Jack Vidgen's private battle: "It just wasn't healthy anymore"
Former child star Jack Vidgen has returned to music as he auditioned on The Voice on Sunday night.
In the blind auditions, the now 22-year-old entertainer wowed the judges with his rendition of Adele’s Hello, turning all four chairs. When it came to picking his coach, Vidgen chose Guy Sebastian.
“I don’t want to make you silly promises, but what I really want to do is help you fall in love with music again,” Sebastian told Vidgen backstage.
'There’s a lot of expectations on you at a young age but you owe nobody anything right now. Look out for you and just be you' - Welcome to #TeamGuy @JackVidgen ✌️ #TheVoiceAU pic.twitter.com/jFS5VweYCl
— The Voice Australia (@TheVoiceAU) June 2, 2019
In the lead-up to his comeback to television, Vidgen shared the events he has gone through since winning Australia’s Got Talent in 2011.
He said “life was hard” after he took the first place at the show.
“I remember doing an interview and they asked me if I have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, and I remember feeling like, ‘Oh my god, does someone know something?’” he told The Voice producers.
“It was so weird to be asked that and not knowing how to answer it. I was going through puberty in front of the whole country. But when you’re trying to work out whether you’re gay or not, it’s not the easiest thing to do.”
In an interview with Who, Vidgen also revealed that he fled to LA at the age of 16 in an attempt to build his career there.
“I did it for a year and got to the point where I needed a break – I was putting so much pressure on myself,” he said.
“It just wasn’t healthy anymore. I had to step away. I had to come back home, I needed to do things like see my friends and hug my mum, see family and get normal jobs and live a normal life.”
When he returned to Sydney, he underwent surgery to remove a brain tumour behind his eyes.
“I have been trying to decide whether to go public with this and let all of you know (as it's not very pleasant news) but you guys have been a big part of the last 3 years of my life so here it is,” he wrote on his Facebook page at the time.
“First off I had to have an MRI on Monday after being referred by a specialist the Wednesday before, it showed there was a mass lesion (tumor) behind my eye. I then saw an Ocular Plastic Surgeon who said it had to come out urgently.”
Vidgen said he spent the following five years living a “normal” life.
“I studied and worked in different jobs like a receptionist, after school care, worked in aged care, retail and a deli, just wanting to sink my teeth into something normal because I had not lived a normal teenage life until this point.”
And now that he passed through the auditions on The Voice, Vidgen is back in the limelight.
Last month, the singer has come under fire for his changed looks. Vidgen told Confidential that he did not have any plastic surgery, but had his lips done with filler.
“The funny thing I see articles and people talking about it and for me it’s not a big deal,” he said.
“I think with these types of things it’s so common now, especially for people my age, it’s not a big deal. I see it like when you do your makeup or tattoo, it’s all the same.”