Guy Sebastian: ‘I was tempted not to come back'

When WHO sat down with X Factor Australia judge Guy Sebastian just weeks after the acrimonious 2015 season had wrapped, he admitted he was not thrilled with the way things turned out.

Tension between new judges James Blunt and Chris Isaak, in particular, took things to ugly new levels, and sexist barbs aimed at fellow judge Dannii Minogue caused further problems as well. So when time came to consider whether he would return for the new season—revamped and renamed X Factor: Next Generation—Sebastian admits that he was “definitely” tempted to turn down the offer.

Adam Lambert, Iggy Azalea and Guy Sebastian on set. *(Credit: Channel 7)*

“Not so much for those reasons,” he will admit, “but for my [next] album. The show can be pretty demanding. It’s a lot of work: choosing songs, finding cool versions, thinking of a great staging theme, getting contestants dressed … knowing we would have a shorter season this year due to the Olympics, and having new faces on the judging panel—those helped to bring me back. And I’m glad I did. I would have missed it.”

New additions Adam Lambert and Iggy Azalea—as well as a secret intruder judge who will be revealed shortly into the series’s run—win nothing but praise from Sebastian. “Adam is intelligent,” he says. “He has gone through this process, just as I did. The edge that gives us is that it makes us tough.” As for Azalea? “Iggy has the industry experience. She’s copped so much love and hate, and come out strong, so she’s gonna be honest.” A further warning: “She’s not an apathetic judge.”