Catching up with the Mercury during a busy day of interviews, Anthony Callea is still audibly enthused to be a working musician.
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"I'm glad that I'm doing it, and I'm glad that I still get to do it," he said of press duties.
"I'm definitely not complaining. If I wasn't able to do it, then I'd be complaining."
Singer/songwriter and actor Callea is embarking on his 'Unplugged And Unfiltered' tour.
These performances will feature him performing live in a stripped-back setting, where he will showcase material from his recording career spanning 15 years and seven albums.
The former Australian Idol contestant's seventh album, ARIA #1 Hits in Symphony debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart in September 2017 and ensured that he sits alongside John Farnham, Keith Urban, Silverchair and Jimmy Barnes with three or more ARIA chart-topping albums.
He's also toured with the likes of Celine Dion, Diana Ross and Whitney Houston, and performed for the late Pavarotti, and Her Majesty, The Queen.
Despite his extensive CV, this will be his first unplugged tour.
"It's exciting for me, because I love live performance, I love live singing, this is my favourite thing to do in terms of my whole entire job," he said.
"You can coop me up in the studio, you can sit there and do interviews, but walking out on the stage and performing live totally live is what I love most. It's grand piano, it's acoustic guitar and there are a lot of stories to relive from the past 15 years, and my 36 years."
Callea said the show's "unfiltered" aspect "represents my Italian mouth and how at times, there's no filter between my head and mouth".
"There will be plenty of live singing, and a lot of inappropriate stories," he laughed.
Callea said he'd learnt key lessons since his days on the "massive platform" that was Australian Idol.
"I was young, I was 21 and I so overwhelmed by the whole process.
"I do remember people always saying, 'say this, do this, sing this, wear that'. As you get older and with more experience, and as you keep doing this, you realise that a lot of that is bullshit.
"You have to do what makes you feel good about yourself, and what is believable. If you put your name on an album or on a tour, you have to own it and you have to believe in it before anyone else does, because otherwise it's not genuine.
"So that's the 'unfiltered' part of the tour, just going with your gut instinct and being as open and honest as possible."
-Callea will perform at Anita's Theatre, Thirroul on Friday, July 12.