An Australian music star has revealed he left his life in Los Angeles after surviving a drive-by shooting.
Jon George, who was part of the popular dance group Rüfüs Du Sol, was nearly killed when he and his bandmates were innocently caught in the crossfire.
“There were like six shots right in front of my face… and I just said, ‘Okay, I think I’m done with this city’ for a while,” he recalled during an appearance. in Nova Smallzy Surgery On Wednesday.
Interviewed alongside his Rüfüs Du Sol bandmates James Hunt and Tyrone Lindqvist, Jon relived the terrifying moment and explained how it changed his life.
He said the shooting was “definitely” one of the reasons he and bandmate James left Los Angeles and settled in Miami, while Tyrone moved to San Diego.
“Shit,” said host Ken ‘Smallzy’ Small after hearing Jon’s dramatic story.
“Yeah, (the drive-by) was enough for me to say, ‘Let’s change it,'” George responded.
Smallz added: “I don’t think people in Australia understand how crazy it is in certain parts of America… it’s like the Wild West.”
Australian music star Jon George, of the popular dance group Rüfüs Du Sol, has revealed that he stopped living in Los Angeles after facing a hail of bullets in a drive-by shooting. Pictured: Jon (center) with bandmates Tyrone Lindqvist (left) and James Hunt (right)
Formed in 2010, Rüfüs Du Sol rose to fame in 2013 when their debut album Atlas reached number one in Australia.
They later won an Aria Award in 2015 for Best Dance Release for their single You Were Right.
In 2022, the trio took home a prestigious Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording for their song Alive.
The band recently picked up a whopping four nominations at the 2024 Aria Awards, including best dance/electronic release, best video, best Australian live act and best group.
The keyboardist made the comments during an appearance on Nova’s Smallzy’s Surgery on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, another Aussie favorite, Kylie Minogue, earned five ARIA nominations.
The pop legend, 56, has received nominations in five different categories, including two of the best: album of the year and best solo artist.
Their hit album Tension has also been nominated for best pop release, while the title single is also in the running for song of the year.
In the best solo artist category, Kylie is up against big Australian stars such as The Kid LAROI, Tones and I, Troye Sivan and Dom Dolla, among others.
She will also battle Amy Shark, Angie McMahon, Royel Otis and Troye in the album of the year category.
The big milestone comes after Kylie confirmed she will embark on a 10-date Australian tour and release a new album, titled Tension II.