A BENDIGO musician's song about love and loss has been shortlisted in a competition by megastar Tones and I.
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Tom Harrington's song Before You Go was among thousands to entered in the international star's That One Song competition.
"It's been pretty crazy to be able to release this in iso and have that support, even without being able to play it for people," he said.
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Tones and I started the competition to help artists struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She got her own big break after being noticed busking in Byron Bay in 2017.
Her hit song Dance Monkey was based on her experiences of that period, as was her recent decision to start the That One Song competition.
"I always look back and think Jeez, if I was still busking right now I would have no income. It would be really hard," she said in a social media post from August.
"I've had this idea that there are so many opportunities for artists who can do online festivals and stuff, but there's absolutely no opportunities for anyone that's struggling."
Harrington said the public's reaction to the song since being shortlisted had been amazing.
"This was my first original release, which I recorded at Ladd Studios in Bendigo. I'd been playing cover gigs and weddings locally for the past few years," he said.
Harrington wrote Before You Go last year.
"It's about having to say goodbye to a girl I was talking to. She was getting all these job opportunities on the east coast and was sort of turning them down," he said.
"I was wondering why, and decided it was probably because she thought we might, maybe, be together. I didn't want to be the reason she was turning all these job opportunities down."
The song was about letting her go and saying goodbye.
"Musically, I tried to give it an uplifting sort of sound, with a sentimental melody. It has a catchy chorus but also has that deeper message," Harrington said.
Voting in That One Song will continue until Tuesday at 5pm.
The winner will get $5000, half-an-hour meeting with a music management company, a Zoom call with Tones and I and a day in a recording studio.
Tones and I encouraged people to follow artists featured at the That One Song Instagram page.
"That's what it's all about, helping out those artists who work so hard everyday and don't have the help of a million people organising their lives, and affirmation from people who already love them," she said.
To vote for Harrington's song, visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/thatonesong