Born in Mount Isa, Queensland Australia, Altiyan spent most of his life growing up in Sydney. At the age of 12 he formed his first band but did not have any success in music until after leaving school when he joined a band called “Masonia”.
After the release of their debut single “Simple” that charted at number 41 in the singles charts, the band had no further success and in 2008 they decided to split.
Altiyan gave up on a music career after the band broke up and became a Forklift driver until 2010 when his father persuaded him to apply for the X Factor.
Mentored by Boyzone’s Ronan Keating on the show, Altiyan went on to win the competition and became the second person to win the X Factor title in Australia.
His self styled debut album charted at number 3 in both the Australian and New Zealand album charts.