The 36-year-old played capital cities with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra while touring his ARIA #1 Hits in Symphony album in 2018. The album debuted at number one thirteen years after he first rose to fame as the runner up on Australian Idol and his subsequent single, a cover of Pavarotti's "The Prayer".

His "Unplugged and Unfiltered" tour, by contrast, will see him tour the regions - including Horsham Town Hall on May 25. He'll perform a mix of covers and originals with nothing but a grand piano, a guitar and some close friends.

Callea was in Horsham on Thursday to promote the tour, and he said every night would be different by virtue of the stripped back, less structured arrangement.

"The thing is with a setup like this, we get to the backbone of these songs, the crux of their lyrics and melodies," he said. "I love performing live: Out on stage is where I feel most at home and it allows me to be me completely."

Callea said by "unfiltered" he meant he would use his "Italian mouth" to share personal stories from across his career, including his time touring with pop vocal legends Celine Dion and Whitney Houston.

"I've been lucky to share stages with some iconic people I grew up adoring, and I think Celine was my favorite," she said.

"She was so beautiful to me and so warm. I remember at the last show in Perth her partner Rene said 'Celine would like to see you', and this was after we'd said goodbye.

"So I went and knocked on her trailer door, she did a beautiful speech to thank me and gave me a handwritten note, and I just thought 'That is a class act'. You can learn so much from people like that."

Another story concerns his backing vocalist for this tour, Susie Ahern.

"There was this talent show on TV called Startstruck and you had to be 15 or older to enter," he said.

"I was 14 and nine months, and I lied on my entry form and thought I'd be able to get away with it, but I had to rock up with either my passport or my birth certificate to prove my age.

"They still let me audition but they said they wouldn't let me go through because I lied. She was one of the judges making the call whether I could enter, and apparently she went to the producers and said 'Can we make a change to have him on the show?'.

"So basically she went in and fought for me, and we've been friends ever since."

Callea said after 15 years in the cutthroat music industry, he had learned to surround himself with people like Ahern who could bring out the best in him.

"Yes it's my name on the poster, but I wouldn't be able to do that without the support," he said.

"It's a really nice thing to be able to walk out on stage and feel that support with you there."