Over 1.4m Aussie viewers got their music kicks on TV last night

It was a strong evening for music on television last night (June 29), with over 1.4 million metro viewers tuning in to watch three shows.

Nine Network’s The Voice Australia drew 777,000, the third-highest non-news and current affairs show, and down from 866,000 on Sunday night.

Guy Sebastian: The Man The Music followed, with 378,000 viewers, a profile of the singer-songwriter who has proven the most successful and of those who found kudos on reality TV.

Sebastian has had six chart-toppers, a million-seller in the US, 400 million streams, an Australian Idol win and performed before the Pope, the Queen and Oprah.

The singer is gracefully comfortable in his skin (enough to confess how “cringe-worthy” his early stage costumes were), as he juggles careerist, family man, philanthropist and practising Christian.

What impresses you most about Sebastian as the cameras follow him through rehearsals, touring, recording and the international media juggernaut is that no matter how tired and overwhelmed he can become, he’s committed to giving back to his world.

“There’s so much goodness I’ve got from people, naturally you want to give back,” Sebastian said.

The timing of Nine’s special was timed perfectly for the musician, who also released his new single ‘Standing With You’ this week.

Last night’s episode of the ABC TV show Q&A, with 331,000 viewers, had federal Arts Minister Paul Fletcher and singer-songwriter Katie Noonan discuss the $250 million funding package.

Noonan and others were onto Fletcher’s spiel, telling him it was cheeky to include pay-back loans and demanded to know why it was necessary for a ministerial board to decide how the money would be dispersed.

Some suggested the independent Australia Council could make those decisions, while there was also a suggestion that the package was too late and not enough.

But Fletcher made a comeback. Goaded by fellow panellist and Labor MP Bill Shorten on what he planned to do about community TV channels closing in 24 hours, he returned fire.

“I can announce tonight that we will be extending Channel 31 and Channel 44 for another 12 months,” Fletcher said.

“Let’s be clear, it’s been our policy since 2014 that these community television stations should move to operating in a digital mode.

“Both Channel 31 in Melbourne and Channel 44 in Adelaide have several times said yes, they’re going to make that transition. They have been extended several times.”