SINGAPORE — Australian singer Guy Sebastian has a raffish air about him. Lounging comfortably in his armchair, the boyishly handsome 32-year-old was clad head-to-toe in ripped denim, complete with a black Yankee’s cap. And those eyes, the colour of sea-foam, are rather distracting, to say the least. It’s all in the genes, you see.

“If you looked at my mum, you wouldn’t have guessed that she’s Indian because she’s white with blue eyes, but she speaks with an Indian accent!” Sebastian said with a laugh. “When we moved to Australia when I was six, my mum used to come and pick me up from school in a full sari and a putu in the middle (of her forehead). My friends would be like, ‘Dude, what’s with your mum dressing up like an Indian?’”

He continued: “I grew up watching Bollywood movies and I’ve always loved the music. I’ve never actually done any Bollywood-type songs but maybe I will in the future! I’ll get my mum to help me.”

The singer was in town to record his performance at the Waterfront Studio for an episode of MTV Sessions and said he was happy to return to these shores. “It’s great to be back and reconnecting with old fans. It’s almost as if I’m starting again in Asia, with people from Singapore asking me where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to. Like I’ve been on a holiday!”

Despite the barrage of musicians emerging from every corner in our digital age, Sebastian has carved a distinct on-stage and off-stage personality for himself. In fact, fans often say it’s his off-stage persona that impresses. However, the singer isn’t above being impressed himself.

“I’ve done things that I never dreamt of doing. I performed twice with Oprah and she had her arm around me on stage for an hour. Both times! It was amazing.

“Also, I was a judge on The X Factor in Australia and had Beyonce as my guest judge,” he recounted. “We were literally on a little two-seater couch and her butt was touching my leg for a whole day! In between filming, I was small-talking to Beyonce, going, ‘So, where in New York do you and Jay live?’ She’s like a painting or a wax model, absolutely flawless.”

Despite being blessed with a voice and recognised on the streets, Sebastian admitted to having his fair share of struggles since winning the Australian Idol title in 2003. “There was a time when I wasn’t coping too well in the public’s eye. I was creatively dry and I really thought my record label was going to drop me, what with the first album not doing very well and a second one unfinished. I had some pretty nasty people in my life saying words like ‘failure’ and ‘has-been’. My self-esteem was rock bottom.”

Nonetheless, he struck back into pop stardom with singles such as Who’s That Girl, Battle Scars and Like It Like That (which peaked at No 1 on the Australian music sales charts).

But although he has had success with pop music, Sebastian said that he’s keen to continue exploring different music genres. “There’s hip-hop, a little rap and a little dance-meets-pop-folk,” Sebastian said about his music. “It’s a little Avicii-like but less electronic and more organic, with instruments and more folky.

“Naturally, what influences me musically has changed because the scope of what they’re playing on radio has changed,” he added. “There’s been a huge country-folk movement, with great bands such as Mumford And Sons and the Lumineers. I guess for me, it’s a natural progression. Because music has changed, I change with it.” Laetitia Wong

MTV Sessions: Guy Sebastian premieres on MTV Asia on July 18 at 10pm. Check out http://www.mtvasia.com/mtvsessions for more details.