The Voice Australia hopeful Brooklyn Sauer’s life changed forever when she was attacked by a shark in 2024.
Thirteen years old at the time, she was swimming with friends and thought one of them was messing around before the terrifying truth dawned on her.
The shark left a hole in her back in the terrifying attack, but her lifesaving training kicked in, and she flagged down a surfer to help her.
The Bundaberg local was left with 40 puncture wounds and was flown to Brisbane, where she had 230 stitches.
However, she hasn’t let it stop her from returning to the water and continuing her work with the Bundaberg Surf Life Saving Club.
“I don’t want it to be seen as what you call a sob story,” the 16-year-old tells New Idea about that formative moment.
“It’s led to so many amazing things. And I love to say everything happens for a reason, and that definitely happens for a reason because there are so many things I’ve done or the people I’ve met that I wouldn’t have if it hadn’t happened.”
Instead, she hopes that her story inspires people to try new things, because “tomorrow’s not a promise”, a lesson she is taking on to The Voice Australia with her.
Music became an instrumental part of her recovery, and her new outlook on life made her embrace more opportunities performing in her hometown.
Having taught herself how to play piano, she writes songs in her free time.
After her Voice audition, Brooklyn hopes the show will allow her to connect with more people.
“I really want to share my original music with a large number of people is probably my biggest dream, because the stuff I write about is quite personal and sometimes it is really scary to put that out into the world, but when you allow yourself to be vulnerable, it’s a really healing experience,” she explains.
Following her moving rendition of Lady Gaga’s hit Always Remember Us This Way, Ronan Keating and Richard Marx turned around.
However, Ronan blocked Richard and ended up making the decision for the student and aspiring artist.
For Brooklyn, she says it was surreal to see them arguing and pitching to her. She tells us that she’s glad she didn’t have to decide.
“He’s a really humble guy to work with,” she explains.
“He taught me a lot of the things, really simple things, but they helped a lot, like what to do when you’re nervous and stuff.”
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