Nathaniel Willemse

Nathaniel Willemse (born 3 July 1995), often known simply as Nathaniel, is a South African-born Australian singer and songwriter most notable for being the eighth contestant eliminated on the fourth season of The X Factor Australia. In 2013, he signed a recording contract with DNA Songs' label through Sony Music Australia, and released the single "You", which peaked at number four on the ARIA Singles Chart.

Early life Nathaniel Willemse was born in South Africa and moved to Frankston, Melbourne, Australia when he was six years old. He attended Karingal Park Secondary College, now known as McClelland College. In 2006, he auditioned for Australian Idol series four and made it to the top 24 round before being eliminated. On 22 January 2008, Willemse released his debut single "Vertigo" exclusively on iTunes, through Mummy's Boy Records. The single's release also included two B-side tracks, "Shall Be Told" and "Home", each co-written by Willemse. and second single, "You Are the One". Before applying for The X Factor Australia in 2012, Willemse was a vocal coach and a wedding singer.

Career 2012: The X Factor Australia

Willemse successfully auditioned for the fourth season of The X Factor in 2012 singing John Mayer's "Gravity". During the super bootcamp stage of the competition, Willemse sang "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas and "You Give Me Something" by James Morrison. Willemse made it to the home visits as part of the Over 25s category. Willemse then made his way through to the top six. His performance of "The Scientist" debuted at number 75 on the ARIA Singles Chart after his performance in the fourth week.

Performances on The X Factor denotes having reached the ARIA Singles Chart. denotes having been in the bottom two. denotes having been eliminated.

2013–2016: Yours

In January 2013, Willemse embarked on the X Factor Live Tour with Samantha Jade, The Collective, Bella Ferraro, Shiane Hawke and Jason Owen. They performed shows in the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. He is the first artist signed to DNA Songs' label through Sony. He released "You" on 27 September 2013, as his first single with the label. In Australia, it peaked at number four on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified two times Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for sales over 140,000 copies. On 24 January 2014, Willemse released a cover of "I Am Australian" with Dami Im, Jessica Mauboy, Justice Crew, Samantha Jade and Taylor Henderson, to coincide with the Australia Day celebrations. The song peaked at number 51 on the ARIA Singles Chart. and debuted at number 14 on the ARIA Singles Chart. and peaked at number 4. In October 2014, Willemse performed at Australia's first ever neo-soul, jazz and hip-hop festival, Soulfest. In November 2014, he was the supporting act for Mariah Carey's Australian leg of her tour, The Elusive Chanteuse Show. In December 2014, Willemse and other Australian singers recorded a cover version of Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work" under the name "Hope for Isla and Jude", and released it as a charity single to help raise funds for two siblings who suffer from the rare disease Sanfilippo syndrome. Their version debuted at number 79 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Willemse's debut studio album Yours was released on 23 October 2015. On 8 December 2015, Nathaniel released a new single "Jungle Boogie", a Kool & the Gang cover. It was used as the promotional song in the season two launch campaign for the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. In March 2016, it was speculated that Willemse had been dropped by record company Sony Music, along with other X Factor finalists Reigan Derry, Marlisa Punzalan and Dean Ray. In June 2016, it was confirmed when Willemse announced he had signed a deal with 123 Agency.

2017–present: "Vapours" In January, Nathaniel confirmed the release of a new single "Vapours" on 27 January. "This single is about being intoxicated by someone, or by an experience. My head space at the time was I just wanted something different, honest and a little rebellious. I wanted to experiment with different sounds and sonic landscapes".

From October 2017 to January 2018, Willemse starred in "Let's Get it On" a musical production celebrating the life and music of Marvin Gaye.

Personal life On 11 January 2015, Willemse married his long-time girlfriend, model Fujan Erfanian on a tropical island in Langkawi, Malaysia. The couple had been dating since before Willemse made his debut in the public eye on The X Factor Australia.

Discography

Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions AUS Yours Released: 23 October 2015 NZ "Vertigo" Yours "I Am Australian" (with Dami Im, Jessica Mauboy, Justice Crew, Samantha Jade and Taylor Henderson) 2014 51 — "You're Beautiful" 14 — Yours "Live Louder" 4 —ARIA: Platinum 2015 163 — "Always Be Yours" 79 — "Jungle Boogie" — — "Vapours" 2017 — — "Moon" 2018 — — "Mysterious Girl" (with Rowen Reecks) — — "Us" 2019 — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

Other charted songs Title Year Peak chart positions AUS "The Scientist" 2012 75 "What's Love Got to Do with It" 118 "Red" 91

Music videos Title Year Director(s) "You" 2013 Toby Angwin "You're Beautiful" 2014 "Live Louder" "Always Be Yours" 2015 Nik Kacevski "Vapours" 2017 Epik Films

Tours Headlining The X Factor Live Tour (2013) Most Played Australian Work

ARIA Music Awards The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. 2014 "You" Song of the Year 2015 "Live Louder" Song of the Year

World Music Awards The World Music Awards was an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event is based in Monte Carlo. It ran from 1989 to 2008, 2010 and 2014.

World's Best Male Artist World's Best Live Act World's Best Entertainer of the Year

World's Best Song World's Best Video