfolds the story of how he first heard of a Sri Lankan artiste who has grown internationally in the span of just one year.
The ‘him’ in this story is the Melbourne based Sri Lankan Julian Simonsz as he sang Justin Timberlake’s ‘Suit and Tie’ at the auditions for Season 3 of The Voice Australia in 2014. His performance had all four judges turning their seats seconds into the song and fighting for the chance to be his coach.
His performance at The Voice caused a frenzy both in Melbourne and in Sri Lanka as he was featured in almost every media outlet over here, causing Julian to be the first artist on The Voice Australia to have ever received international press interest of this calibre. “Ever since my Facebook went from 3 thousand to 30 thousand thanks to my Sri Lankan fans, I knew I had to come to Sri Lanka!” jokes Julian Simonsz.
Since The Voice, Julian has performed at multiple events in Melbourne for over 50 000 people and has even opened for multi-platinum RnB rapper Chingy and performed for cricket legend Glen McGrath. Not stopping there, Julian recently released his self-titled EP in 2015 which has received air play and syncs all over Australia and in Sri Lanka. His first single ‘I Do It For You’ spent fourteen weeks at number one on the YES 101 Home Grown and his second single ‘Get Home To You’ is also currently enjoying 5 consecutive weeks at the top of the chart.
Having attended the YES FM Home Grown Awards this October, Julian walked away with the coveted ‘Best Male’ artiste award in recognition of his talent, achievements and success.
At a press conference held at OZO Colombo, Julian officially announced his upcoming show ‘Julian Simonsz – One Night Only’ taking place on the 27th of February 2016. Julian will be performing all of his original music along with some covers with his own personal twist to it.
“I’m looking forward to performing my music. Thank you for always supporting me and my endeavours. I can’t wait to be back here in February”
Together with Showtown Entertainment and Ants Work Pvt Ltd, Julian Simonsz joined by The Julian Simonsz Band promises a night his fans would never forget.
More details to follow.
Text by Panchali Illankoon
Photo credits : Waruna Wanniarachchi
0 Comments