Charmer in the chair
QUEENSLAND singer Tim McCallum brought Jessie J to tears, had Delta Goodrem clutching her heart and Ricky Martin racing over to kiss him.
From the confines of his wheelchair, the 34-year-old belted out a grand rendition of the aria Nessun Dorma during the fourth night of The Voice’s blind auditions.
McCallum was as inspirational as he was brilliant, drawing a standing ovation from the audience.
The coaches had no idea of McCallum’s predicament until they spun around and Jessie J regretted not being the fourth coach to turn her chair.
“I would have loved a fourchair turnaround, but I have huge respect for her decision not to,” McCallum said.
“She grew fonder in my heart after that initial disappointment because of the way she explained it.
“She was upfront and honest on the night, saying it was not her genre and that she didn’t think she could help me progress further and as a career. She was exactly right.”
McCallum was paralysed from the chest down after a swimming incident when he was 18.
McCallum now works parttime as a singer and as a disability advocate and says the blind auditions on the Nine Network show have given him a new equal opportunity platform.
“Every day I go out and perform in front of people I know the wheelchair is something people see first and foremost and start to ask themselves questions,” he said.
“For me the blind audition was the perfect situation ... they just had to turn based on my voice and that’s the kind of thing I’d like to experience every time I go out to sing.”
Despite some name dropping by Goodrem, McCallum chose Martin to be his coach.