Kids of the 80s will remember Joey Dee for his sweet honey-like vocals and heartthrob image on Young Talent Time.
He was the youngest, the smallest, and would bust out Michael Jackson-esque moves to songs like Calendar Girls by Neil Sedaka and Crazy by Icehouse.
Well, what a difference three decades makes.
Watch Joey Dee’s rendition of Redemption Song on The Voice. Post continues after video.
42-year-old Dee has made his return to the stage, and my good lord his voice is amazing.
Soulful, bluesy, with a touch of honey left over from his youth – Dee turned two chairs within seconds of opening his mouth on The Voice stage last night.
Even though he was once-upon-a-time a regular performer in front of live studio audiences, Dee admitted backstage he was nervous.
“Doing this whole experience you’re putting yourself out there. I guess as you get older you get more fearful,” he said.
“As a nine-year-old you’re fearless, so you just jump on stage and do it without even thinking. As you get older everyone doubts themselves. Doing this whole process is about overcoming that.”
When he told the judges who he was, the crowd went wild.
“OK what’s going on — are you famous here?” a confused Boy George asked him.
“I’ve been out of the limelight for years and I want really to take the career to another level — I guess the time’s now I either do it, or I don’t,” said Dee of his reason for returning to showbiz.
“I was on the show with Dannii Minogue, Vince Del Tito, Natalie Miller,” he recalled.
“I was a kid growing up in primary school with a fan club, catching planes. It was pretty crazy when I think about it now. Even today I get people saying, ‘oh I used to watch you, I used to love that show.’”
Dee was only on the show for a year between 1987 and 1988, but he certainly made an impression, attracting a gaggle of adoring nine and 10-year-old's who hung off his every word.
After finishing up he went on tour with Juanita Coco who was also on the show.
He's now Melbourne-based and is still a singer-songwriter - but only gigs locally.
According to the small tidbits of information he told the show last night - singing is his form of meditation, and he really, really, likes Lifesavers. (yes, the ice cream).
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
His website describes him as "smoky, gritty, and with a story to tell" and talks of his original material.
Kelly Rowland who became Dee's coach on the The Voice agreed, telling him he had a "storyteller voice".
"You’ve got some lives to change,” she told him.
Top Comments
That YTT picture, have there ever been so many mullets in one place?
Jfc, the producers are really scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to find people for this show.
Anyway, everyone knows that Vince was the real star!