Steve James Broad (born 29 January 1986) is a New Zealand singer and radio presenter, known for coming 5th on the second season of the New Zealand edition of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' and 3rd on the second season of ''

New Zealand Idol ''New Zealand Idol'', also known as ''NZ Idol'', was the New Zealand version of the Idol series originated as the hit British TV series ''Pop Idol''. New Zealand first saw the ''Idol'' format when TV2 aired '' American Idol 2'', which garnered i ...

''. He was elected to the

Invercargill City Council Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

in 2023.

Early life

Broad was born in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

in 1986, growing up on a sheep farm. As a teen he worked at

H & J Smith H & J Smith Holdings Ltd, branded as H & J Smith and known colloquially as ''H&J's'' or ''Smith's'' is a company which operates in the lower South Island of New Zealand. The company primarily operates in department stores, specialty stores and ...

Career

Broad competed in the second season of ''

'' at the age of 19, eventually placing 3rd. Despite doing well in the competition, Broad later spoke of nearly giving up on music due to criticism from the media and the public. Two years later, Broad competed in ''

Pop's Ultimate Star ''Pop's Ultimate Star'' was TV2's reality television show which pits former reality contestants againest each other, most of whom are former ''NZ Idol'' contestants. The show was produced by Eyeworks Touchdown, with first prize $50,000 and a Kia ...

'' against other former reality television contestants. He placed 8th. Broad worked for

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

in Auckland while he studied law before switching to a teaching degree, which he completed back in Invercargill after five years. He then got a job teaching at

Southland Boys' High School Southland Boys' High School (SBHS) is an all-boys school in Invercargill, New Zealand, and has been the only one in the city since Marist Brothers was merged with St Catherines to form Verdon College in 1982. History SBHS was founded in 1881 and ...

. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, he contested a by-election for the

prompted by the resignation of Jackie Kruger, coming third with 2,453 votes. After performing in some local theatre and uploading cover songs to YouTube, in 2015 Broad decided to compete in the second series of New Zealand's ''

'', where he was placed in

Melanie Blatt Melanie Ruth Blatt (born 25 March 1975) is an English singer. She rose to fame in 1997 as a member of the girl group All Saints. The group have gained five number one singles, two multi-platinum albums, two BRIT Awards and have sold over 10 mil ...

's Over 25s group. He was eliminated in the quarter-final, placing 5th. After ''The X Factor'', Broad moved back to Auckland to teach at Remuera Primary School. There he was flatmates with ''

The Bachelor New Zealand ''The Bachelor New Zealand'' is a dating game show based on the original US version, '' The Bachelor''. It aired on Sunday and Monday nights on Three. The first season's bachelor was Art Green and the show was won by Matilda Rice. The second seas ...

'' contestant Gabrielle Davenport and ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' contestant Carolyn Taylor. He later moved back to Invercargill to work as a radio host on

More FM More FM is a New Zealand radio network that plays hot adult contemporary music. It is operated by MediaWorks New Zealand. More FM broadcasts in 25 centres throughout New Zealand on 81 transmitters with a mix of local and network programming. ...

and then to Christchurch to work as a

MediaWorks New Zealand MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. It is jointly owned by U.S. company Oaktree Capital Management and out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates nine n ...

manager. He returned to hosting More FM in Invercargill after his mother died in 2021. In

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

, he again contested a by-election for the Invercargill City Council, this time prompted by the resignation of Nigel Skelt. He was successfully elected, with a margin of over 1,000 votes ahead of second place.

Personal life

Broad came out as gay after ''The X Factor'', during which there had been frequent media speculation of his relationship with judge Melanie Blatt. He is a Christian, having attended

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

churches since his youth.

Discography

Digital releases from ''The X Factor''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broad, Steve 1986 births Living people People from Invercargill New Zealand Idol participants The X Factor (New Zealand TV series) contestants 21st-century New Zealand male singers Gay singers New Zealand LGBT singers Gay Christians New Zealand Christians New Zealand radio presenters New Zealand schoolteachers Invercargill City Councillors New Zealand gay politicians LGBT Pentecostals LGBT Calvinist and Reformed Christians