A 17-year-old Launceston pianist got the surprise of a lifetime when Guy Sebastian spotted him in the crowd at his Hobart concert last week and called him up on stage to perform.
CJ Jones, who lives in Trevallyn with his family, played Michael Jackson’s Bad to the crowd after Sebastian recognised him from their time together on the ABC TV show The Piano.
Sebastian was clearly impressed by the young musician during the show, describing him as “a whole band on that piano” and calling him “a beast”.
CJ has been playing piano since he was a toddler and said when he plays he feels “joy, pure joy”.
CJ’s dad, Scott Jones, said the family had no idea the concert moment was coming.
“We went down to the concert and then one of the ABC producers was there and noticed CJ in the crowd,” he told Pulse.
“She was walking with Guy and grabbed hold of Guy and said, ‘Oh, CJ’s here.'”
“Then Guy was like, ‘Oh my God, CJ’s here,’ and called him up on stage.”
Jones said his son chose the song because Sebastian had been asking the audience for requests and Michael Jackson kept coming up.
“It’s one thing to kind of think about being on an, a stadium stage,” Jones said.
“There’s another thing about actually getting up and doing it cold.”
He decided to chase it as a profession at 10 and by 12, he had booked himself into aged care homes around Launceston to build up his performing experience.
He has been almost permanently booked with those homes ever since.
CJ was accepted for the live rounds of Australian Idol but chose to appear on The Piano instead, where he caught Sebastian’s attention.
The young musician, who is homeschooled and practises close to six hours a day, has no formal conservatorium training.
That hasn’t slowed him down.
He has been invited to play with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra next month, which Jones said is a huge deal.
“From what I understand, CJ’s the first musician ever to grace the stage with these guys that’s not gone through the traditional method,” he said.
CJ was raised on a teaching method called Simply Music, which Jones said allows kids to play across all genres from the start rather than sticking strictly to classical.
Jones said his son didn’t always feel like he fit in at school or in society as a young child and expressed himself through music instead.
Now CJ wants to show other kids who feel the same way that there’s a path for them too.
His ultimate goal is to headline Wembley Stadium.
“Just highly proud that he made a decision at the age of 10 to do something and he followed through,” Jones said.
