Darren Percival

Darren Percival is coming to Geelong on May 24 as part of his national Lovelife tour. The soul singer rose to prominence on the first season of Channel Nine’s The Voice in 2012, in which he was mentored by Keith Urban and finished runner-up. Already a professional singer prior to gaining fame, Darren says the experience on The Voice hasn’t really changed him at all.
“Success is measured differently by different people,” he says. “When people saw me on the show I’d [already] made a living out of being a singer so I felt pretty successful and I was pretty happy with the way things were heading and how my life was. I’ve certainly had my share of ups and downs, but I never really let not having any money get in my way. I was doing the work that I love.
“The main thing that happened was that people found out who I was. Obviously I was a bit busier there after the show because I had heaps of work to do; I had an album out and all those things were different. But I still sing no matter what. I’m still a singer and I will always work.”
The tour celebrates the release of Darren’s third album, Lovelife, which will be played through from start to finish as part of the show. It features a mixture of some classic covers and a few originals on the theme of love. He says he’s really pleased with how the record turned out.
“The Lovelife album started out around a song that I co-wrote with the producer, Paul Gray. We’ve worked together for 20 years this year. So we were going, ‘What are the songs that we’ve loved playing in the past 20 years that are on this theme?’ So we wrote a list and started demoing some of them and the album really became a tribute to these amazing songs.”
Darren says he’s looking forward to playing at some smaller, regional theatres as part of the tour, many of which he has never visited before. He says audiences can look forward to an entertaining and interactive performance.
“We’re going to play the album all the way through. We’re then going to feature a few classics and songs I sang on the show. And everyone’s a VIP on this tour so folks are going to be able to experience some parts of the experience they might not have before. Once they get into the theatre we’ll be having lots of fun with them and there’ll be lots of interaction. So it’s really going to be great. We’re really celebrating the audience, which is what I love to do.”
He also says he’s particularly looking forward to the concert at GPAC on May 24 and can’t wait to bring the show to his Geelong audience.
“I love that part of Australia, so I’m looking forward to doing that show. I think it’s going to be awesome. If anyone doesn’t have any plans on the night I’m in Geelong, they should just come along. It’ll be up close and personal that show – it’s quite a small theatre. It’ll be a great night and I’d like to encourage folks to come out and get along to see some great live Australian music.”
WHERE&WHEN: GPAC, Geelong – May 24
Written by Daniel Waight