Josh McCauley has long loved singing, but if it wasn't for his brother Joey, his talents might have gone unheard by a bigger audience.
The two brothers lived together in North Wollongong and Joey was the only person who really heard Josh singing.
Josh said he sang simply because he liked it, but didn't have a drive to perform for others.
"But [Joey] was like, 'Dude, you literally need to show other people this and share it', and just pushed me heaps," Josh said.
It was this encouragement that landed Josh on a stage in Sydney, singing in front of several big names and a live audience, in a blind audition for Channel Seven's talent show The Voice.
Before Josh appeared on The Voice, he'd only ever sung in front of a crowd twice, both pub gigs.
But not too long ago, Josh and Joey pledged to grab any opportunities that came their way.
Joey embarked on a mission to set an unofficial world record for the longest continuous triathlon: a 15.5-kilometre swim, 400-kilometre bike ride and a 100-kilometre run.
Josh said it was the "craziest thing I've ever seen in my life".
So when the opportunity to audition for The Voice came up, Joey said to his brother that if he could do the mammoth triathlon, Josh could give the TV show a shot.
"I was like, 'Yeah, fair call," Josh said with a laugh.
Nevertheless, singing on stage in front of a crowd and such stars as Ronan Keating, Kate Miller-Heidke, Melanie C and Richard Marx - for a show that would beam into homes nationwide - was "petrifying".
"I honestly didn't even know ... if a note would come out as I was about to walk out onto the stage, it was that scary," Josh said.
But Josh's voice didn't fail him and his rendition of Leon Bridges's River proved so impressive that all four coaches spun their chairs around, hoping to have him on their team.
Josh said this was a "huge relief" because, surprisingly, he did not think his performance was that good.
Supporting him at the audition were Joey, his parents Rob and Kate, and his mates Matt and Sean.
"It was so nice to see my parents proud ... that was one of my favourite things," Josh said.
Josh ended up joining former Spice Girl Melanie C's team and described the veteran pop star as down to earth, kind and genuine.
"I had so much fun," he said of his experience on The Voice.
Josh discovered singing at the age of 12 and found it offered reprieve from the anxiety he had struggled with.
"It was just a good way to escape," he said.
For those who have heard him, it will come as a huge surprise to learn that Josh "literally could not sing" when he first started.
He's also never had formal lessons.
"Not at all - not at all," he insisted.
"I just practised heaps and heaps.
"I'd just go on my iPod or whatever, and just record me singing and just listen to it back ... eventually, just got better and better, which was pretty cool."
Josh grew up in Canberra and moved to Wollongong several years ago to study marine science at the University of Wollongong.
The ocean, the mountains, the more relaxed lifestyle compared to Sydney and the community he's found have all kept him in the city.
Josh has worked as a freight train driver for a few years now, a job he picked up because it funded travelling and his lifestyle.
But now he hopes to turn his passion for singing and songwriting into his full-time job.
Josh said he was "never that good" at putting his feelings into words when speaking, but found it easy to do so through music.
"I don't mind doing covers and stuff, but my main dream and goal is to release my own songs," he said.
"And I'm going to release my first single [Steel String Dreams] pretty soon as well, which will be cool."
