The Voice Archives - Kate Waterhouse

DATE WITH KATE: SONIA KRUGER

10th July, 2016

Sonia and I catch up at Bloom – The Healthy Food Company, Mosman

Sonia Kruger hosts The Voice Australia, whose live final airs tonight, and also hosts the morning TV program Today Extra. Kruger made her acting debut in 1992 as Tina Sparkle in the Baz Luhrmann film Strictly Ballroom and has since also hosted Dancing with the Stars and Big Brother Australia. Kruger is married to Craig McPherson, executive producer of Today Tonight, and the pair welcomed their first daughter, Maggie, in January 2015. After more than 20 years in the media industry, Kruger, 50, talks to me about motherhood, her “real screen kiss” with Dan Aykroyd and her most memorable blunder on live television.

The Voice final airs tonight. Who do you think will win?

It’s too hard to pick! All four artists are extremely talented and have all had incredible moments throughout the show. It’s up to Australia now to vote.

How do you prepare for the finale?

It’s a long day – meetings, rehearsals, hair and make-up, wardrobe and then the show … Sugar helps!

How will you celebrate tonight?

With a glass of champagne at the wrap party and a pair ugg boots at home!

If you were trying out for The Voice, which coach would you choose?

If I could sing [laughs] – which I can’t! I – would probably go with Ronan [Keating] or Delta [Goodrem]. Ronan has really surprised me this series. He is very forthright, especially when Jessie J has said something inadvertently that some people might think is a bit offensive. Ronan serves it back. He is a very easy person to talk to and he is really funny. Otherwise, I would pick Delta because she is our princess; she is one of the nicest people I have ever met. I love Delta so much.

Is the bickering between Ronan and Jessie J real or just for TV?

[No] it happens more than you see on television … Jessie is a bull at a gate and that bluntness irritates the other coaches.

What is a day in your life?

My day starts at 6am when I get ready to go to work at the Channel 9 studio. I will see if Maggie is awake and sometimes I wake her up so I can squeeze in a cuddle. Then I’m in hair and make-up and we start the live show at 9am. I finish at 1130am and I can go home and spend the afternoon with Maggie.

What do you love about working on Today Extra?

David [Campbell, the co-host] makes me laugh so much! It doesn’t feel like work, it is more of a chance to hang out with friends. The show is full of all the stuff I love: fashion, food, finance. There is so much variety each day and it offers something for everyone.

What has been the most memorable moment?

We had [actor] Dan Aykroyd on the show and we were talking about a screen test he had to do. All of a sudden he has grabbed me and went in for the big pash. It was hilarious having a spontaneous real screen kiss; it made for a great promo!

What is it like working on live television?

In the mornings, it is very relaxed. The plan is quite loose because you are doing a 2½-hour show. David and I love to say that we put the “semi” into professional! People seem to like that it is a little bit random. Someone said to me the thing they love about live television is the mistakes – it’s the mistakes we all remember. The Voice is a little different because it’s a real slick production and it’s prime-time. You know that a lot more people are watching so there is a bit more pressure to get it right, but then the fun factor goes up as well.

You talk about “mistakes”. What’s been your biggest mistake on air?

Oh I’ve made so many! On my first series of Big Brother I had to commentate on what was happening in the house. The executive producer was in my ear saying “Michael is making peace, he is the peacemaker” so I was like “OK Michael is making peace, there has been a fight in the house”. I’ve got the whole story going up and he was like, “No pizza, he’s making pizza!” and I burst out laughing … I’m sure the audience was like, “What is she talking and laughing about?”.

When you were younger, did you envisage your life as it is today?

I was always drawn to show business. When I was nine I started ballroom dancing. I was just in love with it and the sparkly costumes. I’m kind of very lucky that things have turned out the way they have, I have so many amazing opportunities, I’ve hosted some great shows and I feel very privileged to have done so much. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I’m an imposter! When they asked me to come and do The Voice, I was like “why?” [laughs]. But it’s great, I’m glad they asked.

What does Tina Sparkle mean to you?

