Features May 30, 2019

Why Tom Gleeson’s ‘Hard Chat’ is prime promo for pop music

Contributor

After helping Grant Denyer win the Gold Logie at last years TV Week Logie Awards, Tom Gleeson is finally in the running for the coveted award at this years ceremony.

The comedian and host of The Hard Quiz has ruffled a lot of feathers with the shock announcement that he was quitting the show immediately. With a lot of confusion as to why he was doing this in the wake of his nomination, it turned out to be a bit of an elaborate joke.

He took to Twitter to clarify his statement by saying, “Last year proved you can only win if you don’t have a show. That’s why I axed myself. When I win Gold, I promise I will un-axe #HardQuiz immediately.”

With the publicity ploy gaining online traction, there was a lot of industry conversation over how his spin-off segment on The Weekly with Charlie Pickering couldn’t be axed either. This is because the satirical segment gives artists a unique platform to show a different side of their personality compared to more conventional press junket interviews.

Whenever an artist goes onto mainstream networks they often cop generic quesiton about dating, who they’re wearing or the cliche favourite “what inspired the new single?”

But Gleeson tackles a different approach when he has guests on his Hard Chat segment. He candidly delivers questions everyone is too afraid to ask, he makes fun of his guests in a satirical way. From asking James Blunt if the reason Ed Sheeran worked on his new album was to help fix it, to asking Anthony Callea What it’s like to be a life-sized ventriloquist doll, it’s evident he doesn’t hold back.

It’s a comedic effort that really allows the artists to show a different side to their personality. It’s playful, in good jest and is really in line with the Australian humour. It’s interviews like this that are so important to an artists career because not only are they memorable but they’re also great at helping their online brand grow.

From these playful interviews, viewers get to see a candid side to the artist that helps boost social presence as they want to keep up to date with what they are doing and see more of them.

Showing personality and vulnerability is such a powerful marketing tool as it helps listeners connect with the artist on a deeper level. And it shows a human side of them which again is apart of the raw connection that fans want to have with artists. Here are TMN’s Top 5 Hard Chat episodes:

5. Is Paul Kelly Australia’s version of Bob Dylan?

It’s not often that you see a playful side to Australian icon Paul Kelly. The usually sombre singer-songwriter sings about love and life struggles as well as brings to life classic poems that usually have a dark twist. So to see him in a different light is very engaging.

Bluntly asking Kelly, “Are you plagiarising again?” when talking about the poetic structure of his new record ‘Nature’, the two entertainers have fun chatting about his lack of radio hits and his lengthy discography.

Best Quote: “Are you Australia’s Bob Dylan or is there someone more annoying?”

4. The Veronicas measure individual popularity

Throughout their career, it’s common knowledge that The Veronicas love having fun interviews. Whether that causes on-air arguments, the overuse of the word “babe” or playful games that show their competitive sides. For this interview, they let their guard down and had fun with Gleeson as he questioned their identical twin traits and Jessica’s very public relationship with Ruby Rose at the time.

Best Quote: “You’re identical twins, how do you tell the difference? Your popularity?”

3. Anthony Callea admits he’s a reality TV loser

I wouldn’t immediately think Anthony Callea to be a quirky character but in this episode, he proved he was not only funny but very likeable, candid and quick on his feet.

From discussing everything from the way he met his husband Tim Campbell to looking like a ventriloquist doll that has come to life, he was a good sport to Gleeson’s low blows. A very memorable chat that will make you actually want to check out what he’s up to now.

Best Quote: “You came second on Australian Idol, fourth on I’m A Celebrity and fifth on It Takes Two. Is losing something you do professionally?”

2. Is Jessica Mauboy’s hit single Burn about Chlaymdia?

On the newest segment of The Hard Chat which aired last night, Gleeson interviewed Jessica Mauboy and for the first proper time, he visibly started cracking during the interview. Halfway through the chat, he proclaims “it’s like punching a puppy” before he put himself back together and kept prying her with questions.

But she was a good sport throughout the whole chat and when he asked her; “You’ve been described as the girl next door, squeaky clean and relatable. Are there any other ways of saying boring?” she laughed it off and replied, “yeah, Just relaxed”. Which he then quipped back by saying; “That is another way, congrats”. The playful and hilarious chat ended with Gleeson losing it laughing as the camera panned away.

Best Quote: “In your first hit single ‘Burn’ you sing, “Look what you did to me, I need a doctor cause this is starting to burn”. Is that your only song about chlamydia?”

1. Online troll James Blunt meets his match

The day that James Blunt met Tom Gleeson will always be an important memory for Hard Chat – it was the one time that the comedy favourite had met his match. Blunt is very well known for his quick comebacks on Twitter but even he didn’t know where Gleeson was going to go with this interview.

Hitting him hard and fast with hilarious questions that had Blunt laughing and spitting back some very memorable quotes that will have you referring straight to his hilarious Twitter feed after. It’s become one of our favourite chats from the ABC TV Show.