Natalie Stuart, a contestant on The Voice in Australia last year, passed away last Wednesday after a long and brave battle with cancer.
She was 43 years old.
The tragic neas was confimed over the weekend by Stuart’s coach on the popular program, artist Delta Goodrem, who paid tribute to the late reality star with an emotional Instagram post.
Wrote Goodrem along with multiple photos of Stuart:
The beautiful soul @natashastuart touched and inspired the lives of everyone she met. My heart breaks right now along with the music community, her family and friends.
Rest In Peace musical friend. may you be with the angels singing xx.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Stuart died at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, surrounded by her family and loved ones.
Performers Tiana Arena, Leo Sayer, Richard Clapton, Jimmy Barnes and others visited her in the hospital prior to her passing.
The talented singer, who performed backup vocals for Michael Bolton and numerous other well-known artists before competing on The Voice, was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2018.
She underwent 20 weeks of chemotherapy as a result.
Stuart was also an unusual type of contestant on The Voice, having already been in the music business for over two decades she when she joined the show.
But she said in an interview that she chose to do so in order to awareness to breast cancer … and also to be an inspiration to viewers around the world.
"I felt it was really important to put myself out there because I haven’t seen women who look like me on TV, going through treatment," Stuart told 9Honey last year, adding:
"I wanted to make sure that younger women knew that you can get breast cancer at a young age."
During her run on The Voice, Stuart wowed the judges with her performance of Beyonce’s "I Was Here."
All four coaches turned their chairs around in response, including Beyonce’s former Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland. However, she ultimately selected Goodrem.
"I want to prove that you can still live a meaningful life through treatment and beyond, that life doesn’t have to stop," Stuart said in 2019.
In July of 2019, after The Voice Australia concluded up its season, Stuart said she had no regrets about going on national television, opening herself up to fans at home and sharing her journey.
"I am so incredibly happy that I chose to take part in [The Voice] this year," she wrote on Instagram, continuing as follows:
"Going on a show like that is always a leap of faith… you never know what is going to happen let alone how you’ll be received.
"For some reason, I decided that the right time to put myself onto national television was while I was going through one of the most vulnerable periods of my life but I am so glad I did!
"It was amazing to go through a rebirth of sorts on a show like this and the fact that I’ve had such an incredible, positive response is beyond anything I could’ve expected."
Said The Voice executive producers Leigh Aramberri and Chloe Baker in a statement to the Morning Herald on Sunday:
We are forever grateful to have had Tash orbit our world and be a part of our voice family. She radiated joy, beauty and strength and touched everyone she met with her talent.
Our love goes out to her family, her friends and the entire Australian music industry
May Natalie Stuart rest in peace.
