Soulful singer Stan Walker has always had his eye on a spot in Idol. «I was in New Zealand and we were watching Guy Sebastian and I said to myself, I want to do that one day — I had the song prepared and everything. And I did it exactly how I wanted to do it, exactly,» Stan says of his eventual Idol audition this year. «I went in and I was just being me and now I'm living it!»

Growing up in Australia and New Zealand, Stan experienced some troubled times and credits music and God for steering him in the right direction. «I'm still loud and kooky but I'm not how I was like when I was little,» says Stan. «I was a little snot! I was always the naughtiest at every school; every school I've been to, I've been suspended. But now I'm a good boy!»

«You learn from every mistake, you learn from every battle and from every little circumstance that happens,» says Stan of the difficulties he faced growing up. «Some people don't grow, some people do and I'm one who grew from it.»

The 18-year‑old shop assistant, who lives in Coolangatta, Queensland with his family, says he has always been musical but before Idol, has mostly only sung in church. «It lets you be calm and be happy again,» explains Stan of his connection to music.

As for his bright future, Stan says, «I want to live by actions and not by words. I want to be an example for those who have been and who are in the same position that I've been in, back in the past, so I want to live by example. I want to be an ambassador for broken people who come from the dark into the light.»

Coming from a large family, Stan's also keen to produce one of his own, joking that one of his musical idols will be the lady to help him do so. «Marry Beyonce and have children,» laughs Stan of his future plans. «I want to get married; I want to have seven kids because I come from a big family. I wanted ten, but seven is logical.»