Shannon Noll

Shannon Noll first captured national attention in Australia as the runner-up on the inaugural 2003 season of the amateur showcase Australian Idol. The pop-rocker, born September 16, 1975, in the remote New South Wales town of Condobolin, had spent his early adulthood shearing sheep prior to performing with his siblings in the group Cypress. During the Idol competition he quickly became a public favorite, and the season finale—pitting him against eventual champion Guy Sebastian—registered as the highest-viewed Australian broadcast of 2003. Although he finished second, Noll secured a Sony BMG deal and released his debut single, a cover of Moving Pictures’ 1982 power ballad “What About Me,” in early 2004; the track reached the top of the Australian charts and climbed to number two in Ireland. His first album, That’s What I’m Talking About, also debuted at number one, helped by strong ratings for the television special Up Close with Shannon Noll. In early 2005 he joined a fresh stage production of the musical Grease for a national tour. Later that year his second album, Lift, entered at number one and yielded several Top Ten singles, among them “Shine,” “Now I Run,” and the title track.