When we made the movie, none of us thought it would be a commercial success. We thought it might be a bit of a cult film but not a commercial success because it’s a movie about ballroom dancing, who is going to watch this? However, Baz Luhrmann did such a great job and gave the movie such a unique feel. When people make reference to Tina Sparkle, they always apologise, and I’m like “Don’t apologise, I love it”. Elton John once told me that it is the nickname he gave to his hairdresser!

Who is the most inspiring person you have ever worked with?

I had to pinch myself when I worked with Daryl Somers. I grew up watching Hey Hey It’s Saturday and all of sudden I’m walking onto set and I’m co-hosting a show [Dancing with the Stars] with him. I was like, “how did I get here?”. He is a real statement in the entertainment industry. He doesn’t work with auto cue. We had nothing when we worked on Dancing with the Stars, which to me is flying by the seat of your pants.

What is the best piece of advice you have received?

After more than 20 years in television, there are good and bad press days. A publicist once said to me, “Doll, as long as they get a nice picture and spell your name right then it is all fine”. No publicity is bad publicity [laughs].

How is your daughter Maggie?

She is great, she is running around and becoming a real chatterbox; I wonder where she gets that from! [Laughs.] But she is very much a daddy’s girl.

Are you enjoying motherhood?

Yes I’m loving it; life couldn’t be better right now, it’s perfect.

How has motherhood changed you?

I left the house the other day in tracksuit pants and ugg boots and I would never normally do that. Now when I go shopping, I go to the children’s section and that’s where I spend my money.

The Voice Australia’s live final screens Sunday, July 10, 7pm-9pm on Channel Nine; Today Extra airs weekdays from 9am.

BITE SIZE

WE WENT TO Bloom. The Healthy Food Company, Mosman

WE ATE Chicken salad with pistachio and honey lemon dressing.

WE DRANK English breakfast OVViO organic tea and fresh immune booster juice

SONIA WORE Kit X

Date with Kate

Date with Kate: Delta Goodrem

13th September, 2015

Lunch with Delta Goodrem. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer.

There’s nothing stopping Delta Goodrem. The celebrity singer and songwriter is at the top of her game and working on her new album after releasing the single Wings, which became her ninth No.1 in Australia. She has just finished her role on The Voice Australia alongside Jessie J, Ricky Martin and Benji and Joel Madden and is rehearsing for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats The Musical, in which she plays the most glamorous cat, Grizabella. I chatted to the 30-year-old about her inspiration behind Wings, her TV feud with Jessie J and why she waited until now to pursue musical theatre.

Congratulations on the success of Wings.

Thank you, it’s incredible. To go to Ni. 1 and to see that the public really embraced Wings and just have a genuine liking has just been a really special moment. It really does feel like a new chapter – this whole record is a new era of music [for me].

Was Wings a long time in production?

No, bizarrely. I had been writing all different songs for the album. And then, I just had a big switch and said, “What first song do I want?” I still just knew I didn’t really have the first song yet. I had done the Ricky [Martin] tour and I had done all my old songs – really organically with my shoes off, by the piano – and all of a sudden I went, “Oh my gosh. I know what type of song I need to write.” It was that lightning moment. I went into the studio the next day after the tour and I went, “I know who I am. I know what makes me, me. I’m back in love with classical pop in piano.” I was like, “So I should embrace what I do.”

When you write a song like Wings, do you instantly have a gut feeling that it will be a hit?

I’ve never had a hit song that has felt the same. They’ve all felt slightly different. This one, I had a feeling. I believed because I was really gravitating to the song and I was like wanting to listen to the song and dance around the room with my other writers. So I knew “This is right”. But I always test the songs on all my mates.

Do your mates actually tell you if they don’t like it?

Oh God yes, I swear. I’ll send them an email with my songs and say, “See which one sticks.” My friends have been my mates since I was five, so they’re going to say if they think it’s crap (laughs)!

Congratulations on the last season of The Voice. Do you enjoy doing the show?

It [was] an incredible season. I think this year has been the best season yet. I feel like the audiences and us – everyone is just relaxing into the show a bit more now. We kind of know what the show is [now].

Will you do another season?

I have no idea. It depends. I mean, it has been an incredible season but you never know where the next year leads.

