Dean Geyer

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Dean Geyer
Background information
Born March 20, 1986 (age 21)
Origin Johannesburg, South Africa
Genre(s) Pop, Alternative Rock
Years active 2006–present
Label(s) SonyBMG (2006–present)

Dean Geyer (born 20 March 1986 in Johannesburg, South Africa) finished third on Australian Idol 2006. He made his television debut on the show on 6 August 2006.

In the weeks leading up to the final, Geyer was selected by both Mark Holden and the former Australian Idol judge Ian Dickson as their favourites for winning the competition.

On 10 December 2006, Geyer secured a recording contract with SonyBMG along with fellow idol, Jessica Mauboy, and releases from both are expected in mid-2007.

Contents

[edit] Background

Geyer was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the oldest of three children to parents Debbie and Keith. He moved to Melbourne, Australia, at age 15 and attended Melbourne High School, a select-entry school for boys, finishing his Victorian Certificate of Education from MHS in 2004.

Geyer's interest in music started during his early teens. He learned to play the guitar, and at age 15 he wrote his first song entitled "Change" which was based on his move from South Africa. At his Australian Idol audition, he played a self-composed song called "Nice to Meet You".

Dean has also done modelling in the past for the 2006 Vodka Cruiser Bodyline Calendar and 2007 Bodyline Men Calendar.

[edit] Australian Idol

After some experience in the music scene, Geyer auditioned for the fourth series of Australian Idol in his home suburb of Balwyn in Melbourne. After singing Marc Cohn's "Walking In Memphis", Geyer played a self-composed piece called "Nice to Meet You". This song was praised by the three judges, who unanimously voted to send him through to the Top 100.

Dean Geyer was the first contestant who was officially accepted by Idol into the top 100. Likewise, due to the rules changing in Idol, Geyer was allowed to accompany himself on guitar. On 17 October 2006, Dean Geyer became the first person in world "Idol" history to be allowed to sing an original composition, "Change", during an "Up Close and Personal" show.[citation needed]

During the 'culling' rounds held in Sydney, where the Top 100 are reduced to the Top 24, Geyer survived to reach the next round. On the second day of this culling process, Geyer was put into a group with Chris Murphy (brother of Australian Idol 2 star, Courtney Murphy). They chose to sing the U2 smash hit, "Beautiful Day". Both passed through to the next round with high appraisal from the judges.

On 28 August, Dean was the second contestant voted into the top 12.

Dean's performance of Ryan Cabrera's "On the Way Down" on 15 October received a "touchdown" from judge Mark Holden. His performance however was seen by many as average, compared to such contestants in other series such as Paulini who never received a touchdown. His final 8 performance of Turn the Beat Around included a front handspring by Dean off the side of the stage and a backflip at the end of his performance.

On 12 November Dean received a second Touchdown from Mark Holden after his performance of Edwin McCain's "I'll Be". Mark also said that that performance was a number one hit. Even with that, Geyer was eliminated from the show on 13 November, after receiving the lowest amount of votes from home viewers.

[edit] Post Idol

Dean Geyer, along with Idol runner up Jessica Mauboy, have been signed to the SonyBMG record label and are both expected to release debut albums later this year.[1][2] The album, whose title has yet to be announced and which was recorded in early February, is expected to be released in May ahead of a national tour. Originally, he was expected to support the Young Divas, but has since confirmed that he will be headlining a number of concerts and making in store appearances for the release of his single.

Dean is also expected to compete in the Celebrity Grand Prix in Melbourne on 15-18 March, where he will play his new single live.

His debut single has been confirmed to be "If You Don't Mean It".

[edit] Musical influences

On his Myspace page, he lists his musical interests as including Bon Jovi, Creed, Nickelback, Hoobastank, Goo Goo Dolls, Incubus, Lifehouse, Vertical Horizon, Switchfoot, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, Teddy Geiger, Gavin DeGraw, Fuel, Rob Thomas, Tonic, Thornley, Theory of a Deadman, The Police, U2, Matchbox 20 and Ryan Cabrera. He once stated that his two music idols are Bon Jovi and Marc Cohn.[citation needed]

[edit] Interview with Christian media

In an interview with the Christian30 Countdown, Dean Geyer shared his opinion that Christianity was slowly becoming popularised, and the y-generation was more accepting of Jesus than previous generations, referring to well-attended youth events such as Youth Alive and Planetshakers. He said that even though some of his friends had never been to church, they knew about Hillsong. He also mentioned Jesse McCartney, who is openly Christian, and was dismissive of criticism of statements he made during the show, acknowledged by the judges, that he was a Christian and a virgin.

[edit] Australian Idol performances

[edit] Awards

  • TREV Awards (Tertiary Recreation Entertainment Victoria) - Best Acoustic Act - James Dean (Dean Geyer's Band)
  • Dean was voted second in the hottest Aussie guy on television in Australian TV Week reader poll, with Paul O'Brien (Home and Away) taking first place.
  • Dean was on the 'Male Hottie Of 2006' list on POPrepublic.tv, coming second to Nick Lachey
Australian Idol Season Four (2006)
 Damien Leith • Jessica Mauboy • Dean Geyer • Chris Murphy
Ricky Muscat • Lisa Mitchell • Bobby Flynn • Lavina Williams
Guy "Mutto" Mutton • Klancie Keough • Reigan Derry • Joseph Gatehau
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