GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer Richard Marx is heading back Down Under to join the coaching panel of The Voice Australia before embarking on a national run of orchestral dates.
by Paul Cashmere
Richard Marx is officially back on Australian soil, ready to take his seat in the spinning red chairs for the latest season of The Voice Australia. The hitmaker joins a refreshed coaching line-up alongside Melanie C, Ronan Keating, and Kate Miller-Heidke, marking a high-profile return to the territory where he has enjoyed sustained chart success for nearly forty years.
The television stint serves as the prelude to the Richard Marx ‘After Hours’ Australian Tour, a five-city run of shows kicking off this April. The tour follows the release of his latest studio effort, ‘After Hours’, an ambitious creative departure that finds Marx embracing the sophisticated world of traditional jazz and the Great American Songbook.
Recorded entirely live with a 24-piece orchestra, ‘After Hours’ eschews the modern digital safety net of overdubbing. Instead, Marx captured the material in complete takes, an approach famously utilised by icons like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. The result has been a commercial and critical triumph, with the album reaching #2 on the Luminate Current Traditional Jazz Albums chart and securing a Top 20 position on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums Chart.
The new record features a mix of Marx’s original compositions and classic standards, including the lead single ‘All I Ever Needed’. Co-written by Marx and featuring a soaring solo from world-renowned trumpeter Chris Botti, the track is a sweeping ballad that pairs lyrical intimacy with lush orchestration.
“I can’t wait to get back to Australia,” Marx said of the upcoming dates. “The audiences there have always been so warm and passionate. It’s going to be an unforgettable run of shows.”
The connection between Richard Marx and Australia is deep. His 1989 signature ballad ‘Right Here Waiting’ was a #1 ARIA Platinum single, and the track has seen a massive global resurgence recently, surpassing 650 million streams on Spotify following its inclusion in the film ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’.
Born in Chicago to jazz musician Dick Marx and singer Ruth Guildoo, Richard Marx began his career at age five singing commercial jingles. His big break arrived at 17 when a demo tape reached Lionel Richie. Richie encouraged the young talent to move to Los Angeles, where Marx eventually found work as a background vocalist for the likes of Madonna and Whitney Houston.
Marx’s 1987 self-titled debut album was a phenomenon, making him the only male artist in history to have his first seven singles reach the Top 5 of the Billboard charts. Across his career, he has sold over 30 million albums and scored 14 number-one singles as both a performer and a songwriter. His versatility is legendary, having written hits for artists as diverse as NSYNC (‘This I Promise You’), Keith Urban, and Luther Vandross. In 2004, Marx won the GRAMMY for Song of the Year for co-writing the Vandross classic ‘Dance With My Father’.
Beyond the studio and the stage, Marx has recently expanded into the digital space with his ‘Stories To Tell’ podcast. The show features candid, cocktail-fuelled conversations with a high-calibre list of guests, including Paul Stanley of KISS, Kenny G, Bootsy Collins, and John Stamos.
With 6.6 million monthly Spotify listeners and a career that spans four decades of chart-topping hits, the ‘After Hours’ tour promises to be a masterclass in vocal prowess and songwriting.
Richard Marx ‘After Hours’ National Tour Dates:
Thursday 16 April – Brisbane, Concert Hall (QPAC)
Sunday 19 April – Sydney, Opera House Concert Hall
Monday 20 April – Canberra, Royal Theatre
Wednesday 22 April – Newcastle, Civic Theatre
Friday 24 April – Melbourne, Margaret Court Arena
‘After Hours’ Album Tracklisting:
Love Is Here To Stay (feat. Randy Waldman)
All I Ever Needed
Young At Heart (feat. Rod Stewart)
The Way You Look Tonight
Magic Hour
Moonlight Serenade
Not Like This
Days Of You (feat. Drea Tomé)
Forgot To Remember
Summer Wind (feat. Tom Scott)
Big Band Boogie (feat. Kenny G)
Raise A Glass
Fly Me To The Moon
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