Darren Hayes

Beginning his music career as one half of multi-platinum-selling pop duo Savage Garden, singer and songwriter Darren Hayes achieved platinum sales of his own as solo artist with his agile, high vocal range and a style that traverses earnest pop balladry, sparkling dance-pop, synth pop, and occasional darker corners. After his solo debut, 2002's Spin, a blend of R&B, dance, and soft rock stylings, shot to the upper reaches of the album charts in the U.K. and his native Australia, Hayes followed up with such Top Ten efforts as 2004's synth-forward The Tension & the Spark and 2011's eclectic Secret Codes & Battleships. A ten-year recording hiatus that included a foray into stand-up comedy followed until Hayes returned in 2022 with the shimmering, dance-pop-oriented Homosexual. It found the songwriter looking back on his teen years with a wiser perspective.