Sunshine singer Sarah De Bono after winning the Weerama Festival Idol competition in 2009.
By LAURA WAKELY
SUNSHINE’S Sarah De Bono may have come fourth in singing competition The Voice, but she’s cemented her place in the hearts of Australia.
The flame-haired 19-year-old has landed herself at number six in the iTunes music charts with her original song Beautiful.
She’s come a long way from performing in school productions and Brimbank City Council events as the winner of the 2007 Brimbank Idol competition, even landing a coveted record deal with Universal Music.
She’s also gained almost 60,000 followers on Twitter, with her following on the social networking site making her a trending topic worldwide over the past week.
Those fans include Good Charlotte pop-rocker Joel Madden, who mentored Sarah throughout the competition.
But no fan base is bigger than the one in Brimbank.
Sarah was cheered on throughout the competition by her old high school, Sunshine College, and students and staff at JDC Performing Arts Studio, where she was a singing teacher.
JDC Director Jason Di Cicco said it was exciting for students, parents and her colleagues to watch their friend and teacher on the hit show.
Students decorated the studio with posters and voted furiously for Sarah to win the competition.
Jason said she was a real role model for young people in the West and had stayed in touch with her pupils.
“We were very shocked (when she came fourth),” Jason said.
“We thought she had it in the bag.
“But she’s got her name up there now. She’s going to do very well there, she’s made it.”
