It was a very happy birthday for Isaiah Firebrace last night when he was crowned the winner of The X Factor.
the Moama local was overwhelmed with emotion during last night’s live grand final as he heard his name announced as The X Factor 2016 winner and proud owner of a brand new Sony Music recording contract.
“Thank you all so much. My heart’s beating so fast,” he said before being swamped by family, friends and fellow contestants singing Happy Birthday. “This has been my dream and I can’t believe it’s come true on my birthday.”
Reflecting on his time on X Factor, Isaiah said “My life has changed so much….it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Isaiah’s X Factor journey began in 2015 when he famously forget the lyrics during a boot camp performance and lost his place in the competition.
Determined to redeem himself, Isaiah returned to audition this year which saw a dangerous case of déjà vu. However his soulful voice and original tone won over Under 22’s mentor Adam Lambert who overlooked the near miss and instead saw the potential in the country boy.
First time X Factor judge Adam Lambert said he found Isaiah’s growth and evolution throughout the competition inspiring and was constantly “moved and blown away” by the teenager’s ability to lift his performance each week.
Commenting on Isaiah’s win, Adam said: “The kid has got the voice man, and he’s such a humble guy and he really just steps on the stage every time and he knows how to create magic and it’s so exciting.”
It was a night of highs and lows with 15 year-old X Factor super-fan Amalia Foy being the first of the four finalists eliminated. Farewelling his youngest competitor, Adam was adamant this was just the beginning for the high school student.
“Amalia is capable of so much, I can’t wait to see her do all of it. She’s a star, she got the final and to me that’s the finish line.”
Next to be eliminated from the competition was 17 year-old “Underdog” Vlado Saric. Continuing to back her contestant, Mel B told the audience this was not the last they would see of Vlado. “He’s the ultimate superstar.”
This left Isaiah and Queensland tyre-fitter Davey Woder to fight it out for the title each performing their Winner’s single.
First up was Isaiah with It’s Gotta Be You, followed by Davey who performed his original audition song penned for his wife, Coming Home.
