He may only be 15 years old, but Taiyo Marchand is already a seasoned reality TV star!
Having competed on The Voice Kids France in 2023, the experience has given the Australian Idol 2026 contestant an edge over his competition.
“I do think it gives me just a little bit of experience, a little bit of that edge,” he tells Woman’s Day.
“I think it might help with nervousness.”
While The Voice Kids France saw Taiyo competing against people his own age, Australian Idol has him going up against talent more than twice his age.
“It’s a big difference, a big contrast,” he notes.
“With everybody being in a much wider age range, it means there’s a lot of fluctuation in experience.”
Idol a dream come true for Taiyo
Taiyo had to wait patiently for two years to make his dream of competing on the show a reality, with Idol’s minimum age being 15.
“I was waiting a long time to be on Idol – since I was, like, 13 I’d wanted to go on,” he says.
“So yeah, I’m super happy that I got to go on this year. Finally.”
Taiyo first started playing the bongos at the tender age of six. Developing a love of percussion, he says it really helped “get my rhythm together”.
By 10, he got his first piano, and he began singing at 11, taking to the streets of Manly, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, to busk.
“I think I was able to build up my confidence going busking,” he reflects.
At 13, he was writing his own songs, something he says is “still a work in progress”.
“I try to write but sometimes I find it hard to finish songs,” he says.
The teenager, who also “dabbles” in drums and bass, now has his sight very much set on a career as a singer-songwriter.
He cites Bruno Mars and Aussie Jack Johnson as musicians whose careers inspire him.
Being half French and half Japanese, and speaking three languages, Taiyo also takes inspiration from many different cultures, combining them to make a “pop/R’n’B kind of style”.
No back-to-school blues here!
Returning to school on January 30, the performing arts student is excited for what the future holds – and, of course, for his friends to see him on TV!
Naturally, we’ll all have to tune in to see how far his Idol journey takes him.
One thing’s for sure, however: his ever-supportive parents and younger sister will be there cheering him on every step of the way.
“Ever since I started bucking from when I was six years old, my dad’s always been there,” Taiyo says.
“My mum’s always been there. My sister’s always been there to support me, to help me.”
Watch Australian Idol on Channel 7 and 7Plus.
