On April 13, 2010, Walker released his second single in New Zealand titled, "Unbroken" and later in Australia on April 20, 2010. The single was written and produced by Ryan Tedder and is the lead single from his second studio album, From the Inside Out. The album is set to be released on August 20, 2010
Walker was born on 23 October 1990 in Melbourne, Australia, but Walker and his family moved back and forth from Australia to New Zealand, spending relatively equal periods of his life in both countries. He is of MΔori descent. In New Zealand, Walker's heritage tribes is Nga Potiki (a sub tribe of Maunga-Pohatu and NgΔi Te Rangi from the city of Tauranga). During Walker's childhood his father was often abusive, which led to him smoking marijuana and thieving. Walker says his passion for music and his church made him a "good boy" again. Before Walker had entered Australian Idol in 2009, he was a shop assistant at a menswear shop in Coolangatta, Queensland where his family currently lives.
In 2009, Walker auditioned for the seventh season of Australian Idol, singing "Ordinary People" by John Legend at his Brisbane audition. He received praise from the judges with Marcia Hines applauding him and stating: "You've got a beautifully house cat voice... it resonates [and] this whole room was captivated by your voice. You coulda heard a penny drop and that to me is what a great artist is.".He progressed through to the theatre rounds receiving more recognition from the judges with Kyle Sandilands saying, after his second round performance of Kings of Leon's song Use Somebody, "You're the only person after the auditions that I ever told anyone about; family, friends other people that I run into. I only told them about you."After all three theatre rounds were over, it was announced that Walker made it into the top-twenty four. In the top twenty-four semi-finals Walker was part of the first group of performers and sang "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys. The judges were impressed with his performance with all three judges praising his vocal skills but Marcia and Dicko told him not to get side-tracked while singing but letting it flow naturally. The following evening they announced the first two contestants to be put through to the top twelve according to viewer votes. The first contestant through was Walker who praised God for making it through alongside fellow contestant Kate Cook. The judges were pleased with the result with Springbett telling them to get ready for the hard work.
Throughout the season Walker was praised continually for his voice and for the daring choices he took with his song choices. During the season the contestants were mentored by established artists including Suzi Quatro, Liza Minnelli, Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Michael BublΓ© and Pete Wentz. After his performance of Miley Cyrus' "The Climb" the judges including Joel and Benji Madden were left speechless. Joel stated that listening to Walker sing made him want to sing R&B music and Benji stating that he would watch him perform whether he won the competition or not. After his R&B influenced performance of "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor guest judge Pete Wentz stated that he had heard about him from Joel Madden and that if he had no where to go after Idol to give him a call. While being mentored by Michael BublΓ©, after being put through to the final 2, the singer compared his voice to Walker stating: "When he sang to me I wanted to kick him a little bit! Really, I just thought why am I here... 'cause I'm gonna sound like crap singing next to Stan... that voice is like God kissed [his] throat... it's hard when you're a singer and you meet... a better singer than you and you have to come up and mentor them..." Additionally he told Walker that he would like to introduce him to his producers because his voice would blow them away.That night he also performed his winner's single "Black Box" live for the first time. One of his most highly praised performances was of the Prince song Purple Rain which received a standing ovation from the judging panel and the audience. Marcia Hines praised him for his choice to sing accapella at the end of the song while Jay Dee Springbett said that "... it was a moment and you know, I didn't hear it, I felt it brother..."
On November 22, 2009 Walker and fellow finalist Hayley Warner took to the stage at the Sydney Opera House for the Australian Idol grand final. During the night he performed with the top twelve singing Take Back the City by Snow Patrol, as well as a solo of It's a Man's Man's Man's World and did a special performance with Michael BublΓ© and Warner of Feeling Good. After the viewer votes had been tallied it had been announced that the winner of Australian Idol 2009 was Stan Walker. A shocked and emotional Walker gave a speech saying: "I just want to thank God, man. Hey, I want to thank my family for coming and supporting me. My family they came from New Zealand..." Only a day after winning the competition, Walker stated that he was ready to take the music industry by storm. Stan said that, "I'm ready to make music, and I'm ready to start my career and just give it everything I've got".
