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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Fitzi and Whippo podcast.

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Speaker 2: You know what, I'm excited Australian Idol is back next

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Speaker 2: Monday night, seven thirty on Channel seven and seven plus,

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Speaker 2: but more excited to see this magnificent man on our screens,

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Speaker 2: the beautiful Harry Contigay.

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Speaker 1: What's happening, Matt, it's Kritch.

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Speaker 3: Have you on the show? This is exciting.

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Speaker 1: We were just exciting for me.

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Speaker 3: We were just saying off air that really Australian Idol

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Speaker 3: has to be the main or only show that has

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Speaker 3: produced artists that have gone on to be extremely successful.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's kind of like that in the States too.

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Speaker 1: I mean there's a lot of competition shows. But you know,

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Speaker 1: ever since day one, Idol has been the only show

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Speaker 1: that produces people, as you said, you know that are

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Speaker 1: that are real stars. And I think the reason is

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Speaker 1: because it's all about the kids. Like it's not about us.

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Speaker 1: It's not about any kind of special device or any trickery.

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Speaker 1: As you know, they take a huge group of kids,

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Speaker 1: they get narrowed down week to week until it's you know,

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Speaker 1: twenty four and then twelve and then down to one.

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Speaker 1: And I think it's just an old school, tried and

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Speaker 1: true method of competition, and Idle just does that better

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Speaker 1: than anybody else, Like they know how to put on

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Speaker 1: that show. And I think that's the reason why.

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Speaker 2: Harry, you can.

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Speaker 1: I ask you.

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Speaker 2: You've been in the music industry, so you can answer

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Speaker 2: this anxiety. And you know what must be hard for

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Speaker 2: these kids, because you've got a camera thrust into your face,

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Speaker 2: You've got four judges there that are judging you the

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Speaker 2: whole time. You know, millions of people are watching this show.

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Speaker 2: Has there been a moment when you first started your

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Speaker 2: music career where you choked on stage, where you just

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Speaker 2: got I can't do this and anxiety took over.

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Speaker 1: There was only one time when I would say I

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Speaker 1: really choked, and that's when I was singing for Frank

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Speaker 1: Sinatra's birthday party. I think it was the seventieth seventy

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Speaker 1: fifth birthday party. And like every singer in the world

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Speaker 1: was there, Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett and I mean everyone,

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Speaker 1: and and I don't really get nervous, I never have,

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Speaker 1: but that particular night, you know, I was terrified because

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Speaker 1: you know, Frank Sinatra sitting twenty feet in front of me,

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Speaker 1: and it was just a you know, intimidating, but you

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Speaker 1: know that's what I signed up for, and that's what

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Speaker 1: these kids sign up for, so you know that's what

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Speaker 1: they may not know this, but we understand that that's

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Speaker 1: part of this business. You know, there's going to be

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Speaker 1: moments on stage where you know, you choke or you

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Speaker 1: get embarrassed, you forget the words, you know, and it's

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Speaker 1: really not about that as much as you know how

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Speaker 1: you recover from it and how you kind of learn

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Speaker 1: from it. So it's a really it's a really interesting

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Speaker 1: process because you know, these kids are so green like

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Speaker 1: they you know, a lot of them have never slung

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Speaker 1: in front of people before, much less an audience or

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Speaker 1: nationally a national audience, So it'll be it'll be really

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Speaker 1: interesting to see who kind of has what it takes

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Speaker 1: and who the audience responds to.

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Speaker 3: Harry Conig Jr. Here's a question for you as a professional,

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Speaker 3: because I'm trying to work it out. My wife is

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Speaker 3: a terrible singer, like one of the worst, and I'm

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Speaker 3: trying to work out whether she can't hit the note

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Speaker 3: or she can't hear the note. What's your understanding of

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Speaker 3: really bad singers? Can they not hear it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's wow. Yeah, it's like listen, me and you

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Speaker 1: were in the same camp. Jill can't sing either. So

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Speaker 1: I feel your pain because.

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Speaker 3: Sometimes I'll sit at the dinner time and I'll go, okay,

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Speaker 3: just hit that note, hum, and it'll be why off,

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Speaker 3: why off?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think some people just don't hear it,

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Speaker 1: you know.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, they can't hear it.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean, like who cares. I mean, there's

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Speaker 1: been a lot of really famous singers who don't really

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Speaker 1: sing the melody, you know, and have done really really well,

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Speaker 1: because there's more to it than that. I mean, listen,

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Speaker 1: there's some singers in this competition that are gonna literally

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Speaker 1: blow your mind they are such great singers. And there's

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Speaker 1: other other ones that just have a vibe that you

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Speaker 1: can't put your finger on. So I don't know whether

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Speaker 1: some people just can't hear, or whether it's a disciplined thing.

