Yesterday, former X Factor contestant Nathaniel O’Brien, 19, was killed in a high-speed crash in rural South Australia, just south of Burra.
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As Adelaide Now reports, the 19-year-old had performed at the Burra Country Music Festival on Sunday morning and was set to perform at the Tea Tree Gully Hotel on Sunday night.
O’Brien had also performed at Tamworth in New South Wales and was a scholarship recipient of the Country Music Association of Australia. He made it through the initial boot camp and became one of the top 24 contestants on the Channel Seven show.
O’Brien was the sole occupant of the auto when he crashed into a tree and died at the scene.
Fans and loved ones have begun flooding his social media pages with condolences, remembering the former X Factor star as “a handsome soul” who would now be “singing with the angels”.
Singer/songwriter Lyn Bowtell also expressed her sadness on Twitter. He won Adelaide’s Next Superstar in 2012.
“The Committee, members and followers of St. Arnaud Country Music Club are shocked beyond belief with the sudden death of Nathaniel O’Brien in a road accident today”.
Nathaniel’s family had strong musical links in the Burra community and his parents, Danny and Karen O’Brien, started the Country Music festival where their son performed his last song, according to local radio host Wally Sparrow.
Sparrow described O’Brien as a singer with spectacular, pitch-perfect voice.
“Once he got on stage his persona came through like 100 per cent, so it’s the voice”, he said.
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O’Brien was a finalist in several categories of the Australian Country Music People’s Choice Awards to be announced in January.
