Up-and-coming Narooma singer shows he has write stuff after striking chord on Idol

An appearance on television in a national singing competition is a big deal for anyone. For Narooma musician Jakob Poyner, it all goes back to a guitar he bought when he was eight years old.

“About ten years ago, my family was doing a little road trip when we went past a music shop,” he said.

“I just really wanted to go inside and have a look, and then I saw the guitars on the wall.

“They blew my mind away.”

His parents gave him permission to buy one – but only if he used his own money.

“I probably played it the whole four or five hours home, which probably made mum and dad’s ears bleed, but after a week or two they thought it actually started sounding like something that was not too bad,” Jakob said.

“We decided it would be a good idea to get me some lessons.”

He took music lessons with a friend for several years, and then turned to YouTube for instruction.

“I would just watch any musical performances, any live festivals or short music clips,” Jakob said.

“I was just Googling how to play like that and checking out music websites to learn more.”

That love for music carried him to a stage where he performed his audition for Australian Idol, in front of judges Harry Connick Jr, Kyle Sandilands, Amy Shark and Meghan Trainor.

“When I signed up, it was during COVID,” Jakob said.

“I had to do a couple of Zoom calls and do some music videos online and send them through to see if they wanted to put me on the show or not – which, thankfully, they did!”

Jakob made it through to the top 50 in the 2023 season, in an experience that was initially intimidating but also rewarding.

“I was very, very nervous to go on, but once I was there, everyone was welcoming,” he said.

“Everyone’s pretty much like family, and they’re all trying to help each other out.

“It gave me a lot of exposure with other musicians for their gigs and for support acts, and people have also come up to me wanting to book me for bigger gigs and weddings.”

He will next be performing as an opening act on 7 July in Canberra, alongside Ava Martina and headliner Nathan Seeckts.

Jakob is also putting together some new music.

“I’m currently trying to write as many original songs as possible, and hopefully get them recorded soon and put them out on Spotify or other live-music apps,” he said.

“Other than that, I’m looking to get some bigger gigs – pretty much my No. 1 goal is to do as many gigs as possible.”

Jakob said he was proud of what he had achieved in his music career so far.

“I didn’t think, at that time, that I would keep playing,” he said.

“I didn’t think I was going to get too much out of it in the longer term, but I’m glad I kept it up.”

More information about the upcoming gig is available via their event page.