Channel 5’s Home and Away has paved the way for plenty of successful stars – but who got their big musical break from the show? And who shot to fame in the charts before their soap debut?
Some of Australia’s biggest stars, such as Chris Hemsworth and Isla Fisher, came from the television series Home and Away.
The adored Australian soap opera, which debuted on ITV, made its UK debut in 1989 and has seen steady growth ever since.
However, it seems that the popular Channel 5 serial opera has also featured a number of great musicians.
A few of the show’s stars have gone on to become well-known in the music industry in addition to their acting careers.
Here, we examine some of Home and Away’s most egregious musical failures as well as its greatest musical successes over the years.
The Voice fame
Despite having no prior acting experience, The Voice contestant Matt Evans made his acting debut on Home and Away last year.
The gifted 25-year-old rose to popularity on the Australian singing competition in 2020 before forming the Goldi combo with Janie Gordon.
In the television series Summer Bay, he plays Theo Poulos, the problematic nephew of Leah Patterson, a longtime Summer Bay resident.
And it looks that the celebrity has already focused on America.
He said, “Obviously I have ideas when it comes to migrating to the US and giving the States a try and seeing what I can do over there,” in a statement to TV Week.
Sony record deal
In addition to playing Chris Harrington, Johnny Ruffo has experience in music.
The actor was a finalist on The X Factor Australia’s third season in 2011 prior to joining the serial.
He was able to finish third, and Sony Music Australia then offered him a recording deal.
Between 2013 and 2016, Johnny later made his acting debut as Chris.
His original contract was for him to show up in 16 episodes, however this was eventually increased.
Dannii Minogue
Australian television was where Dannii Minogue started her career as a young girl.
She began appearing in soap operas when she was just 7 years old, and she later starred as Emma Jackson in Home and Away.
From 1989 until 1990, the actress portrayed the role on the soap opera.
Danni later had a successful music career in the early 1990s with the release of her studio debut, Love & Kisses.
Since then, she has been a fixture in the music business and has sold an astounding eight million records worldwide.
The celebrity is also claimed to have a net worth of £19 million, the most of which came from her music career.
Pop flops
The soap opera has had many successes, but it has also had significant failures.
Tammin Sursok, who played Dani Sutherland on Home and Away, left the soap opera in 2005 to pursue a career in music.
Her musical endeavours, however, never really took off.
She returned to acting after only a year, and in 2010 she was ultimately cast as Jenna Marshall on Pretty Little Liars.
Bec Hewitt also had a brief career as a pop star in the meantime.
The actress, who first gained notoriety for her depiction of Hayley Smith Lawson, later recorded an album after inking a deal with Warner Music Australia and East-West Records.
In 2002, she released her first song, “All Seats Taken,” which reached the top of the IRIA charts.
However, her subsequent songs “On the Borderline” and “A Matter of Time” were both duds.
After terminating her employment agreement in 2004, she was later revealed as a competitor on Dancing with the Stars’ inaugural season.
