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 Māori descent. In New Zealand, Walker's heritage tribes is Nga Potiki (a sub tribe of Maunga-Pohatu and Ngāi 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 Bublé 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 Bublé, 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 Bublé 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.
the climb
Stan Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"
Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going
And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on
'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody's gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!
Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa
The song "The Climb" by Stan Walker is all about overcoming one's struggles and pushing through the difficult times. The lyrics depict a dream that the singer is chasing, but there is a voice inside his head that tells him he will never reach it. He feels lost and without direction, but he keeps pushing forward with the hopes of achieving his dreams. The lyrics use the metaphor of climbing a mountain to symbolize the journey of life and the obstacles that we face along the way.
The song's chorus "There's always gonna be another mountain, I'm always gonna wanna make it move, always gonna be uphill battle, sometimes I'm gonna have to lose" is a powerful message of perseverance and resilience. It reminds us that life is not easy, but we have to keep going and keep pushing through the struggles. The song also emphasizes the importance of having faith and holding onto hope during difficult times.
Overall, "The Climb" is an uplifting and motivational song that inspires listeners to keep moving forward despite the challenges that they may face. It encourages us to embrace our struggles, learn from our mistakes, and never give up on our dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
I can almost see it
The dream I am pursuing is almost within reach
That dream I am dreaming
I am pursuing a dream that I really want to achieve
But there's a voice inside my head saying "You'll never reach it"
Despite my strong desire to achieve my dream, I have doubts and negative thoughts that hinder me from reaching it
Every step I'm taking
Every action I am taking towards my dream
Every move I make feels
The actions I take feel aimless and without direction
Lost with no direction
I feel lost and confused about how to make progress towards my dream
My faith is shaking
I am losing my confidence and belief in my ability to achieve my dream
But I gotta keep trying
Despite my doubts, I know I need to continue making an effort to achieve my dream
Gotta keep my head held high
I need to stay positive and confident in order to keep pursuing my dream
There's always gonna be another mountain
There will always be more challenges and obstacles to overcome
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
No matter how difficult it gets, I will always strive to make progress towards my dream
Always gonna be a uphill battle
The journey towards my dream will always require hard work and effort
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Occasionally, setbacks and failures are a part of the path to achieving my dream
Ain't about how fast I get there
Speed is not the most important factor in achieving my dream
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
What I will achieve once I reach my dream is not the most important thing
It's the climb
The journey towards my dream is what is truly important
The struggles I'm facing
The difficulties I am encountering along the way
The chances I'm taking
The risks I am taking to pursue my dream
Sometimes might knock me down
Sometimes I might face significant obstacles that set me back
But no, I'm not breaking
Despite facing obstacles, I am not losing my resolve to pursue my dream
I may not know it
I might not fully realize it yet
But these are the moments that
These challenging times are the ones
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
That I will reflect back on most strongly
Just gotta keep going
I need to keep moving forward, no matter what obstacles I face
And I, I got to be strong
I need to stay strong and resilient in the face of challenges
Just keep pushing on
I need to keep making an effort to achieve my dream, even if it is difficult
'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
There will always be more obstacles to overcome
Somebody's gonna have to lose
Not everyone who pursues their dream will succeed
Keep on moving, keep climbing
I need to keep making an effort, and keep pushing forward towards my dream
Keep the faith, baby
I need to stay confident and positive that I can achieve my dream
It's all about, it's all about the climb
The journey towards my dream is what is truly important
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa
I need to stay confident and positive that I can achieve my dream
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jessi Leigh Alexander, Jon Clifton Mabe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind