Listen: Australia’s Got Talent alumni Timomatic (Tim Omaji) tells Hope 103.2 he’s looking forward to wrapping up the year with something positive
By Laura BennettMonday 30 Nov 2020Hope AfternoonsEntertainmentReading Time: 3 minutes
Christmas carol events are part and parcel of many of our Christmas traditions and, while some won’t be able to play out in the ways they usually do this year, some of Australia’s famous musical faces will gather online for the The Bestest Virtual Christmas Carols event.
Hosted by TV personality and recording artist Natalie Bassingthwaighte, taking the stage for the free event will be reigning The Voice winner Chris Sebastian, children’s entertainers The Fairies and Australia’s Got Talent alumni Timomatic (Tim Omaji), with Tim telling Hope 103.2 he’s looking forward to wrapping up the year with something positive.
“This has been a year when I can honestly say [I feel such] gratitude,” Tim said.
“At the start of the year I was at a place [thinking], ‘Is this what it’s going to be like now? Are we ever going to leave the house?’ It was really crazy.
“To be out on the other side – and in Sydney having a pretty normal-esque lifestyle in terms of movement – I can be nothing but grateful for the year, especially coming into Christmas, it’s the time to be thankful for what we have and hold onto that.”
Like so many other artists and singers, Tim had to abandon all he had in mind for 2020 and has been reflecting on how hard this year has been for the music industry.
“It’s been such an adjustment. There was so much planned for this year, and to kind of have that taken away without knowing when we’d get out if it was – at the start – quite scary,” Tim said.
“But, like us creatives do, we adapt. And if we can’t perform anywhere, we create. So I’ve spent the year kind of creating, and working on new material and these virtual concerts.”
He’s also felt a shift in the value we place on the creative industries during the pandemic, acknowledging that art and music is what many have turned to to cope, be entertained and be instilled with hope.
“The power of music and the healing that it has on our society is so important,” Tim said.
“Especially in Australia, we’ve seen that when the bushfires came and a lot of the artists banded together to support that. And I think you will see the creative side of us really stands up and supports everyone –because that’s what we need.”
Born in Nigeria, Tim’s Christmas will hold onto to many of his cultural traditions, which he says involves a lot of food.
“It’s traditional to either host a Christmas yourself, where friends and family come along or you kind of get invited to different Christmas events in the day,” he said.
“So you could have Christmas breakfast at someone’s house, then Christmas lunch at another person’s house and Christmas dinner at another person’s house again – so you can have a tour of Christmas in the day, and that is very enjoyable for me.”
The Best&Less Bestest Virtual Christmas Carols is being held on Sunday 6 December, 6.30pm AEDT, in support of the children’s education charity The Smith Family. Stream it Live via @BestandLess.