You and Jessie J went head to head during last season. Was it all for cameras?

I’ve been pretty open that we’re both very passionate. We are very different type of women but it doesn’t mean that we argued any more or any less than what, let’s say, the Maddens did – it just was a lot more focused on. I’ve been pretty open too that there was a lot of editing illusions … It’s a TV show. No one needs to get too deep about it, it’s entertainment. Jess and I have a good laugh about things. We’re the ones who have a dance. Because we’re different women, it doesn’t mean that we can’t find our place as mates.

Do you guys all hang out when you’re not filming the show?

It’s pretty clear Ricky and I are very close. But we don’t have to [hang out]. It’s like if you hang with all your workmates; we don’t have to. We all work really hard. But truthfully, this time in my life, I can’t hang. I don’t get to hang because having the No.1 single in the country these last few weeks and the work that it takes to get there, I physically haven’t been able to hang with anyone, let alone my real mates (laughs).

You are currently rehearsing for CATS. How did that come about?

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s team invited me to do it. I had never thought about [doing] theatre. I don’t know why – I’ve put it down to maybe when I was six years old, I went for The Secret Garden and I didn’t get it. At that time I was getting all the TV [gigs]. I was getting chosen for everything – I had gotten chosen for Hey Dad and A Country Practice and all these shows. Then all of a sudden I had been not chosen for this theatre show that was running for a while. So I thought maybe I’ll just never do it … And then CATS asked me and I went, “I would love to have a look.”

Are you nervous about your first stage musical?

No, I’m more excited. I’m completely in the zone for it.

How did you prepare for the role?

I had to be fit. The first week of rehearsals you’re on your hands and knees – you have to be feline. So [I was] learning to transition into turning into a cat and all those body movements and holding your body in a different way and then dancing.

Will we see you doing more theatre roles?

I still have to get through this show (laughs)! Then I’ll see. But I do know that being around the cast is my heart and soul and makes me very happy. I spoke to Ricky [Martin] about it — because obviously he has done Evita. He said, “Delta, now that you’ve gotten that bug, you’re going to completely fall in love with this.” And I have. It’s totally different to pop. But it doesn’t mean that the worlds can co-exist beautifully. It’s just that – it’s entertainment. I’m getting to do everything I love – dancing, singing and acting, which is why I go, “Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”

You’ve had such a successful career. What is your biggest motivation?

My motivation is a love of great art. I love music. I love writing. I love people. My motivation is to just connect. My intention has only ever been to just bring my messages through songs. That’s what I got into it for. I wasn’t in the era where we grew up with Instagram and that stuff so I never thought about public life when it came to music. So my intention – and the reason why I’ve been here for 15 years – is only to do a really great performance… I feel like people actually have gotten to know me again for the person I actually am rather than the perception [of me]. I like to have a good laugh, do great entertainment, make TV, do live performances and just sing the songs that have been in their lives. I don’t have any other sort of motives.

Australia has really got to know you through The Voice. Have you noticed a big change?

There has been a change in my own experience of completely letting go and being free to just show who I am and just embrace that. I was so shy when I started. I didn’t know how to say my opinion on camera because it wasn’t actually my nature naturally – I’m not the person you interview at 15, who is going to tell you their political opinion, because I’m a muso. So this show when I started. It was like: how does one break through to share an opinion? But now I just feel “Yeah. Cool. This is what I do and this is what I feel.” I now stand for what I want to stand for and it’s incredible when people embrace it.

If you had never got into music, what would you have done?

Easy: there are three things. I would have been a ski racer, played basketball or I would have studied physics to become a scientist.

BITE SIZE

WE WENT TO Aria restaurant.

WE ATE Cone Bay Barramundi with grilled cabbage and smoked dulse.

WE DRANK Friends of Punch Quartz Reef vineyard pinot noir

DELTA WORE Daniel Avakian dress and Samantha Wills jewellery.

Date with Kate

Date with Kate: Delta Goodrem

18th August, 2013

Lunch at Sake Restaurant with Delta Goodrem.

