AE: Do you have the
same television in Australia
that we do here?
MH: We have our own little Australian
versions of what you guys have here — our little island version, like Australian Idol and all of that.
AE: Have any of your
songs been chosen to be performed on Australian
Idol?
MH: A few songs — mostly for the
auditions. I don't know why. I guess they thought they'd get in with an
emotional song.
AE: Isn't it weird to
be watching it and see people performing your songs on there? Like, have you
ever been to a karaoke bar and your songs are on the list?
MH: My sister actually went to a
karaoke bar last year. We used to live together, and our local pub had karaoke
every Thursday night, and we had this Backstreet Boys song we used to do — we
worked out the harmonies and everything. But when I was away, she got up and
did this song of mine called "Ten Days," and she did it with my
Australian accent, totally made fun of me.
AE: That's cool though —
that has to be something like when you hear yourself on the radio and you see
yourself on a karaoke list, where you say to yourself, "I've made it!"
MH: I actually saw myself in a
crossword in Australia,
and I thought that's amazing — it doesn't get any better.
AE: Do you have paparazzi
follow you around in Australia?
MH: No, I'm not that famous. You have
to be pretty damn famous to get paparazzi in Australia, and there are not that
many musicians that are that huge.
AE: Well, it's crazy
here, I'm sure you've realized, with celebrities.
MH: I feel like a lot of the time they
kind of ask for it. I mean, if you go to all these premieres and these openings
and you flash your face around and wear designer gowns and make [yourself] get
noticed and all that kind of stuff, I feel like they ask for it, and then it
gets out of hand. I made sure from the beginning that I never go to any of
those kinds of things, and I don't get any more photographs taken of me than I
need to.
AE: Do you ever feel
pressure from your record label to do any sort of thing like that?
MH: No, I kind of laid down the law
with the beginning, and they know I'm pretty headstrong about what I do, what I
will and won't do. It's pretty obvious that it's not me.
AE: As far as you
coming out, did it ever have anything to do with your label or was it a
non-issue?
MH: My label is really supportive of
everything, every decision that I make. I'd been speaking about it with my
manager for a while, and I was saying I feel like a real dickhead not talking
about it in interviews, because it's a big part of my life.
In the beginning it was just that I didn't want to talk about my
personal life. And then it got to the point where I was obviously — like it
sounded like I was denying something, like I was just avoiding the topic. I'm
not ashamed of it. Eventually it just kind of happened.
