The execution of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran sent emotional ripple waves through Australia, also felt deeply within the music industry. At the time, musician Guy Sebastian shared his reaction to the news of the executions by posting a 53-second song and slideshow as a “tribute”. Reactions were mixed.
“My mistake was to call it a tribute,” Sebastian told News Corp about the negative reaction he received online after posting the song.
“I wasn’t necessarily paying tribute to them and what they did as human beings. I did it for the family. I wanted something to say that I don’t agree with capital punishment. I don’t think marching someone strapped to a cross and shooting them in the chest is the answer.”
The “tribute”, which is still online, features a 53-second song and accompanying picture slideshow of the two Australians. “I hope it works, I’ve never done one before,” Sebastian wrote at the time of posting. “I know people are divided about certain specifics of all this, but please don’t comment about that, this is purely to honour 2 people who have tragically had their life cut short.”
“I’d just landed and I literally only watched the part where [Sukumaran’s] sister and mum were crying through the streets, just screaming and saying ‘let my son live’,” Sebastian explained to News Corp. “It struck a chord with me.”
Sebastian also told News Corp that he “detest[s] drug trafficking” and dismissed claims that he should have directed his tributes elsewhere. “Our hearts intent to do genuine good shouldn’t be knocked off,” he said. “If people try to knock you off, you just need to keep on going.”
Watch the video below.
Not sure how Im still awake because Ive had around 2 hours sleep in the last 48 hours after travelling back from London….
Posted by Guy Sebastian on Wednesday, 29 April 2015
