Stan Walker (born 23 October 1990 in Melbourne, Victoria), is an Australian recording artist and actor. In 2009, Walker was the winner on the seventh season of Australian Idol. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia.
In December 2009, Walker released his debut studio album, Introducing Stan Walker, which included the hit single, "Black Box". The album debuted at number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It also appeared on the New Zealand Albums Chart at number two and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).
In 2010, Walker released his second studio album, From the Inside Out, which spawned the hit singles, "Unbroken" and "Choose You". The album debuted at number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart and number two on the ARIA Albums Chart. In November 2011, Walker released his third studio album, Let the Music Play, which debuted at number 18 on the ARIA Albums Chart and number 12 in New Zealand, and spawned the hit single "Loud".
During his career, Walker has won five New Zealand Music Awards and has received four ARIA Music Award nominations. He will make his acting debut in the upcoming New Zealand film, A Gift to Zion, due to be screened in 2012.
In 2009, Walker auditioned for the seventh season of Australian Idol, singing John Legend's "Ordinary People" at his Brisbane audition. He received praise from the judges and progressed through to the theatre rounds receiving more recognition from the judges, with Kyle Sandilands saying, "You're the only person after the auditions that I ever told anyone about; family, friends other people that I run into. I only told them about you."
After all three theatre rounds were over, it was announced that Walker had made it into the top twenty four semi-finals. Walker was apart of the first group to perform in the semi-finals. The following evening, it was announced that the first two contestants to be put through to the final top twelve according to viewer votes, were Walker and fellow contestant Kate Cook.
Throughout the season, Walker was praised continually for his voice and for the daring choices he took with his song choices. One of his most highly praised performances on the show was of the Prince song, "Purple Rain", which received a standing ovation from the judging panel and the audience. The grand final was held on 22 November 2009 at the Sydney Opera House. After the viewer votes had been tallied, it was announced that the winner was Walker. He is the first person of New Zealand descent to win Australian Idol.
In April 2010, Walker flew to Haiti to help Compassion Australia's relief effort of the 2010 Haiti earthquake as an ambassador. Walker's second studio album, From the Inside Out, was released on 20 August 2010. The album debuted at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart. In New Zealand, it debuted at number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart, and became Walker's first number-one album in the country. Eventually, From the Inside Out was certified platinum by the RIANZ.
"Unbroken" was released as the album's lead single on 12 April 2010.
Walker's third studio album, Let the Music Play, was released on 18 November 2011. It debuted at number 18 on the ARIA Album Chart and number 12 on the New Zealand Albums Chart. Its lead single, "Loud", was released on 2 May 2011. The song peaked at number nine on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified platinum. On the New Zealand Singles Chart, "Loud" peaked at number eight and was certified gold.
The album's second single, "Light It Up", featuring Static Revenger, was released on 16 September 2011. The song peaked at number 23 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and has reached number 45 on the ARIA Singles Chart.In October 2011, Walker was featured on Jessica Mauboy's single, "Galaxy", which peaked at number 13 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Walker and Mauboy will embark on their Galaxy Tour across Australia in January-February 2012, to celebrate the release of the song.
Walker will play the lead role in the upcoming New Zealand film, A Gift to Zion, as a young, ambitious Māori boy who wants to become an artist. When speaking of his role in the film, Walker told Herald Sun, "They approached me ... the script is so good, it's basically who I was six years ago ... It's definitely the main reason I wanted to get involved."
