By Sheree Hoddinett
While her time on Channel 7’s reality show Australian Idol has come to an end, we certainly haven’t seen the last of the very talented Kiani Smith (also known by her stage name Kiani Jazz). When we first saw Kiani’s audition air on television on February 6, no one could have imagined, let alone Kiani herself, that the Bribie youngster would make it all the way to the show’s top eight. Proving that age has nothing to do with your talent, at 17 Kiani showed Australia her sheer determination week after week until her final performance on March 11.
After calling Sydney home for six-and-half-weeks, Kiani was over the moon to finally return home to Bribie on March 13.
“While I’m grateful for the Australian Idol experience, it feels really good to be home,” she said. “I missed my own bedroom, my dog and everything at home.
“The support from everyone here on Bribie has been amazing and having people come up to me since I got back, it’s been really cool.”
Kiani’s Australian Idol journey all began last year when she came across an Instagram post advertising for audition videos.
“I thought it would be fun and something I would benefit from a lot,” Kiani said. “So, I did the audition and I heard back from them that I got through. It was really great.
“If I’m being completely honest I thought I might possibly get to the first audition and then that would be it, but to get to the top eight, it completely blew my mind.”
The musical future is already looking bright for Kiani who was just four-years-old when she started singing and seven when the guitar entered her world.
“My mum sings, but not in a serious way. When I was growing up she would sing around the house. My dad is actually the one that taught me how to play the guitar, so we’re a whole family band, even my brother plays instruments and sings a little bit too,” Kiani said.
A career in music is high on Kiani’s list, after leaving school last year, obtaining a Certificate III in Music at Tafe and culminating in her success on the Australian Idol stage. Following the whirlwind of being on a reality show, Kiani is taking a bit of a breather before getting back into gigs again.
“The whole month-and-a-half we were in Sydney was really great, but very tiring,” Kiani said. “I'm planning on maybe taking a week or so to myself and getting back into reality. And then from there, I'm just hoping that I can get some more gigs again. And hopefully some exciting news might come along in the meantime.”
“That would be a dream come true,” she said. “He’s more of a hidden artist and he’s a big supporter of mental health and makes a lot of songs about it as well.
“His music is really catchy and a lot of his songs have really nice meanings. It’s the type of music that I just love, folky kind of pop indie stuff and that's my favourite genre.”
More than just a talented singer and guitarist, Kiani is also a songwriter, using a mix of everything in her life as inspiration.
“I kind of play the guitar a little bit to start with, because every time I write a song I'll just muck around and find a little rhythm,” she said. “So, I’ll start playing that, then sing along with harmonies and then with the lyrics, which some people find really hard.
“I kind of just go off experiences I've had, or experiences people I know have had. I have a few songs that are about breakups. I've only been through one breakup, so I haven't got a lot of experience with that, but I know from other people what that feels like and I can put that in a song.
“And then I also write songs about movies, books and things like that. Just whatever speaks to me at the time. Like when I watched the new Hunger Games movie, then I wrote a song about that.”
Often referred to as the young one while on the show, Kiani certainly took it all in her stride, determined to prove she had what it took to be up there with everyone else.
“Everyone would be like, ‘oh, you're so good and you're only 17’ and it really hit me getting that far at such a young age. It was so crazy,” she said. “But I think as the show went on people started saying things like ‘you’re only 17, you have so much more time, you should just come back next year’ or ‘you’re not ready yet’ or ‘you’re not mature enough’ and then I started thinking maybe it isn’t so great that I’m 17! So, it was a mixed experience.
“If I could give advice to others out there, it would be don't let anyone or anything change you. Just stay true to who you are, making sure you know who you are as an artist and age does not matter. Especially for people my age, don't let age stop you being you or letting you do what you want to do. Age has got nothing to do with who you are and your talent.”
You can continue following Kiani’s journey via Facebook and Instagram (Kiani Jazz Music).
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