Shannon Noll & Natalie Bassingthwaighte Honour John Farnham With 'Two Strong Hearts'

Shannon Noll and Natalie Bassingthwaighte, two hitmakers from different sides of music in Australia, recently joined forces to honour John Farnham with a rendition of Two Strong Hearts.

By extension, also paying tribute to the late Olivia Newton-John, Noll and Bassingthwaighte appeared on a Sunday night (6 August) 7 News Spotlight about the lost tapes of John Farnham.

Admitting that “no one can sing like Farnesy,” Bassingthwaighte said, the pair stripped the song back and gave it a fresh, soulful take. Bassingthwaighte’s pop vocal was complimented by Noll’s country-inspired voice, particularly during the duo’s harmonies, making for a surprising tribute for two Australian music legends.

You can watch Shannon Noll’s and Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s cover of Two Strong Hearts below.

Earlier this year, Bassingthwaighte’s band, Rogue Traders, released their first new song in over a decade with To The Disco.

Keyboardist James Ash told The Music about the band’s present state of mind, “Yeah, and the thing about [calling Rogue Traders a legacy act] is that it implies we're thinking that we're over, but for us, every day feels like we're just starting out,” he said.

“We're intensely proud of them [older songs], but every time you go into the studio, and you start writing, it feels like the first time - for me, anyway. I feel like a beginner all the time and actually never want to lose that feeling, to be honest.”

In a recent interview, Bassingthwaighte revealed why she left Rogue Traders upon the band’s much-awaited reunion.

Earlier this year, Noll, an Australian Idol runner-up to country music sensation, started his own podcast. “Guys... I've started a Podcast!” he disclosed to fans on social media. “Each week, I'll be chatting with friends of mine in the entertainment industry, and we'll even be reviewing some upcoming episodes of Australian Idol for a bit of fun!

“My first guest is Ian "DICKO" Dickson. We had a great chat, and you can have a listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio and more right now.” 

In 2020, Noll scored his first #1 on the Australian Country charts when featured on Find Our Way with the band Southbound xo. He also teamed up with four-piece Melbourne band Darlinghurst on You Stopped Making Sense in 2021.

In 2022, he competed on Ten Network’s The Masked Singer Australia as the Blowfly and subsequently released the single Take Me Away.