If you are a fan of The Voice SA, you already know who Fatman is. And if you don’t know him, well we have just one question, where have you been hiding?
Fatman, whose real name is Johan Brummer, is the oldest contestant on the show, but he is not letting that stop him from going after his dreams. The 40 years old music teacher and father of two has fast become a fan favourite since the blind audition rounds where he was snatched by coach Kahn Morbee. He also happens to be a funny guy too.
“So far my journey on The Voice has been wonderful. They keep us very busy here, from vocal training to rehearsals, it is all very intense. We are even involved in the technical aspects as well which is really great,” he said.
Born in Pretoria and raised in Phalaborwa in Limpopo, Fatman said that he always knew he wanted to have a career in music because of his upbringing. “My father was a musician so I was introduced to music as child and I really just fell in love with it from day one. I also knew from a very young age that I wanted to do something in music,” he said.
Fatman went on to study music at a music school in Pretoria and later went on to teach music alongside singing at local gigs. He was also in the army and even tried his hand in construction, however being on The Voice is one of his biggest achievements. “You know when I entered this show I did not have an expectations, at my age it is not very easy to come out on a national platform and say “hey I want to follow my dreams now”, but that’s exactly what I am doing and I never ever expected people to show me the love and support they do, it really is beautiful,” said Fatman.
The singer counts himself lucky to be on coach Kahn’s team. “Kahn is great, I respect him and he respects me. His attention to detail is incredible. What I really like about him is that he allows me to be myself but he also wants me to be a success so we are always trying to be better than the previous performance.”
He did admit that being the only contestant that will be getting a father's day gift does come with pressure. “I am surrounded by young people on this stage, I could very well be their father so yes it can be difficult, they are agile and know a lot about social media platforms so being the oldest is difficult but this is my time, I waited years to take a huge step like this.”
And what does he miss the most since being on The Voice, his family of course. “I see my wife and kids for three minutes every Sunday after the show. They have been a great support system. I don’t think my son realises how huge this opportunity is though, he is extremely relaxed,” he said.
Fatman said that whether he wins or not, he hopes to inspire both young and old South Africans. “I am not a very competitive person, all I can hope is that South Africans love me and they vote for me, I can only be myself. Above everything though, I really just want everyone to see that you can follow your dreams at any age. There will be delays in life and hurdles, but I really people to see that if I can follow my dreams at the age of 40, age is simply a number,” he said.