A music graduate of Maltese descent has passed on the baton in the popular Australian Idol TV talent contest to another participant with Maltese roots, but he says the experience was amazing. Daniel Mifsud, 23, found his way into Australian Idol after a phone call from a well-known Sydney singer telling him that the contest organisers were looking for new people and if he wanted to give it a try, they would be interested to have him for an audition. "I went on from there," he said with a heart-warming laugh.

At the audition Daniel interpreted Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing and all four judges immediately decided they wanted him on the show. Judge Marcia Hines told him: "I like what you did to it [the song]. You brought it into the 21st century".

Daniel told timesofmalta.com that he had never thought of going on Australian Idol until that phone call, while he was working on his own musical project. His decision to give it a try paid off quite nicely as he made it to the final six.

He impressed the judges with the broad, varied line-up of singers he considers to be his inspiration notably Hendrix but also Areetha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder. Daniel graduated a Bachelor of Music earlier this year from the University of New South Wales. He is a full-time singer and before contesting Australian Idol used to teach music in a primary school and did two to four gigs a week. He sings various genres and is currently into jazz and soul, but will soon be delving into rock and punk. When reading his degree, he studied classical music.

Born to a Maltese father and Greek mother, Daniel was raised in Sydney and feels music has been part of his life for ever."When you grow up with something like that, it just becomes part of you... part of your personality, part of your character." "I don't have a backup plan", he once said.

He learnt to play the clarinet while still in primary school. Now he plays the piano, guitar, and the saxophone. His first formal singing lesson when he was 14, but he had been singing from a much younger age. Daniel's father is himself a singer and has performed in Sydney and overseas. Daniel used to accompany him everywhere, including a trip to Malta in 1993 when they also performed. He has fond memories of the days he spent at Mellieha Bay with his cousins and second cousins. They only stayed for a couple of weeks, but "it was sad to leave", Daniel commented.

Recalling his experience in Australian Idol, Daniel said a lot of Maltese in Australia supported him through his journey. “The Maltese community was so great, and many used to sms me with encouraging messages.” The Mifsuds there also had a double reason for voting for Daniel. Australians tend to pronounce the ‘s’ in Mifsud before the ‘f’ (Misfud). "They used to tell me 'we'll be voting for you because we like you but also because people might finally get our surname right'" he said, laughing again.

Daniel was eliminated on October 22, in a night that was for him a cocktail of emotions. He felt sad because he was leaving strong friendships behind. But his sadness was soon replaced by laughter when, after his final performance, the remaining contestants carried him on their shoulders. "It was a lovely way to go out," he recalled, "no one had that [kind of exit] before".

He said the Australian Idol experience (click here) had given him a platform on which to perform and showcase his own music. It also gave him a wide profile and, nowadays, people in the street stop him for autographs and to say hello. Australian Idol has also put him into focus, he said. Whereas before he had a laid-back attitude his life is, now, very fast-paced. He doesn't want to miss any opportunity.

He said he would love to return to Malta to give a performance but his attention at the moment is on an Australian festival, Spirit of Soul, in which he has been invited to perform in January.

Another Maltese descendant, Natalie Gauci, is facing Matt Corby on the show's final night on Sunday evening (Sydney time). timesofmalta.com will be carrying an interview with Natalie after the competition is over (due to her contractual obligations).