"We're keeping his light alive." Guy Sebastian on the loss that inspired his new song.

Late last year, Guy Sebastian was living and working in LA when he received a phone call.

His friend, Luke Liang, who he’d travelled the world touring and making music with for years, had passed away.

On Sunday night, we saw the 37-year-old singer songwriter beside his wife, stylist and TV presenter Jules Sebastian, for a 60 Minutes interview, struggling to articulate how Liang lost his life to his battle with mental health.

“What can I say?” the father-of-two said of his friend’s death.

You can watch a snippet from Guy Sebastian’s 60 Minutes interview in the video below, post continues after video.

In a video on his YouTube channel, Sebastian spoke of the time he spent playing music with Liang in Australia and internationally. He described his friend, who was a talented session musician, as being “like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins who could play everything”.

“[His death] was very unexpected. In fact, I’d actually done a gig with Luke, who passed away, just before I left for LA. And I could sense that something wasn’t quite right… It was very hard to process and it still is,” he said.

Sebastian wrote his new single ‘Choir’ in Liang’s memory. After “tearing up” a slow ballad that “didn’t feel right”, he wrote ‘Choir’, an upbeat, poignant song about the choir of voices Liang has joined in death, and the choir of voices “keeping his light alive” on earth.

 

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My beautiful brother @lukeliang – I woke up today and still can’t believe I can’t just call you, see you playing to my right at the next gig, listen to you go on about Star Trek, laugh at your hilarious insta stories or just take in the positive warmth of being in your presence. I miss you so much dude I really do. RIP my insanely talented, funny, genuine, humble friend. The stage will never be the same without you. Love you bro

A post shared by guysebastian (@guysebastian) on Aug 30, 2018 at 4:22pm PDT

“Luke wouldn’t want a stroppy ballad that’s really sad, he was such a fun guy. I wanted to honour his memory as an exceptional human being, one who was so fun and talented and giving,” he said.

In an interview with Sony Music, Sebastian added, “Luke made my life better and made life more fun. I wanted to write something that was more joyful and that made people want to think of his life and celebrate it rather than feel grief, because I know he wouldn’t want that.”

Sebastian, who was awarded an Order of Australia in Queen’s Birthday ceremonies this weekend for his work with The Sebastian Foundation, said ‘Choir’ is a reminder to check on loved ones sooner rather than later.

“It’s all about not taking people for granted and not waiting for the perfect moment to ring someone or let them know how important they are to you.”

If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health, please seek professional help and contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, BeyondBlue on 1300 22 4636 or MensLine on 1300 78 99 78. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.

You can listen to Guy Sebastian’s new song ‘Choir’ in the video below.

You can also watch Guy Sebastian speak more about the story behind ‘Choir’ in the video below.

You can read more about Guy Sebastian below:

• Guy Sebastian met wife Jules when he was 12. But after he won Australian Idol, they broke up.
• Sitting next to his wife, Guy Sebastian was asked if he ever dated Delta Goodrem. He did.