Kuwarna midfielder Izak Rankine is no stranger to the bright lights, regularly dazzling thousands of fans at Adelaide Oval with his silky skills on the football field.
But on Monday night, a different type of spotlight was on the 26-year-old, as he joined chart-topping Australian singer, and Kuwarna No.1 ticket holder, Guy Sebastian on stage at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
Rankine was pulled out of the crowd from Sebastian’s concert in Adelaide on Monday evening, and joined the ARIA winning artist on stage for a rendition of Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved.”
Speaking to AFC Media about the performance, Rankine said it was one of the most surreal experiences of his life.
“Prior to going up I got into this kind of trance, my head was spinning and was like ‘this can’t be real’,” Rankine said.
“But then you’ve obviously got to go up and actually do it, and once I got up on that stage the nerves settled a little bit and I started to sing and just had the best time.
“Having a relationship with Guy prior helped as well, I’ve seen him at a lot of the games, had conversations with him about my singing, so I felt comfortable being next to him, just like I was up there with a mate.
“When it was finished I rang mum on the way home and told her what happened and she went crazy, she’s a huge Guy Sebastian fan - I was just buzzing, honestly it felt like I’d just played a game.
“I actually still can’t believe it happened and I’m just so grateful to him for giving me the opportunity.”
Rankine said he did not get much notice ahead of his cameo, but immediately agreed to put himself out there and take up Sebastian’s kind offer.
He explained how the night unfolded and how he felt in the lead-up to the performance.
“Basically, Guy reached out and asked if I’d like to go on stage, I said yes straight away and in the back of my mind was thinking this is going to be crazy and nervewracking,” Rankine said.
“But I worked up the courage over the weekend, getting a win on Sunday helped with the nerves, and then I came to the concert early, had a meet and greet with him, had a yarn where he explained how he was going to do it.
“I then had to sit through the whole concert pretty much waiting for my time, but he was great, he made the whole thing really casual and cruisy for me and brought a great vibe.
“When he asked me to go up the crowd went crazy, I had a lot of support and a lot of love, and it was such a great night.”
The performance was just the fourth time Rankine had sung in front of a crowd, having put his talents on show in two Gather Round Spectacular TV specials in 2024 and 2025 and at a more intimate brand event just one month ago.
“There is no way I thought anything like this would ever happen, I didn’t even really start singing until a couple of years ago, I was always a guitarist,” Rankine said.
“I never, ever thought it would go anywhere, or I’d do anything with it - but I’ve done four gigs now, the first three by myself and then the fourth with Guy Sebastian, so I’ve definitely skipped a few steps.
“It was such a good night, such a good vibe, a great experience and I am just so thankful for the opportunity - not many people get to go on stage and sing with Guy Sebastian and it was pretty special for me.”
Rankine also took the opportunity to speak about the positive impact Sebastian has had as the Club’s No.1 ticket holder.
“I think it’s amazing (to have Guy as a Kuwarna ambassador), he’s a great choice to be the No.1 ticket holder for the Club,” Rankine said.
“He represents Adelaide, he represents the culture that we’re building here, he’s such a great person and holds similar values to what we do at the Club.
“He’s very down to earth, very inclusive and he just controlled the whole stage and brought the crowd in for the journey across the night - he’s top tier at what he does.
“You get the sense he’s just a normal bloke that loves his footy, he’ll give anyone the time of day.”
Kuwarna takes on North Melbourne this Saturday afternoon, with the match to start at 12.45pm (ACST).
Get your tickets here.
