Who Is Country Singer Damien Agius? Could He Be The Next Australian Idol?

Could Damien Agius be the next big name in Australian country music? The 27-year-old Moranbah coal miner and part-time country singer has made it into the top 24 on Australian Idol.

He wrote on social media, “Top 24 baby. Australian Idol has been such an amazing experience and I’ve met so many amazing people in the past week. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me!”

In that same post, he mentioned fellow country singer hopeful, Connor Bulger, whom he sang Men At Work’s Down Under with contestants Kaitlyn Thomas, Emilie Sutter and Bella Maree during the group performance round and Avicii’s Wake Me Up with Bobby Holmes, Angus Holmes and Kartik Kunasegaran during the chorus line auditions.

Agius added, “Connor Bulger my friend I hated that they put us against each other but know you have a true mate in me!”

Agius, who resides in Eton, Queensland, originally auditioned with Garth Brooks’ If Tomorrow Never Comes in front of Amy Shark. He dedicated the performance to his brother Ben, who tragically passed away in a car accident at 19-years-old in 2012.

“It was the busiest night at Eton Pub I’ve ever seen and then Amy Shark walked in, and she said, ‘you’re going to audition’ – there’s a reason I looked so surprised,” Agius told Mackay and Whitsunday Life. “When it was over, I was emotional to have made it through. I was speechless; normally you can’t shut me up. I couldn’t believe it."

He continued, "For me, the dream is to make this my full time living and win Idol. This is something I’ve been working towards for 20 years – I’m ready to leave my job and be able to play to people at my own concerts, sell out places. I want to take on the world.”

Here's what we know about the Australian Idol finalist:

• He graduated from the CMAA Junior Academy of Country Music in 2010 and 2012.
• He started singing in his Mirani primary school choir at 8-years-old as a way to impress girls and performed at his first country music festival a year later.
• His dream growing up was always to go on Australian Idol as he grew up watching the tv competition series. He auditioned for the new season after seeing an advertisement whilst sitting, drinking a beer at a local pub.  
• He grew up on a 7000-acre farm and cattle property about 50km left of Mackay with his four brothers.
• He released two singles in 2016 – Private E.T Titmarsh and Quad Squad.
• His biggest inspirations are Slim Dusty and Lee Kernaghan.
• He auditioned for The X Factor in 2013 also with Brooks’ If Tomorrow Never Comes. He received a ‘yes’ vote from Dannii Minogue and made it into the top 18.
• He was a top ten Toyota Star Maker finalist in both 2014 and 2016.
• He has shared the stage with Troy Cassar-Daley, Amber Lawrence, Catherine Britt, Carter & Carter and more.
• He appeared on the 2021 line-up at the inaugural NQ’s Rock’n Country Music Festival alongside Lee Kernaghan, Troy Cassar-Daley, James Blundell, Graeme Connors, The Wolfe Brothers, Fanny Lumsden and more.

-----------------

Keep up to date with everything Damien Agius and follow him on Facebook here.