Life renewed
When he imagined facing an audience of millions on the show Australia’s Got Talent, Andrew de Silva realised the viewers he most cared about were his two young daughters. They knew he “talked funny” sometimes, a stutter breaking up the rhythm of his normal speech but he didn’t want them to see him paralysed on national television, unable to introduce himself or answer the judges. It’s why he wrote to the producers asking to be struck off the list.
Pic by Hasitha Kulasekera
“Right before that first audition, I wrote this email saying ‘thank you but no thanks.’” If they’d accepted it, he would never have gone on to win. Instead, he stayed, convinced by the producers’ reassurance that he wouldn’t be a laughing stock and that more importantly, he could use the platform to reach out to others like him. “Ever since then, I’ve been on this incredible journey.”
It’s what brought him to Sri Lanka, where Andrew played a series of concerts orchestrated by Wizard Entertainment in Galle and Colombo.When we met him, Andrew, his hair still wet from a swim in the pool, was gearing up for his concert with his father – Conrad de Silva is already a favourite with local fans. The two sound great together, their voices meeting in perfect harmony. For Andrew, it will be the highlight of the trip. “I’ve always wanted to sing with dad but I never really got around to doing it. The fact that we could do that and do it in Sri Lanka is really special,” he says.
They have music in common (Sam and Dave, for instance) and music Andrew has never acquired a taste for (think Tom Jones) but Conrad is the person that inspired Andrew to consider a career in music. “Dad used to have rehearsals at home and I used to look up to him and think, yup that’s what I’m going to do to.” Now his daughters are getting to see him rehearse and at the concert in Park Street Mews they even got to share the stage with him. He has their names tattooed on his forearms and says he’s very aware his kids are watching how he handles his fears. “You know as a father, words can only say so much. You have to show them.”
What makes Andrew’s trajectory so interesting is that he was already famous –as a member of the successful Australian band CDB he sold a great many records – but a bout with cancer took him out of the spotlight and forced him to put his career on hold. Returning to what he loved, particularly while still struggling with a stutter, was a challenge that inspired him to reach deep and start producing music that meant something – reflecting his innermost struggles and dreams.
This year, post his win on the show, Andrew opened for Mariah Carey’s and Boyz II Men’s Australian concerts. He says he had to pinch himself to believe he’d gone from the grind, just working so hard, to this. “It put me out there, back in the limelight and I wasn’t expecting that either. There’s a reason for everything and for me it’s a second chance as well to do something with my life. It’s not just about success – it’s about touching people with my music.” Much of what he writes about is true to the boy he once was – about feeling different yet having the courage and the determination to dream big. He’s inspired by musicians like Stevie Wonder who just “stand up there and let it all out.” Like them Andrew wants to say something with his music. “I’m just going to say something now, give from my heart.”
When Andrew speaks, he’s articulate and confident and on stage, he knows how to win over the crowd, coaxing them out of their seats or winning laughter with ease. Has the stutter disappeared? “It’s a mindset – in the past I was so afraid. That fear of stuttering makes it worse. Now, I’ve told people about it, so I’m not afraid,” he says. It helps to be in Sri Lanka, where he says he’s totally at home. “I’ve been just loving every single minute of it.
Even though I was raised in Australia I feel so at home here.” It’s also been particularly memorable because he proposed to his girlfriend and the mother of his children while in Galle. “I will never forget that moment. I never knew life could get renewed the way that it has, I think my faith has a lot to do with it but I’m just discovering new things about me. Just to be here…words cannot explain how it is just to be here.”
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