Matt Gresham
Matthew Beau Gresham (born 22 September 1988), is an Australian singer and songwriter from Perth, Western Australia. He has supported Vera Blue, James Arthur, Guy Sebastian and Shane Filan. He defined his style as folk, blues, electronic and indie. He is best known for winning first place at the 2017 International Songwriting Competition and for his participation in The X Factor (Australia) (2013) and The Voice (Australia) (2020). Music career. 2006-2012: Independent Releases. In 2006, Gresham released his first album "The Recipe" on My Space. At the 2006 Western Australian Rock Music Industry Association Awards, his song  Happy Birthday Dave won the WAM Song of the Year in the Upper Secondary category. In 2008, Gresham released his first live album "Live". It was also known as "Good Times" and "Live at Bar Orient". In 2009, Gresham released "June". The album was recorded over a period of 9 months and was dedicated to his late grandmother June. Amazon reviewed the album saying ""June" shows Gresham at his melodic best, ranging from tender ballads to full-on rocking country and blues & roots numbers." In November 2012, Gresham released his third studio album, "See the World". 2013: The X Factor . After years of gigging around Fremantle, in 2013, Gresham auditioned for the fifth season of The X factor Australia. Gresham made it to the top 24, but decided he could not commit to the competition and was replaced by eventual winner Dami Im. In 2016, Gresham reflected "The show really helped me develop confidence and a strong work ethic but, in the end, it just wasn't the direction I wanted to go. But I don't regret it at all (leaving the competition): it was a great experience and I learnt a lot." In 2020, added "As a  creative, they (The X Factor contracts) don't give you much freedom when it comes to artistic direction which is the whole purpose of being in the arts. And they don't really tell until you're at the crunching point, where you have to make a choice." 2014-2019: International recognition. In May 2014, Gresham released the track "Whiskey". Gresham said the song is a reflection of a dark time in his life. "My partner had recently left me – we were married actually – and I was having trouble accepting that it was over – so the song, for me, was  a healing song; getting out all the heavy emotions that come along with a break-up." "Whiskey" won Song of the Year in the Blues and Roots category at the 2014 Western Australian Music Awards. In December 2014, Gresham released his fourth studio album, "The Beautiful Emptiness". Lukas Murphy from The Music said the album is "wrought with the tender emotions of a tragic journey through love and loss" adding "these songs are meaningful and profound, with wisdom, life and worlds of experience behind them" The songs on the album were recorded all around the world. In February 2016, Gresham  released "Small Voices", which was co-written with Los Angeles based producer Jaymes Young. Gresham said the original concept for the song was about his mother being forced to live a city life and how she missed mother nature, but the song evolved into a story about a man missing his daughter from a prison cell. In March 2016, Gresham played at the South by Southwest (SXSW). Shortly after, Gresham relocated to Berlin and signing with Warner Music Germany. In September 2016 Gresham released "Survive on Love", which was again, co-written with Young. It was shortlisted for the 2016  Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition and in 2017, won first place at the International Songwriting Competition (Unpublished Category). Gresham toured Australian on the Survive on Love tour across January and February 2017. In 2018, Gresham released the album, "Who Am I Now", which was proceeded by a number of singles. In August 2018, Gresham learned that his best friend Luke Liang took his own life aged 28 and Gresham struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Gresham said "It was tough. I didn't really know much about PTSD before I had it. I thought it was something that you  acquire from war or things like that." 2020: "The Voice". In 2020 Gresham auditioned for the ninth season of "The Voice Australia" where he joined team Delta Goodrem. He was eliminated in the battle rounds by saved by and joined team Guy Sebastian. He reached the top 20 before being eliminated from the competition. Immediately following his performance of "Who Am I Now?", the song and album trended. The song and album reached official charts the following week, peaking at number 1 on the Australian Indie chart and 3 on the Australian Digital Sales Chart. On 24 August 2020, Gresham  release "Hotel Floors", the lead single from his next studio album. Awards. WAM Song of the Year. The WAM Song of the Year was formed by the Western Australian Rock Music Industry Association Inc. (WARMIA) in 1985, with its main aim to develop and run annual awards recognising achievements within the music industry in Western Australia.