Sheldon Riley
Sheldon Hernandez (born 14 March 1999), known by his stage name Sheldon Riley, is an Australian singer. He is scheduled to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with his song "Not the Same". Early life. Riley was born in Sydney to an Australian mother and Filipino father. He grew up in the Gold Coast. Career. 2016–2020: "The X Factor", "The Voice", and "America's Got Talent". In 2016, Riley, who then performed under his full name Sheldon Hernandez, auditioned for the eighth season of "The X Factor Australia" with the songs "Circle of Life" by Elton  John and "Ordinary People" by John Legend. He originally participated in the 14-21s category, which was mentored by Adam Lambert, and was eliminated as a solo artist at the bootcamp stage of the competition. Riley returned to The X Factor after the mentor of the groups category, Iggy Azalea, selected him to be a part of a new boy band of eliminated solo artists. The band was called "Time and Place" and its members, in addition to Sheldon Hernandez, included Sami Afuni, Matthew McNaught, and Leon Kroeber. The group was selected as one of Iggy Azalea's three acts  moving on to the live shows following the three-chair challenge. They were eliminated in the first week of the live shows. In 2018, Riley appeared in the seventh season of "The Voice Australia". He auditioned with the song "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" by Culture Club. All of the four judges turned their chairs and Riley chose Boy George to be his coach. Riley made it to the grand finale of the show and finished in third place. Immediately following the grand finale, Sheldon released "Fire" via Universal Music Australia. In 2019, Riley returned to The Voice  to compete in its eighth season as an all-star contestant. Riley auditioned with "Frozen" by Madonna and received chair turns from both eligible coaches. He chose Delta Goodrem as his coach. He was eliminated in the semi-final of the show. In 2020, Riley competed in the fifteenth season of America's Got Talent. He auditioned with the song "Idontwannabeyouanymore" by Billie Eilish. He was eliminated in the third quarter-final of the season. 2021–present: Eurovision Song Contest. On 26 November 2021, he was announced as one of the participants in the "Eurovision – Australia Decides". Later, it was  announced that his song for the contest was called "Not the Same", which released on 15 February 2022. He won the show with 100 points and is scheduled to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin. Personal life. Riley is openly gay. He was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at age six. He currently lives in Melbourne.