Brothers walking their own paths
Comparisons with his little bro are all part of the deal for The Voice Australia contestant Russ Walker, writes Shaun Bamber.
The promos say it all: ‘‘Stan Walker’s brother is to appear on The Voice.’’ ‘‘Stan’s big brother finds his big voice.’’ It seems singer Russ Walker can’t shake brother Stan’s shadow and has had to get used to being compared to his younger sibling.
He was musical director at the Byron Bay Christian City Church when Stan won Australian Idol in 2009, having sung and played drums in church since he was 11.
The following year, Russ Walker started gigging at pubs and clubs and a mere six months later was singing five nights a week, making enough money to quit his day job as a warehouse foreman.
Even back then, people would compare him to Stan, whose career took off in leaps and bounds following his Australian Idol victory.
‘‘It was hard at first,’’ remembers the 32-year-old fatherof-two from Brisbane. ‘‘When I first started gigging, some people would compare us – and it’s hard to be compared to your brother, because you want to stick up for each other.’’
Now taking his own stab at stardom, Walker is currently appearing on New Zealand TV screens in The Voice Australia, having joined the team of former Destiny’s Child songstress Kelly Rowland after his rendition of Alicia Keys’ If I Ain’t Got You had three out of the four judges turning their chairs.
Asked if it’s harder or easier going on The Voice when your brother is Stan Walker, he has to pause before answering.
‘‘Um… It’s something that I’ve had to get over,’’ acknowledges Walker. ‘‘At the end of the day, he’s my brother – I love him and he loves me. And we’ll always be there to support each other.
‘‘No matter what happens from here out – either he’ll be known as my brother, or I’ll be known as his brother – it doesn’t really matter, you know? I’m sweet with it now.’’
Walker was initially hesitant to appear on The Voice, well aware that the reality show’s producers GETTY IMAGES would inevitably focus on his famous brother.
‘‘I didn’t want the comparison,’’ he says. ‘‘I didn’t want anybody to say, ‘Aw, he’s only on there because of his brother’.’’
Once the decision had been made though, Walker says he ‘‘embraced’’ it, bringing Stan along for support to all of his performances – despite the platinum-selling singer’s own misgivings about the situation.
‘‘I didn’t even want to go to the show,’’ says Stan. ’’I know this sounds weird, because I came from Idol and I was a judge on X Factor, but I actually don’t even like those shows. I find them really hard to be a part of – because I know how the process goes.
‘‘The thing that I can’t stand about those blimmin’ shows – it’s because they’re like, ‘Aw, Russ Walker, he’s his own singer, trying to get out of his brother’s shadow, he’s not just Stan Walker’s brother’. And I’m like, ‘Why do they even have to mention me?’ I just hate that stuff. Me and him – he’s in his own league. I can’t touch him.’’
Family ties won out in the end. ‘‘I was like, ‘Nah, I’m gunna support my brother’,’’ says Stan. ‘‘He’s my big brother and I’d do anything for him. And just to see him up there – far, it makes me want to cry right now actually,’’ he adds, swiping a hand across his eyes.
‘‘It was a big thing for my brother to do that, because when I did Idol, I was living both our dreams. It’s not just my dream – that’s always been his dream too.’’
‘‘He is so talented. I can’t play instruments. I can play a couple of Maori songs on the guitar, make up my own chords on the piano – he plays guitar, bass, drums. He’s mean as.’’
A sly smile steals over Stan’s face. ‘‘I’m the best singer though.’’
‘ He’s my big brother and I’d do anything for him. And just to see him up there – far, it makes me want to cry right now actually.’ STAN WALKER
● The Voice Australia, Fridays, 9pm, TVNZ2.