Nathan Joel Foley (born 27 September 1979) is an Australian singer-songwriter and television personality. He was an original member of Australian children's musical group Hi-5 from 1998 to 2008.

Nathan Foley
Foley in 2020
Born
Nathan Joel Foley

(1979-09-27) 27 September 1979 (age 45)
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • actor
Years active1990–present
Spouse
Nicolette Gomex
(m. 2019)
Children1
Musical career
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano

Early life

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Foley started singing professionally at 10 years old with bands singing Jazz, Soul, R&B, Pop and Rock in clubs in Sydney, Australia. During his school years, Foley performed in the Coca-Cola Schools Spectacular for seven years as a soloist working with big bands and orchestra's and graduated from the Talent Development Project in 1997.[1]

Foley is a descendant of the Yuin people, an Aboriginal Australian group, on his mother's side.[2]

Career

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In 1998, Foley joined the Australian children's musical group Hi-5 as an original member; touring and filming the related television series for ten years.[3][4] Foley announced his departure from the group in November 2008, expressing interest in focusing on his adult music career. He was replaced by Tim Maddren.[5][6]

In 2009, Foley completed a season of Jerry Springer: The Opera at the Sydney Opera House and played Kenickie in the Olivia Newton-John Foundation musical Grease on the Beach. He also performed as a soloist in 2009 at The V8 Supercars and World Masters Games, and sung the National Anthem at the Darling Harbour Australia Day Celebrations in 2010 in front of quarter of a million people.[citation needed]

Foley performed in the musical Mamma Mia!, touring Australia in 2010. He was also Co-Presenter of a show called Gathering on Foxtel’s Indigenous Network NITV. Also in 2011, he worked as a traffic reporter at the Australian Traffic network delivering traffic reports for Ten News, Mix 106.5, 101.7 WSFM, 2GO, Sea FM, Triple M, 2GB and 2UE.[7]

Foley was a top 3 contestant on the Network 10 show I Will Survive.[citation needed]

In 2016, Foley won Princess cruises Entertainer of the year for his big band solo shows being the first Australian to win this title.[8]

In 2019, Foley auditioned for The Voice and was placed on Delta Goodrem's team.[9] Foley was eliminated in the first Knock-out rounds.

Personal life

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Through the show, he became good friends with and eventually in 2002 began dating fellow Hi-5 cast member Kellie Crawford, née Hoggart. The couple became engaged in 2005 to be married in March 2007. On 7 December 2006, it was reported that Crawford and Foley had decided to end their engagement. Apparently, their breakup had occurred some time prior to the reports.[10][11][12]

Foley married Jamaican model Nicolette Gomex in March 2020, and they have one child, Jackson Joel Foley.[13]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Title Album details
Good Times
  • Released: 1990
  • Label: Independent
  • Format: CD
Discovery
  • Released: 2003
  • Label: Independent
  • Format: CD
Now and Forever
  • Released: July 2014[14]
Mama
  • Released: February 2016[15]
  • Label: Independent
  • Format: CD
Christmas Time With You
  • Released: 2016[16]
  • Label: Independent
  • Format: CD, digital download
At This Moment
  • Released: February 2018[17]
  • Label: Independent
  • Format: CD, digital download
Hurricane
  • Released: 23 September 2022[18]
  • Label: StudioBox Creative
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming

Live albums

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Title Album details
Live at the Starlight
  • Released: 2005
  • Label: Independent
  • Format: CD
Acoustic Rhythms

Filmography

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Television roles
Year Title Role Notes
1999–2008 Hi-5 Presenter Series 1 to 10
2019 The Voice Contestant Series 8; eliminated in "The Knockouts" round
2019 The Road to Miss Universe Australia Singer At Event
2020 The Wiggles Bushfire Relief concert Guest Performer

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
1997 Mo Award Johnny O'Keefe Encouragement Award Nathan Foley Won [20]
1998 ACE Awards Best New Talent Nathan Foley Won [citation needed]
1998 City of Sydney Performing Arts Challenge Nathan Foley Won [citation needed]
1998 2UE Youth in Cabaret - City of Sydney Performing Arts Challenge Contemporary Vocal Solo Nathan Foley Won [citation needed]
2016 Princess Cruises Entertainer Of The Year - Solo Award Nathan Foley Won [8]

References

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  1. ^ "October Panthers Free Members Show – Lisa Cook & Nathan Foley". Panthers Penrith. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  2. ^ Morris, Jessica (18 November 2017). "Nathan Foley, 'It's one of the most amazing jobs in the world'". Jessica Morris. Warcry. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  3. ^ Debelle, Penelope (16 November 2005). "Hi-5's magic act". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  4. ^ Bayley, Andrew; Knox, David (26 April 2013). "Special: Australian TV History Timeline Pt 2". televisionau.com. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  5. ^ Moran, Jonothan (21 December 2008). "Hi-5's Sun Park quits after Nathan Foley and Kellie Crawford". The Sunday Telegraph. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  6. ^ Knox, David (22 December 2008). "Sun fades from Hi-5 role". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  7. ^ NATHAN FOLEY & A DAY AT THE TRAFFIC NETWORK, archived from the original on 21 July 2021
  8. ^ a b "Nathan Foley has been named Princess Cruises entertainer of the year". The Daily Telegraph. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  9. ^ "The Voice Australia: Hi-5 star Nathan Foley performs". news.com.au. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Hi-5 duo call off wedding". The Daily Telegraph. 7 December 2006. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  11. ^ Wadsworth, Kyle (23 December 2006). "Hi-5 wedding called off". Throng.co.nz. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  12. ^ Casey, Marcus (13 November 2008). "Nathan Foley Reveals Pain of Working with Ex-lover Kellie Hoggart". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  13. ^ "Nathan Foley - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  14. ^ "My Brand new album NOW AND FOREVER". Twitter. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Mama". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  16. ^ "Christmas Time With You". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  17. ^ "At This Moment". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  18. ^ "Hurricane". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Acoutic Rhythms". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  20. ^ "MO Award Winners". Mo Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
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