Delta Goodrem is one of Australia’s most accomplished female performers of the past decade, having achieved multi-platinum-selling status, eight No. 1 singles and three No. 1 albums. The singer-songwriter has also been a coach and mentor on The Voice for the past two seasons. I caught up with the 28-year-old to chat about whether she will return to The Voice next year, how the show has changed her, and how she finds single life.

What are you up to at the moment?

I just [had] a bit of time off before I start making a new album. I’m based in LA – my cats are there, my whole world is sort of there. But in fairness, I tend to live between there and Australia, and it’s been like kind of half and half for quite a few years.

Will you return as a coach on The Voice again next year?

I have no idea. I mean I’m honoured to be part of the show, but we haven’t had a chance to think about next year yet.

Are you still in contact with the other judges?

Yes, definitely. I have a special bond with all of them. It’s such a good group. We have so much fun.

Has The Voice changed your life?

Yes, in so many ways. I’m just so thankful for it – musically and in life – on deeper levels than I can probably explain.

You really opened up on the show. Do you find Australia has really gotten to know you?

Yes, [before The Voice] I just didn’t know how to open up. I’ve always protected myself, I’ve always just done music and treated it like work. Then I have my own world of my friends. [Being in the spotlight] at a young age, it helped me keep my innocence by keeping those worlds separate … Being on The Voice, it forces you to open up and I’m proud of what I’ve done with the lessons I’ve learnt since then.

In what way has The Voice given people a different perception of you?

I think it’s probably the fact that before, people see you as one dimension. I’ve got emotions, I’m passionate, I’m fiery, I love to dance, I’m a prankster, I love joking around – I’m not as serious outside music … It’s been nice to share that side of me.

You’ve achieved so much at a young age. What’s your biggest career highlight?

I would say it was the other week, when it was my 15th top 10 and I was just really blessed and thankful for it.

What’s the best part of your job?

The singing, without a doubt. Getting to sing live, that’s my favourite thing to do. And when you invite people to your show and you’ve got an hour-and-a-half to sing, there’s nothing like it. That’s my favourite part because it shows the actual connection with the audience.

What’s the worst part of your job?

Without a doubt, the wonderful things balance it out, but I would say control, I guess. You can’t control everything. I mean, it’s kind of hard when things are said [that aren’t true], but you can’t battle it. I’ve never ever snapped or said anything, I’ve just sort of accepted it.

What do you do for fun?

I love food; I’m a foodie. I love being with my friends. I’ve had the same friends since I was five. I love going to dinners, I love going to movies, or I love watching a TV series. I love getting a box set. I’m addicted to Once upon a Time.

What are your favourite restaurants?

I like China Doll in Sydney and Cafe Sydney.

Do you have a nice man in your life?

No, no [laughs]. I don’t, but my friends are all having fun pimping me out. I haven’t had any time to sort of look at that side of my life … I mean, you know I’m a love bug, but I’m really happy kind of enjoying single life.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I would just love to be doing what I love to do, surrounded by the people I love. I love writing hit songs for people and myself and continually touring the world with music.

Do you have a secret talent?

I’m very good at languages. I can pick up languages very, very quickly. If I am somewhere more than a couple of days, I naturally just pick up the language.

BITE SIZE

WE WENT TO Sake, The Rocks.

WE ATE Edamame, sashimi tacos with chilled tomato salsa; salmon avocado salad and mixed sashimi and sushi.

WE DRANK Sake and Rose.

I WORE A Dion Lee top, Miu Miu leather pants and Gucci necklace.

DELTA WORE A Versace dress.

Photography: James Brickwood.

For video footage see smh.com.au

Date with Kate

DATE WITH KATE: PRINNIE STEVENS

1st April, 2013

Breakfast with Prinnie Stevens at Bills Cafe in Surry Hills.

Last week I caught up with Former The Voice singer Prinnie Stevens over breakfast at Bills Cafe in Surry Hills. Prinnie has just wrapped up filming this year’s Celebrity Apprentice, airing on Channel Nine in mid-April so we chatted about the show, those rumoured catfights among the contestants and forming a friendship with her new bestie, Stephanie Rice.

To read more see smh.com.au