For Nathan Brake, performing Queen’s “We Are the Champions” during the Top 100 round of Australian Idol was a tribute to his family and a nod to some of his earliest performances.

“My pop and my grandma were really big Queen fans, so that’s where I got to know Queen and that’s why I did Queen, for my Pop,” explains Nathan. “My grandmother used to put on ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ and I always used to run up to the stereo and sing along to that when I was little.”

With a Dad who’s a singer and more singers on his mum’s side, it’s not a surprise Nathan was drawn to being a vocalist. “Music’s always been a part of me,” says the 18-year-old, who hails from Western Sydney. “I only really started to enjoy singing once I got a little bit older but I always loved music.”

Nathan credits his school, the Australian International Performing Arts High School, for making him both the performer and person he is now. An energetic kid, Nathan laughs that he was “like one of those kids that you see now with leashes.” His first year of high school wasn’t a positive experience for Nathan and he left to attend the newly opened performing arts school. At the music school which he went on to captain, Nathan had truly found his niche.

At the same time, this quietly confident performer always kept a close eye on Idol. “I’ve watched Idol since it began and watched it religiously since then. As soon as I could audition, I did last year but I didn’t get through to the judges,” says Nathan. “I came back this year and now I’m here. It’s a great opportunity and I’ve always seen it as that.”

“I’m just lucky and I’m hoping that I keep growing, learning what I’m learning and have a good time,” says Nathan of Idol and beyond. “I want to make a successful career out of music - to touch and inspire people like music’s inspired me.”