Aussie icon Shannon Noll’s savvy property moves have been revealed years after the singer found himself in financial hardship following his success on a hit TV show.
Before becoming a platinum artists with his song What About Me in the early 2000s, the New South Wales local battled it out on Australian Idol to win the hearts of thousands around the country.
Performing on the show as a 27-year-old, Noll made headlines for his heartwarming story about how he was fighting for his family.
But years after his appearance, the singer revealed the sad fallout from his time on the show.
During his time on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Here, Noll opened up about the difficult time he faced following the death of his dad.
Speaking privately with camp mate Fiona O’Loughlin, he revealed how the passing of his dad, who died of a traumatic brain injury in a farming accident, affected the family as they fought to keep the family farm ticking.
Australian Idol at Forrest Place. Finalist Shannon Noll sings ” What About Me?”. Credit: Sharon Smith/WA News
“We tried to farm our way out of it in the next two years. We failed because of the drought so we got enough rain to put the crop in and then it didn’t rain at all after that,” Noll said.
“That cost $40,000 or $50,000 at a time for fuel, seed, spray. So we went further into debt.”
As they struggled to keep up in their father’s absence, the Nolls made the tough decision to sell the farm, but the buck didn’t stop there for the tattered family.
“Big business, though, they don’t mind jumping on an opportunity I suppose,” he said.
“We just had enough to buy mum’s house. I went on Idol. A few of the creditors were left over, they chased mum really hard for the shortfall.”
Noll took a big risk and by this time he had debuted on the first season of Australian Idol in 2003, and turned the show success into full blown career, with his first two albums accumulating eight platinum.
“I wrote a cash cheque out for $209,000 for a tractor company. I thought I was doing the right thing, I’d never run a business before. So I paid a lot of these debts out. Consequently all the big money I made after the show, I paid bills with it,” he said.
“I didn’t blow it on yachts and all that sort of stuff. Just paid (bills).”
Australian Idol on tour in Perth – Forrest Chase. Australian Idol finalists Guy Sebastian (r) & Shannon Noll ham it up in front of a huge crowd. Credit: Sharon Smith/WA News
Once his music career took off, Noll became a household name around Australia and subsequently his finances began looking healthier.
In the years following his appearance on the show, the 50-year-old purchased properties in Condobolin, NSW for $150,000 back in 2002, with the property then hitting the market in 2012 for $230,000 according to realestate.com.
The Lift singer then bought a five-bedroom home in Lilli Pilli, NSW for $1.285 in 2005 which he later sold for a similar price in 2012.
Although charming, Noll faced some legal issues since his rise to fame – with arrests for drunk driving in 2004 and then later again in 2017 for assaulting a strip club bouncer.
He then pleaded guilty to cocaine possession in 2018 but was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond and the magistrate chose not to record a criminal conviction.
