Sheldon Riley Hernandez (born 14 March 1999) is an Australian singer. He represented Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with his song "Not the Same".[1] He first appeared as a contestant on the eighth season of The X Factor Australia. Riley later competed on the seventh season of The Voice Australia, and in 2020, he appeared on America's Got Talent for its fifteenth season, and was brought back by the judges in 2024 as one of the top 40 all-time Got Talent performers to compete in the America's Got Talent Fantasy League during which he was advanced by fan voting to the semi-finals.
Sheldon Riley | |
|---|---|
 Riley in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sheldon Riley Hernandez |
| Born | 14 March 1999 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | Pop, Folk |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2016–present |
Early life
editRiley was born in Sydney, New South Wales, to an Australian mother and a Filipino father.[2] He moved to the Gold Coast[3] at a young age where he grew up and attended Palm Beach Currumbin High School throughout his upbringing.[4]
Career
edit2016–2020: The X Factor, The Voice, and America's Got Talent
editIn 2016, Riley, who then performed under his full name Sheldon Hernandez, auditioned for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia with the songs "Circle of Life" by Elton John and "Ordinary People" by John Legend.[5] He originally participated in the 14–21s category, which was mentored by Adam Lambert, and was eliminated as a solo artist at the bootcamp stage of the competition. Riley returned to The X Factor after the mentor of the groups category, Iggy Azalea, selected him to be a part of a new boy band of eliminated solo artists.[3] The band was called "Time and Place" and its members, in addition to Sheldon, included Sami Afuni, Matthew McNaught, and Leon Kroeber. The group was selected as one of Iggy Azalea's three acts, moving on to the live shows following the three-chair challenge. They were eliminated in the first week of the live shows.[citation needed]
| The X Factor performances and results (2016) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Song | Original Artist | Result |
| Audition | "Circle of Life" / "Ordinary People" | Elton John / John Legend | Through to bootcamp |
| Bootcamp | — | Eliminated | |
| Bootcamp | "You Don't Know Love" (as part of Time and Place) | Olly Murs | Through to live show |
| Live show 1 | "Ride" (as part of Time and Place) | Twenty One Pilots | Eliminated |
In 2018, Riley appeared in the seventh season of The Voice Australia. He auditioned with the song "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" by Culture Club.[6] All of the four judges turned their chairs and Riley chose Boy George to be his coach. Riley made it to the final of the show and finished in third place.[citation needed]
| The Voice performances and results (2018) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Song | Original Artist | Result |
| Audition | "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" | Culture Club | Through to The Knockouts |
| The Knockouts | "Believe" | Cher | Through to Battle Rounds |
| Battle Rounds | "Diamonds" | Rihanna | Through to live shows |
| Live show 1 | "Creep" | Radiohead | Saved by public |
| Live show 2 | "Scars to Your Beautiful" | Alessia Cara | Saved by public |
| Live show 3 | "Born This Way" | Lady Gaga | Saved by public |
| Semi-final | "Rise" | Katy Perry | Saved by public |
| Final | "Young and Beautiful" | Lana Del Rey | 3rd place |
| "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (with Boy George) | Eurythmics | ||
Immediately following the final, Sheldon released "Fire" via Universal Music Australia.[7][8]
In 2019, Riley returned to The Voice to compete in its eighth season as an all-star contestant.[9] Riley auditioned with "Frozen" by Madonna and received chair turns from both eligible coaches. He chose Delta Goodrem as his coach. He was eliminated in the semi-final of the show.[citation needed]
| The Voice performances and results (2019) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Song | Original Artist | Result |
| Audition | "Frozen" | Madonna | Through to The Knockouts |
| The Knockouts | "Call Out My Name" | The Weeknd | Through to Battle Rounds |
| Battle Rounds | "Praying" | Kesha | Through to live shows |
| Live show 1 | "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" | Tears for Fears | Saved by Coach |
| Live show 2 | "7 Rings" | Ariana Grande | Saved by Public |
| Semi-final | "The Show Must Go On" | Queen | Eliminated |
In 2020, Riley competed in the fifteenth season of America's Got Talent. He auditioned with the song "Idontwannabeyouanymore" by Billie Eilish.[10] He was eliminated in the third quarter-final of the season.[citation needed]
2021–present: Eurovision Song Contest, The Masked Singer
editOn 26 November 2021, he was announced as one of the participants in the Eurovision – Australia Decides.[11] Later, it was announced that his song for the contest was called "Not the Same", which released on 15 February 2022. He won the show with 100 points and therefore had the chance to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin.[12][1][13] Riley was one of the 10 qualifiers that advanced to the final of the competition on 14 May, where he reached 15th place with 125 points. Of the points he received, 123 were from national juries, and 2 points were from televoting.[14][15]
