After a successful debut, The Piano is returning for season two, and this time, Guy Sebastian is jumping on board as a mentor.
This means you will once again watch everyday pianists perform at public pianos across Australia, and share their stories.
So get ready for many heartwarming moments, and you might need to grab your tissues!
“I wanna feel the feels, where you’re taking me to weep town, and making me want to dance as well,” the former Australian Idol winner said in the trailer released on February 16.
Find out more about season two below.
Who is the host of The Piano?
Amanda Keller is once again returning as a host of the beloved ABC show.
In the lead-up to the second season, she told TV Tonight that the show plays into all of the skills she’s picked up from all of her hosting gigs.
“In terms of interviewing people, listening to people, just letting people tell me their story, talking to the camera,” she explained.
“I really felt stretched in every element of every other job I’ve ever done. It was just a gift to do, an exhausting, emotional gift. But what a gift.”
All of the stories are what set the series apart, she said.
“People who haven’t necessarily watched the show may have heard that it’s a show that makes people emotional when they watch it,” Amanda told TV Tonight.
“But if you do watch it, it’s not necessarily a sad show. This is why it’s been so nicely done by the producers who find people in the midst of their stories, or they’re coming out of something hard, or they just got a different perspective on it.
“Often you’re catching people on the upswing. So the emotion isn’t necessarily sad. Often it’s just beautiful and lovely, but it does touch a nerve.”
For Amanda, whose husband Harley is living with Parkinson’s, it was a privilege to hear all of the players’ stories.
“It’s an intense experience filming this, but that’s part of the beauty of having person after person tell you their story. It’s an extraordinary thing, and this is what we all know as you get older,” she shared.
“You scratch the surface, and everybody has a story.”
How does The Piano work?
When the pianists perform across the country, little do they know that they are being watched by Guy, a classically trained pianist, and Andrea Lam.
This year, the show was filmed across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
“We go to an international airport. We go down to the terminal where all the ferries come into Sydney. We’re not just in railway stations, we’re in shopping centres, and a whole lot of different places too,” Amanda explained.
Then, Guy and Andrea will select one pianist from each location to join them at a special finale concert at the City Recital Hall in Sydney.
“Seeing them walk onto that stage with confidence and heart, I was so proud,” Andrea previously shared with New Idea before last year’s concert recital.
In the lead-up to their big performance, they are coached by the pair.
For Andrea, the experience was “so powerful” because all of the players were unique.
“Each brought something unforgettable – one might make you laugh, another break your heart, and someone else would do both,” she continued. “That’s what made the experience so powerful.”
As for why she thinks the first season touched so many?
“Because it’s real, just people sitting down and playing from the heart,” she told us.
“It reminds us that everyone has a story, and that music connects us in deep, often unexpected, ways.”
Guy replaces former Australian Idol judge Harry Connick Jr as a mentor.
When does season two of The Piano air?
You can watch the second season of The Piano on Sunday, March 15, at 7.30pm on ABC. All of the episodes will also be available to stream on ABC iView, along with season one.