After coming out of Australian Idol as the winner he was signed to Sony Music as well as an artist's development fund worth AUD$200,000. During this time he established his own company called Stan Walker Music Pty Ltd, which is run by his mother April. The company was set up in order to negotiate his contract with Sony Music and not end up like past Idol contestant Damien Leith who claimed he didn't make any money from from his "Winners Journey" release. Walker's debut album was recorded in just two days and released on December 9, 2009 three days ahead of its original release date. The album featured all the songs which he performed during Australian Idol as well as his winner's single "Black Box" and a new song called "Think of Me" which was produced by Guy Sebastian. The first single from the album, "Black Box", was officially released on 25 November 2009. It debuted and peaked at #2 on the ARIA Charts, and peaked at #1 on the New Zealand Singles Chart with double platinum certification in Australia and New Zealand. "Introducing... Stan Walker" was received well so far peaking at number-three on the Australian albums chart and number-two on the New Zealand albums chart for seven weeks, also achieving platinum status in Australia and double platinum in New Zealand.
During the last few stages of 2009, Walker began working on his second studio album. "Unbroken", the lead single from Walker's second studio album, From the Inside Out, was written and produced by Ryan Tedder and was released in New Zealand on April 13, and released in Australia on April 20. Walker performed the new single in Pukekohe, New Zealand. The single debuted on the New Zealand Singles Chart on 19 April 2010, a week after its release, at number 29. It later peaked at number 9. On 2 May 2010, "Unbroken" entered the Australian ARIA Charts at number 27 and has since then peaked at number 23 on the Australian Singles Charts which only include Australian artist singles it peaked at number 3, and also reached number 7 on the Australian Urban Charts. The single received a gold certification in Australia for sales of over 35,000 copies. Walker has also once again worked with Lucas Secon and the team who wrote Black Box on a new track called "FaithFool". On June 15 2010, New Zealand rapper, Young Sid released a single titled, "Stuck In A Box" which features Walker. On June 29 2010, Walker released an exclusive video message on his official YouTube channel to his fans, announcing that the album would be released on August 20 and the second single to be released from the album is titled, "Choose You", which was written by Australian singer, Cassie Davis. On 26 July 2010, "Choose You" debuted on the New Zealand Singles Chart at number seven.
Purple Rain
Stan Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never meant to cause you any pain.
I only wanted to one time see you laughing.
I only wanted to see you laughing in the purple rain.
Purple rain, Purple rain
Purple rain, Purple rain
Purple rain, Purple rain
I only wanted to see you bathing in the purple rain.
I never wanted to be your weekend lover.
I only wanted to be some kind of friend.
Baby I could never steal you from another.
It's such a shame our friendship had to end.
Purple rain, Purple rain
Purple rain, Purple rain
Purple rain, Purple rain
I only wanted to see you underneath the purple rain.
Honey I know, I know, I know times are changing.
It's time we all reach out for something new,
That means you too.
You say you want a leader,
But you can't seem to make up your mind.
I think you better close it,
And let me guide you to the purple rain.
Purple rain, Purple rain
Purple rain, Purple rain
If you know what I'm singing about up here.
C'mon raise your hand.
Purple rain, Purple rain
I only want to see you, only want to see you.
The song Purple Rain by Stan Walker is a love song that is seeking to find the emotional connection with his love interest through the experience of purple rain. He starts off by apologizing for whatever hurt he might have caused, whether it was intentional or unintentional. However, his intention is not malicious and he just wanted his love interest to laugh to put them at ease. He desires to see his lover laugh or smile, even if it's only once, and wants to experience it in the purple rain.
