“I want to make music that brings people together”
- Dinley Jones on life after Australian Idol

For Sydney-based Dinley Jones, 2025 has been a whirlwind already. After making it to the top 21 in the most recent season of Australian Idol, the singer, dancer and all-round creative force has been riding a wave of momentum with a growing fanbase and a fresh single.

Before Idol came calling, Jones was doing what he does best: performing. Working full time as the mascot for the Sydney Kings, dance was his main creative outlet, but music was always part of the picture. “In terms of my music and my art, I had been releasing music for a few years up until that point, and we’d really come to a point where we’d released a new song called “Get Down Right Now” after we’d recorded pretty much what we thought was a decent album.” He shares. Though his track had international acclaim, winning awards in Los Angeles and London, Jones wasn’t seeing the commercial response he had hoped for, sharing, “My solution to that was, ‘let’s take a hold on releasing any more of the songs, let’s look at other avenues so that we can build the brand, build the social awareness of what we’re trying to achieve, and then we will take another stab at releasing some more stuff.’ So I went through a few different like ideas and then Idol reached out to us and they said we’d love for you to come through an audition and I thought ‘you know what? I’ll give it a crack.’

That laid-back, ‘can-do’ attitude combined with his ambition has done wonders for Jones post-Idol. “It’s opened doors that I never knew existed. It’s really provided opportunities that weren’t available before. And in terms of the reach and the response, it has allowed me to expand and it’s allowed me to really reach new fans and new audiences and really communicate with them and connect with them. And it’s been incredible.” He’s still performing regularly—now with the added bonus of being recognised. “We did a show in Canberra after Idol… and everyone had an incredible response… it was really cool to see everyone going, ‘Dinley, I know you!’”

But for Jones, one of the most unexpected joys has been the friendships made through the competition. “When you go through an experience like that, it’s so unique. You’re bound to share memories and create bonds. There are people that I still talk to to this day- Gisella came third and we’re still talking… there’s so much love.”

With Idol now in the rearview, Jones has his eyes set firmly on the future. His latest single, “All Of You And All Of Me”, is a shimmering, heartfelt anthem- one that has been a long time coming. “Pretty much this whole album was written before Idol.” He explains, going on to share how the track came to be, “My whole perspective on music is that, especially in today’s culture, a lot of music is made to isolate groups and tear them apart. If it’s a song that girls love, boys hate it. And if it’s a song that boys love, girls hate it…I want to make music that brings people together.”

At its core, this is a love song, but Jones reveals that he deliberately crafted the track to work on multiple levels. “It’s a love song about the connection that you make with this one individual person that allows the world around you to fade away. But at the same time, I wrote “All Of You And All Of Me” as a chorus that when sung as a crowd, it’s all of you and it’s all of me.” Written in one session, this song came together with what he describes to be a rare kind of magic. “As soon as we wrote it, we went, this has to be the next one… but if we don’t have the audience, we don’t want to put it out… I’m not here for 15 minutes… I want it to be heard by people who will listen to it for the rest of their life.”

Musically, Jones continues to draw from two worlds. “I’m a dancer and I’m also a singer-songwriter.” He explains. “Think a cross between Ed Sheeran and his ballads, and Bruno Mars and his performativeness. My goal is to just do my best to balance those two throughout my artistry, send a message that brings people together and then ultimately grow with that.”

So far, the reception to the track has been everything he hoped for. “It’s been wonderful. I’ve heard nothing but good things… We’ve got a music video in the works that… is looking incredible… hopefully we can reach out to some of those international festivals again.”

Looking ahead, Jones has big plans. “As this next music video drops for this song, we’re hoping to release the next single. And then, who knows? Sky’s the limit. We’ve got the album that we’re sitting on, we’re gonna roll with the punches and we’re going to flow with the current and adapt.” And long-term? He wants to take the people who helped shape him on the ride. “My goal is to take the people that nurtured me as an entertainer, the dancers, the performers… I want to take those people on a journey. I wanna do a big tour where I get to sell out to crowds, where I can show them all the multifaceted people that make up my life… I want all of them to sit at the table together, all of these people, and like a family. And I want to tour with these people. And I want to help these people, give back to these people because they’ve given me so much.”

For Dinley Jones, Idol was just the beginning. With heart, vision, hustle and a whole lot of talent he’s forging his own path and inviting us all along for the ride. “All Of You And All Of Me” is out now, you can stream it wherever you listen and keep up with him on Instagram HERE.

Photo credit: Artist Supplied

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