In 2022, Riley took place in the fourth season of The Masked Singer as "Snapdragon" where he finished as runner-up.[16][17][18] Riley later released a cover of "Never Enough", the song that he sang on the grand final.[19][20]
In 2024, Riley appeared on America's Got Talent: Fantasy League on Mel B's team. He progressed to the semi-finals after the studio audience advanced him after the first round, but was eliminated during his semi-final episode.[21]
Personal life
editRiley is openly gay.[2] He was diagnosed with autism at age six.[22] He currently lives in Melbourne.[3]
Discography
editSingles
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS Ind. [23] |
LIT [24] |
SWE Heat. [25] | |||
| "Fire"[7][non-primary source needed] | 2018 | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "More Than I"[22] | 2020 | — | — | — | |
| "Left Broken"[22] | 2021 | — | — | — | |
| "Again" | — | — | — | ||
| "Not the Same"[22] | 2022 | 3 | 47 | 19 | |
| "Never Enough"[20] | — | — | — | ||
| "Insane"[26] | 2023 | — | — | — | |
References
edit- ^ a b Farren, Neil (26 February 2022). "Australia: Sheldon Riley to Eurovision 2022". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ a b Alfonso-Gregorio, Nikki (11 January 2022). "Sheldon Riley of The Voice Australia: 'I get to be the person I've always wanted to be'". Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ a b c Olsen, Cooper (26 November 2021). "Australia Decides 2022: Getting to know Sheldon Riley". aussievision. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ "Inside Eurovision star's amazing school past". Gold Coast Bulletin. 13 May 2022. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ "What AGT didn't tell you about Sheldon Riley | America's Got Talent". EPIC Top Trending. 2 August 2020. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ "The Voice Australia: Season 7, Blind Auditions 2". Reality Recaps. 16 April 2018. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Get behind the beautiful Sheldon Riley from The Voice Australia and download his song 'Fire'". 18 June 2018. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022 – via Facebook.
- ^ "Fire - Single by Sheldon Riley". Apple Music. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ "The Voice Australia 2019: The All-Star artists returning in Season 8". celebrity.nine.com.au. 18 May 2019. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ Keegan, Kayla (19 July 2020). "Twitter Recognized 'AGT' Contestant Sheldon Riley From His Past on 'The Voice' Immediately". Good Housekeeping. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (26 November 2021). "Australia: Three More Artists for Eurovision Australia Decides 2022 Revealed". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ Tang, Isabella (26 February 2022). "Sheldon Riley wins Australia Decides 2022 with 'Not the Same'". ESCXTRA.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ Tamer, Rayane (13 May 2022). "'Dream come true': Australia's Sheldon Riley through to Eurovision grand final". SBS News. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ^ "Eurovision 2022: The Second Semi-Final Qualifiers". Eurovision Song Contest. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
- ^ Gbogbo, Mawunyo (15 May 2022). "Australia's Sheldon Riley garners support from national juries at Eurovision". ABC News. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ Smith, Laura (28 August 2022). "The Masked Singer's 'Snapdragon' revealed to be Aussie Eurovision star". aussievision. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ "Sheldon Riley ended as the runner up of The Masked Singer Australia!". ESCBubble. 28 August 2022. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ "Sheldon Riley Removes a New Kind of Mask, Teases Upcoming Projects". escYOUnited. 31 August 2022. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ Tsinivits, Kyriakos (5 October 2022). "Sheldon Riley releases rendition of 'Never Enough' from The Masked Singer". aussievision. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ a b Caeluris (13 October 2022). "For any fans of Sheldon Riley, he recently released his own cover for Never Enough. I'm in love with it". r/eurovision. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ "Here Are the 40 Acts Returning to Compete in the AGT: Fantasy League Spinoff". NBC Insider Official Site. 15 November 2023. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Sheldon Riley heads to Eurovision with 'Not the Same'". OutInPerth. 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ "Singles Chart (Independent Labels) 7 March 2022". Australian Independent Record Labels Association. 7 March 2022. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ "2022 20-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 20". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ "Sheldon Riley celebrates Eurovision one year later with release of broody track, INSANE". DNA. 2 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.