Further into the song, Walker expresses his intentions to be a friend rather than a weekend lover to his love interest. He acknowledges that he could never make his love interest cheat on their significant other and ended up losing the friendship. Through the song, the message is clear that he just wants to make his love interest happy and for them to experience something new together. He wants to take the lead and show his love interest the purple rain.
The song is much deeper than just a love song as it also calls its listeners to action. He indirectly hints at the racial inequalities that existed in the country and the need to make a change. He calls for all of us to reach out for something new and seek change, including his love interest. The song may have been written in 2018, but the message is still relevant today.
Line by Line Meaning
I never meant to cause you any sorrow.
I didn't intend to make you feel bad.
I never meant to cause you any pain.
I didn't mean to hurt you.
I only wanted to one time see you laughing.
All I wanted was to bring a smile to your face once.
I only wanted to see you laughing in the purple rain.
I wanted to see you happy and carefree even amidst the trials in life.
I only wanted to see you bathing in the purple rain.
I wanted to see you relax and rejuvenate, surrounded by the beauty of the purple rain.
I never wanted to be your weekend lover.
I didn't want casual flings, but something deeper and meaningful.
I only wanted to be some kind of friend.
I just wanted to be your friend, to be there for you, no strings attached.
Baby I could never steal you from another.
I was not looking to break up any relationship.
It's such a shame our friendship had to end.
It's regretful that we couldn't remain friends.
Honey I know, I know, I know times are changing.
I understand that times are changing and everything is constantly evolving.
It's time we all reach out for something new, That means you too.
It's important for everyone to seek out new things, yourself included.
You say you want a leader, But you can't seem to make up your mind.
You claim you want someone to show you the way, but are indecisive.
I think you better close it, And let me guide you to the purple rain.
I suggest you stop overthinking and allow me to help uncover the beauty life has to offer.
If you know what I'm singing about up here. C'mon raise your hand.
If you relate to what I'm saying, show your support by raising your hand.
I only want to see you, only want to see you.
All I desire is to see you, simply for who you are.
Contributed by Lillian O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
xxssfh
never meant to cause you any sorrow.
I never meant to cause you any pain.
I only wanted to one time see you laughing.
I only wanted to see you laughing in the purple rain.
Purple rain, Purple rain
Purple rain, Purple rain
Purple rain, Purple rain
I only wanted to see you bathing in the purple rain.
I never wanted to be your weekend lover.
I only wanted to be some kind of friend.
Baby I could never steal you from another.
It's such a shame our friendship had to end.
Purple rain, Purple rain
Purple rain, Purple rain
Purple rain, Purple rain
I only wanted to see you underneath the purple rain.
Honey I know, I know, I know times are changing.
It's time we all reach out for something new,
That means you too.
You say you want a leader,
But you can't seem to make up your mind.
I think you better close it,
And let me guide you to the purple rain.
Purple rain, Purple rain
Purple rain, Purple rain
If you know what I'm singing about up here.
C'mon raise your hand.
Purple rain, Purple rain
I only want to see you, only want to see you.
Stacy Miller
best cover I've heard of this song!! most others are so flat. smashed it Stan!!
Endless space.
He is vey good but the best cover i ever heard is Dami im, she sings with such power and no frills with out going into falesetto and no Autotune.
Haren Russel Samson Makaea
There was a Maori guy on homai te pakipaki.. Took out the comp singing this waiata.. His missus sure proud.. He was mean..
Shay Mary
this cover is brilliant! Stan Walkers voice always gives me chills!
FUNTUNZ
One of the best versions of this song...RIP Prince!
Venus Waddington
FUNTUNZ hi
Lulu Manaena
FUNTUNZ your right Prince would love this version
Vivita Matanimeke
FUNTUNZ wholeheartedly agree
Karen Williams
Wish I could sing like Stan, the voice isΒ so succinct and true!
Maddison Bree Lawson
He's fantastic, keep it up Stan!