Dean Geyer Biography

Dean Stanley Geyer (born 20 March 1986 in Johannesburg, South Africa) finished third on Australian Idol 2006. He made his television debut on 6 August; during the season commencement of Australian Idol 2006. He was the first auditionee who was accepted into the Top 100 by the panel of judges. Since joining the cast of Australian Idol, Dean has won many fans not only for his good looks but also his stage presence, personality, great voice and musical style.

In the lead up to the finals, Geyer was extremely popular and was selected by both Mark Holden and the then ex Australian Idol judge Ian Dickson as their favorites for winning the competition. They echoed the views by music critics who said Dean did not have an extroardinary voice - but was popularized by his sexy looks and attractive personality.

On December 10, 2006 it was announced that Geyer had secured a recording contract with SonyBMG along with fellow idol, Jessica Mauboy. According to Denis Handlin, they will both have releases out mid 2007.

Background

Geyer was born into a family with two sisters (Jessica and Tatum) in Johannesburg, South Africa to parents Debbie and Keith.

He moved to Melbourne, Australia, at 15 years of age and commenced his schooling by going to Melbourne High School, a select-entry school for boys. He finished his Victorian Certificate of Education from MHS in 2004.

Geyer's family have a strong connection to martial arts, with members from previous and current generations gaining 'black-belts' in karate. Following in family tradition, Dean also attained his black-belt when he was only 13 years old.

Geyer's interest in music started during his early teens. He learned to play the guitar, and his ability was showcased during the Australian Idol audition where he played a self-composed piece entitled "Nice to Meet You". His two music idols are Bon Jovi and Marc Cohn.

Dean has also done modelling in the past for the 2006 Vodka Cruiser Bodyline Calendar, 2007 Bodyline Men Calendar and has posed for both TV Week and New Weekly magazines.

Australian Idol

After some experience in the music scene, Geyer decided to audition for the fourth series of Australian Idol. He auditioned in his hometown of Balwyn, a suburb of Melbourne. After singing a commercial pop song, "Walking In Memphis", which impressed the judges, Geyer played a self-composed piece called "Nice to Meet You". This song was lauded with praise by the three judges, and they unanimously sent him through to the Top 100.

Dean Geyer was the first contestant who was officially accepted by Idol into the top 100. Likewise, due to the rules changing in Idol, Geyer was allowed to accompany himself on guitar. On 17 October, 2006, Dean Geyer became the first person in world "Idol" history to be allowed to sing an original composition, "Change", during an "Up Close and Personal" show.

During the 'culling' rounds held in Sydney, where the Top 100 are cut down to the Top 24, Geyer survived to reach the next round. On the second day of this culling process, Geyer was put into a group with Chris Murphy (brother of Australian Idol 2 star, Courtney Murphy). They chose to sing the U2 smash hit, "Beautiful Day". Both passed through to the next round.

On the 28 August, Dean was the second contestant voted into the top 12.

Dean's performance of Ryan Cabrera"s "On the Way Down" on 15 October received a "touchdown" from judge Mark Holden.

In his final 8 performance of Turn the Beat Around included a front handspring by Dean off the side of the stage and a backflip at the end of his performance.

On November 12 Dean received a second Touchdown from Mark Holden after his performance of Edwin McCain 's "I'll Be". Mark also said that that performance was a number one hit. Even with that, Geyer was eliminated from the show on November 13, after receiving the lowest amount of votes from home viewers.

Dean has a tattoo of an African flag between his shoulder blades.

Interview with Christian media

In an interview with the Christian30 Countdown, Dean Geyer publicly described how he would bring God into media. He described how Christianity was slowly becoming popularized - as it should be, and the y-generation was more accepting of Jesus than previous generations. He also spoke of the momentum of God behind youth events such as Youth Alive and Planetshakers. He said, even though some of his friends had never been to Church, they knew about media mongul Church Hillsong. He also gave mention to Jesse McCartney, who is a born-again Protestant Christian.

Dean Geyer was harshly criticized by the judges on Australian Idol for his nice boy performances, in particular the remake of the song Dare You To Move by Switchfoot.

Australian Idol Performances

• Melbourne Auditions - "Nice to Meet You" by Dean Geyer (original composition)
• Group Performance - "Beautiful Day" by U2
• Solo Performance - "On the Way Down" by Ryan Cabrera
• Top 24: Semi-Finals (Group 1) - "If You Could Only See" by Tonic
• Top 12: Contestant's Choice - "For You I Will (Confidence)" by Teddy Geiger
• Top 11: Rock Night - "Shimmer" by Fuel
• Top 10: #1 Hits - "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls
• Top 9: Songs from Year of Birth - "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi
• Top 8: Disco Hits - "Turn the Beat Around" by Gloria Estefan
• Top 7: Acoustic - "On the Way Down" by Ryan Cabrera TOUCHDOWN !
• Top 7: Up Close & Personal Special - "Change" by Dean Geyer (original composition)
• Top 6: Rock Swing - "Mustang Sally" by The Commitments
• Top 5: ARIA Hall of Fame - "Everytime You Cry" by John Farnham & Human Nature
• Top 4: Audience Choice - "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot
• Top 4: Audience Choice - "Savin' Me" by Nickelback
• Top 3: Dean's Choice - "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain TOUCHDOWN !
• Top 3: Judges' Choice - "Waiting On the World to Change" by John Mayer

Post Idol

Dean, as well as Idol runner up Jessica Mauboy have been signed to SonyBMG and both will release their debut albums in mid this year.

Awards

• TREV Awards (Tertiary Recreation Entertainment Victoria) - Best Acoustic Act - James Dean (Dean Geyer's Band)
• Dean was voted second in the hottest Aussie guy on television in Australian TV Week reader poll, with Paul O'Brien (Home and Away) taking first place.