Natalie Gauci erupted on people’s radar back in 2007 when she won Australian Idol. Now, 13 turbulent years later, she returned to the big stage and screens one more time… impressing a different breed of judges, this time on The Voice Australia.

For her blind audition, Natalie chose to perform Sia’s The Greatest, and brought an explosive rendition of the impressive vocal hit to the four judge-coaches.

Boy George, Kelly Rowland and Delta Goodrem all looked visibly impressed by Gauci’s vocal chops. And while judge (and fellow former Australian Idol winner) Guy Sebastian couldn’t quite place her face as he smiled and turned round after pressing the button himself, he did say she “hadn’t nailed” certain moments of her performance.

“But in the end, what I heard was vulnerability,” Guy continued. “As a coach, I’d love to help you rediscover why you fell in love with singing in the first place.” And after all, Gauci ended up choosing him as her mentor!

Natalie was born in Melbourne to a Maltese father from Marsa and Italian mother. When she had come to Malta, she constantly reminded people how comfortable she felt on the small Mediterranean island. “I don’t feel like a foreigner at all over here, not one bit,” she had said during one performance at Ta’ Qali.

Gauci had a great couple of years following her Idol win, even coming to Malta to perform with our own singing royalty back in 2008… but her experience since hasn’t been all that great.

At the 2008 Malta Song, following her Australian Idol win, Natalie had performed as a special guest, before singing a beautiful rendition of Angel along with local Eurovision superstar Chiara.

Fast forward to 2020, and the situation seems to have changed a bit.

“I can’t believe I’m back on a reality music show, I cannot believe it,” the Maltese-Australian said after her blind audition, admitting she was surprised to have taken up the offer to appear on The Voice and that her personal life in the last 13 years had “gone a little bit downhill”.

“I was naive about the music industry,” Gauci had admitted in a 2017 interview. “I wasn’t sure how it all worked and I wasn’t thinking about the business side of things. I went into a bit of depression, and by the time my record company and I came to a mutual agreement, I was too far gone. I walked away just knowing that I wanted to do things differently.”

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