Matthew Hearne, The Voice 2024, is the “Cody Simpson of the Paralympics”

Matthew Hearne is one of the obscenely talented singers gracing our televisions on the latest season of The Voice Au.

He is a man of talents having represented Australia around the world with major roles in musical theatre.

Matthew was born with cerebral palsy and plays for the Pararoos - Australia’s national paralympic football team for athletes with cerebral palsy or acquired brain injury.

He caught up with Rod and Gabi to talk all things The Voice Au and The Paralympics.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Your podcast camera raps, great heating aboard this afternoon. A
lot of people watching the voice at the moment. Who's
the judge that the youngsters didn't known? Y? I guess
I can need to accept that some of the biggest
stars that we know, the kids aren't going to be
aware of yet.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, in Australia, she was only really big for that
time of Coyote Ugly Right, and it was huge at
the time, But young people don't.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Know that Leanne Rhymes is judging. And one of her
contestants came out last week and sang a Leanne Rhyme's song.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
That's a touughy.

Speaker 1 (00:31):
It's a huge error in judgment. You didn't get through.
She got up and sang with him, which was gross.
N So maybe that's some type of consolation prize. Our
next guest was a star on the show last night,
did not make the same mistake. He joined us now.
Congratulations Matthew Hearn, Oh.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
Thank you very much, thank you for having me. I
wasn't quite sure where you were going with the segway there,
but I liked the little turn at the end.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Well, how do you decide on the song because you
know you get one shot at this. I'm not trying to,
you know, come up with the lyrics to an M
and M the song, but it's arguably, you know, from
a potential career point of view, the single most important
choice that you'll make.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah, for sure. I mean I auditioning for the show,
I kind of knew that, you know, I was going
to be the musical theater guy. And when that's the case,
and I suppose with the way that my voice sort
of fits and the style of singing that I do,
this is the moment was sort of one of the

(01:31):
natural choices in terms of musical theater songs that have
kind of crossed over into the mainstream, particularly for lots
of Australian audience as well as well obviously Anthony Waller
making that song quite famous for a lot of Ozzies.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Okay, let's take a listen to this for a moment here,
because this was quite a performance.

Speaker 3 (01:53):
This is the moment.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
I've already got shivers when the crowd responds to your
first line like that, How does that feel? Because I
can imagine moments before that the heart rate is up.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Oh god, yeah, it's genuinely the most nervous that I've
ever been in my life, and I suppose having the
crowd on my side very early on. It's a nice feeling,
but in a way like once that adrenaline kicks in,
it's kind of hard to sort of ground myself on
stage and keep going through.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
And what you wouldn't have known is what the judges
faces were. So when you saw it on the screen
last night, I'm going to keep playing this for a
second over then, and their faces, their reaction, How did
you feel about seeing them for the first time last
night on the Telly?

Speaker 4 (02:48):
That was really cool?

Speaker 3 (02:49):
That was really cool.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
You're right, I you know, I.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
Sort of had only seen their reactions they when they
turned around and how.

Speaker 4 (02:56):
To look at me.

Speaker 3 (02:58):
It was really cool to see that.

Speaker 4 (02:59):
Obviously, I've watched the show play out for the first
week as well, and that was one of the things
that I was sort of like the most excited for
was sort of seeing what the coach's faces were going
to be like when I started.

Speaker 3 (03:11):
Singing and sort of like seeing them do their or
oh am I going to push the button now?

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Why not?

Speaker 1 (03:16):
Like that?

Speaker 3 (03:17):
That was a really cool thing that I was excited
to watch on the screen.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
Well, at this stage of the song, Adam and Guy
have sput around and now all four judges have finished.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
Turning around, and then it gets even better. It's just
such a fabulous song. You are incredible at singing it.
You had all four judges standing giving you a standing
ovation at the end, which is very hard to do
on the voys. But how did you feel because I
know that they're all pitching to have you on their team,
and then Kate Miller Hyde Key blocked Adam Lambert from

(03:54):
being able to claim you. Would you have got that
way if she hadn't have blocked you.

Speaker 3 (04:01):
Look, I kind of stepped on stage, I think in
myself knowing that if Cape or Adam turned around that
those were the two coaches Shore I would love to
go with. I think she I think she maybe would
have had me in the end regardless of the bloc.
But it was really special for them to both sort

(04:24):
of be turning around and pitching for me the way
that they were.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
Talk to us a little bit about your cerebral palsy, Matthew,
because obviously that doesn't affect your vocals, which are very
very strong. But you also played for the Para Ruse,
which is the Australia Australian national Paralympic football team. Is
that something that's happening at the Paralympics.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
It's not something that's happening in the Paralympics. So the
last time that Paralympics football was featured in the Paralympics
was twenty sixteen in Rio.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
I don't want to I don't.

Speaker 3 (04:57):
Want to put any words into any one's mouth, but
twenty thirty two, I think we'll be making quite a
strong pitch for it to come back for our Pareruse,
hopefully to be able to go and play on home soil.
The Parerusee was formed specifically for the Sydney Paralympic Games,
so that'd be a really cool sort of full circle
moment for the team if we could have that roll around.

(05:21):
But they are gearing up for a World Cup in
Spain later on this year, so definitely definitely a team
to get behind. It was a really proud moment for
me being up there representing them last night.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
Well let me tell you you go about to be
the Paralympic Cody Simpson representing your nation at the highest
ran and getting out there singing your family.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
You see Miley Cyrus on.

Speaker 1 (05:44):
Board, one thing at a time. I don't hear any
opposition here from Matthew. Your family looks so proud backstage, mate.
I can only imagine the journey they've been on with you,
and I hope you're really proud of that performance last
night too. We love seeing it and we can't wait
to follow you through the rest of the series.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
Absolutely, thank you guys so much for chatting to me
your podcast camera wrapped by