It’s Smokin Joe!

Teenage guitarist ‘Smokin’ Joe Robinson has won the series title in Australia’s Got Talent. He beat singer guitarist 13yo Jourdain.

The 16yo wins $250,000 for his skills.

Dannii said “The talent is there, the personality is there. We just want him to have a world stage.”

“This young man shows such great musicality,” said Tom Burlinson. “A rare find. A true star of the future.”

Jourdain sang “Walkin in Memphis.”

“He took on the challenge, he got turned away and came back,” said Dannii. “He won our hearts.”

Red said, “You’ve earned it fair and square, from the general public.”

“This young man has a very special quality,” said Tom Burlinson. “He oozes potential.”

Press Release:
SMOKIN JOE ROBINSON, self taught 16 year old guitarist from New South Wales, has won AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT and the top prize of a quarter of a million dollars!

Judge’s Dannii Minogue and Red Symons overruled Tom Burlinson back in the second Semi Final and put Deb ‘Spoons’ Perry through to the Grand Final. The Australian public made their feelings known back then and voted him through as their choice for the Grand Final. The Australian public spoke loud and clear again tonight voting him their favourite act in the competition and the winner of AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT.

SMOKIN JOE ROBINSON and JOURDAIN were the last two acts remaining after Deb Spoons Perry, Grace Bawden, Aaron Smyth, Shift 1, Mietta and Halls Taekwondo were eliminated from the competition.

SMOKIN JOE (Joe Robinson) lives in Temagog – a town of less than 200 people just outside of Kempsey New South Wales – with his Mum, Dad, younger brothers Toby, Simon and sister Chloe.

He first played the piano at six and hated it. Moving on to guitar at ten he immediately fell in love with the instrument. In Year 10 Joe was waking up at 4am everyday to practice guitar until he had to catch the school bus at 7:30am. He’d sleep on the bus for an hour, practice guitar again at recess and lunchtimes and then again for 3-4 hours after school.

Joe knew something had to give if he was truly going to follow his passion, so over 12 months ago he quit school to concentrate on his guitar playing full time. For the last six years he has taught himself every single note from any avenue he could get his hands on – the internet, loaned instructional videos – and believes he has more of a natural passion for music rather than a natural ear.

Joe said ‘My friends are passionate about different things in their lives too – footy, swimming – but I was always kind of the odd one out as I just loved guitar so so much. I didn’t go out with my mates on weekends as I was busy playing gigs or travelling to watch gigs; 100 per cent committed to learning more’

‘Guys like Tommy and Phil Emmanual have taken me under their wings a bit. They are my absolute heroes. I feel very fortunate to have even shared a stage with them’ Joe said

‘To win this competition is truly incredible. It justifies and validates the path I have chosen. Australia’s Got Talent is pretty much the only variety show on the telly at the moment and it has enabled me to be able to get the music of the Emmanuals to a new audience – a new generation – and I feel really strongly about that. They are amongst the greatest players in the world, but they’re not rich guys. They’ve devoted their lives to making and playing music more accessible to people like me’.

Music runs in the Robinson family with Joe’s mum Kathy a drummer in bands while pregnant with him and his Dad plays the banjo.

Joe’s Mum Kathy said ‘Everything up until now is a result of Joe’s hard work. We’ve never really bought him anything. He’s had to work hard and pay for everything to help him along the way. He’s a great example of if you follow your dreams and do something you are absolutely passionate about everything else falls in to place. We just couldn’t be prouder of him’.

Money from gigs and busking over the last 12 months has paid for a ticket for Joe to travel to Nashville to record an album of originals, which Joe’s hard work is also financing. He has also bought his Mum a ticket to join him. He plans to invest his unexpected $250,000 AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT prize money in to real estate and buy his Mum ‘a brand new schmick vacuum cleaner’ after hers broke a few months ago.

AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT has been a certified hit for Channel Seven on Tuesday nights – last week with an average audience of 1.74 million.