By Luke Voogt
To say Taylor Henderson is “excited” about his upcoming national tour is an “understatement”, according to the multi-platinum Geelong singer-songwriter.
“I was so prepared for this year,” the 27-year-old told the Independent.
“We were on a roll four weeks in and then shows started getting postponed.
“A week goes by and absolutely everything’s cancelled for the whole year. I was actually laughing like, ‘is this really happening?’
“At the start you’re thinking, ‘what do I do’, then you’re just enjoying it, and then it gets to the point where you’re looking at the calendar and thinking, ‘this isn’t good’.
“I don’t like sitting comfortably for long.”
With his plans for an extremely busy 2020 on the road shattered by COVID-19, Henderson immersed himself in song-writing, recording and producing, penning “at least 30 songs”.
“You’re balanced between uncertainty, comfort and frustration – it’s a perfect time to write,” he said.
“At the start of the year I was telling my manager, ‘I’ve got no time to record’.
“Now I’m saying, ‘please get me on the road because all I’ve been doing is recording and writing!’”
While Henderson is set to do just that early next year, first he will hold a live stream event on Friday night including two new covers.
Henderson will play his own versions of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Hallelujah, and other hits, in an intimate, virtual performance for fans.
“We’ve shot some amazing video clips for them too,” he said.
“I kept singing [Hallelujah], and I sent it to dad and he said, ‘you should just release it.’ So I did!”
The show, beginning at 8pm, will be Henderson’s second time performing through online platform Bigo Live.
According to Bigo, the platform has 1.3 million Australian and New Zealand users and 400 million worldwide.
The platform has featured other Australian music stars including Stan Walker, Dami Im, Beau Monga and Timomatic.
“It’s such a thrill to be able to put on a second show after the success of the first one,” Henderson said.
“My team and I had the best experience working with Bigo.”
Henderson will travel to Melbourne for the show in a purpose-built room in the home of friend and producer Nick Marris.
“The first time testing it is in front of a live audience… so I can’t wait,” he laughed.
“Nick always makes everything sound good, so he’ll make it sound nice and crisp.”
A former contestant on The X Factor and Australia’s Got Talent, Henderson rose to fame with hits such as Borrow My Heart and Already Gone.
The livestream gig is a warm-up for his 2021 national tour, which promoters say will be the next stage of his evolution.
And in a special treat for fans, Henderson will open up the floor in an online question and answer session during the show.
“Feel free to fire any questions at me and I’ll answer them,” he said.
Details: www.bigo.tv/bigo_intro/en.html
