The focus of hit television show The Voice is on the contestants and high profile ‘coaches’, but behind the scenes it’s a former Albury musician who plays an integral role.
Scott Aplin returns for the program’s eighth season as Music Director and says it’s shaping up to be a great season.
“We’ve already filmed a good section of the show,” Scott said.
“I don’t know how all these great singers keep coming out of the woodwork, but we’ve got such incredible singers again this year.
“There’s also a little slip to the format where we’re bringing in some all-stars, some people that are fantastic singers from previous seasons who will come and compete against the newcomers. It’s going to be great to watch.”
Scott’s role involves organising all the music for the show, getting the band together, working with producers and tailoring arrangements to suit the needs of individual singers.
“It’s a really fast paced show when it gets going,” Scott said.
“Across the course of the show we do about 300 songs per season which is an immense amount of songs to perform. So while we’re actually performing in one round, we’re also getting ready for the next round as well, so there’s quite a lot of music going around.”
There’s a slight change to the judges this year, with Guy Sebastian joining the show.
“It’s great to have two Australians with Delta Goodrem and Guy Sebastian,” Scott said.
“It’s fantastic to have Guy in the seat. He’s really knowledgeable and brought a lot of really interesting comments already which we’re finding fascinating. The camaraderie and the competition between the four judges is great. Existing coaches Boy George and Kelly Rowland are there as well.”
After eight seasons of working on The Voice, it’s not surprising Scott’s witnessed a few ‘diva’ moments on set.
“I’ve seen a few yes, and this year I think there’ll be a couple that make it to air,” Scott said.
There’s been no rest for the talented musician, who is also involved in another program, The Recording Studio on the ABC.
“We filmed this lovely little show late last year which is just going to air now,” Scott said.
“It’s much more intimate than The Voice, focussed basically on people who come in and have a reason for recording a song in a studio. We get in really great producers, bands, orchestras and all sorts of different things to really give them a recording experience like no other. They leave with an amazing experience and an amazing recording.”
The former Albury High School student doesn’t take for granted the opportunities that continue to come his way.
“This wasn’t on the radar back in my school days,” Scott said.
“I knew I wanted to do music but didn’t really know where it would take me. It’s quite a dream to get to this point.”
For more on The Voice: https://9now.nine.com.au/the-voice
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