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Speaker 1: Maybe they need a little bit of work or a combination.

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Speaker 1: But I think maybe some people just can't can't hear

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Speaker 1: the notes they care matter.

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Speaker 2: But then, Harry, do you think singing is a skill

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Speaker 2: that the people are born with or something that can be.

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Speaker 1: Toy Well, that's that's a. That's a great question. I

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Speaker 1: think I'm a big fan of learning your crap, and

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Speaker 1: a lot of people think that I'm not going to

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Speaker 1: take lessons. I'm not going to learn how to read

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Speaker 1: music because that's going to make me less soulful. But

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Speaker 1: I've been saying this since I used to do idle

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Speaker 1: like it's like learning how to read, Like I imagine

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Speaker 1: walking through life and you can't read the newspaper or

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Speaker 1: your things on your phone or a street sign like

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Speaker 1: that doesn't change who you're hardwired to be. It just

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Speaker 1: shows you the possibilities. So I think people are born

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Speaker 1: with the talent and some people never develop that talent

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Speaker 1: and don't know anything about that craft. And that's fine,

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Speaker 1: But I think you should learn as much as you

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Speaker 1: possibly can because it's not going to change you know,

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Speaker 1: how how passionate you are or how spontaneous you are.

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Speaker 1: It's just going to make you better. So I'm always

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Speaker 1: a big fan of that.

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Speaker 2: You Harry, you were talking about you off Jill not

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Speaker 2: having a voice before your daughter. You've got three daughters

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Speaker 2: who have done really well making their wine in the film,

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Speaker 2: in the fashion worlds. Have you had to critique their

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Speaker 2: voices before that must be very hard as their father

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Speaker 2: to do that.

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Speaker 1: Well. So Georgia the oldest, by the way, they're all

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Speaker 1: three coming in there, dying to come, I don't. I

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Speaker 1: think they want one way tickets because they love the

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Speaker 1: country so much. But Georgia, she's the oldest, she doesn't sing.

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Speaker 1: She has a great ear, but sing it's not her thing. Kate,

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Speaker 1: who's the fashion designer and actress. Kate has an amazing

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Speaker 1: voice and is constantly asking me to critique her and

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Speaker 1: help her. So she's like, she has no problem like

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Speaker 1: listening to me, be honest with her and help her

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Speaker 1: and stuff. And Charlotte, the youngest one, also loves to sing.

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Speaker 1: I think she's going to be in the entertainment business too.

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Speaker 1: And she's the same way. Like they grew up around that.

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Speaker 1: So it's not like they're terrified to sing in front

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Speaker 1: of me. They know that. I just I love them

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Speaker 1: and I want to help them, just like these kids,

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Speaker 1: Like it's not a it's not about you know, I

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Speaker 1: think you're ugly. It's not about being mean, like I

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Speaker 1: don't that's not who I am. I just want to

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Speaker 1: give if you're going to give somebody some critique, I

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Speaker 1: think it's really important that you give them something specific

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Speaker 1: to work on. Yeah, no kid that's ever auditioned in

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Speaker 1: front of me as ever said oh he's mean or

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Speaker 1: it's per all, because what it's about. I love these kids.

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Speaker 1: I want them to succeed.

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Speaker 2: Just before you go, we find it really really hard

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Speaker 2: to talk to you because we know how amazing your

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Speaker 2: voice is, Harry. But you know, we can't stop thinking

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Speaker 2: of that scene from Copycat where you lick the knock

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Speaker 2: in crime of sur and Sigourney Wave. Did you leave that?

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Speaker 2: Was that part of the script? Did you actually lick enough?

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Speaker 2: It was one of the scariest scenes of all time.

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Speaker 1: It was pretty scary. I remember when I did that

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Speaker 1: that film. Most of that stuff was ad libbed, like

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Speaker 1: a lot of the because the director's name was John

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Speaker 1: Emil and he was from England and I was playing

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Speaker 1: like a real white trash Southerner, so a lot of

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Speaker 1: the stuff I said, you know, he had never heard.

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Speaker 1: He says, do you know a lot of expressions? I said, yes,

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Speaker 1: I know a lot of expressions. So you know, they

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Speaker 1: just kind of let me do my thing, and and

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Speaker 1: and and you know, obviously I was I was had

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Speaker 1: lines memorized. But a lot of that stuff was just

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Speaker 1: let me see how much I can scare Sigourney Weaver.

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Speaker 3: We a say a well, Australian I.

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Speaker 2: It kicks off next Monday night, seven thirty on Channel seven. Harry,

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Speaker 2: enjoy your time down here in Australia. We love you,

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Speaker 2: made and thank you very much for coming on the show.

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Speaker 1: Can't wait to see you guys. I'm so excited.

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Speaker 2: Somich buddy, you're listening to the Fitzi and Whipper podcast