One of twelve children, Firebrace was born in Portland, Victoria, and raised in Moama, New South Wales, Australia. Firebrace is an Aboriginal Australian; his father is Yorta Yorta and his mother Gunditjmara. Firebrace first came to public attention when he entered the Fast Track Singing Competition in Melbourne. This led to a scholarship at the David Jaanz School of Singing.
2016: ''The X Factor'' and debut album
Isaiah auditioned for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia, singing a cover of Adele's "Hello". Making it through to Bootcamp, he performed a cover of Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You". From the live shows, he advanced to the Grand Final. On 21 November 2016, at the Grand Final, Isaiah performed Avicii's "Wake Me Up" with Jessica Mauboy, and his winner's single "It's Gotta Be You", winning the contest. His winner's single peaked at number 26 on the Australian Singles Chart. The song also charted in Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden. On 9 December 2016, Isaiah released his debut studio albumIsaiah. The album peaked at number 12 on the Australian Albums Chart.
Following his X-Factor win, Firebrace reported that he was interested in representing Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest, and put his name forward for possible participation in the 2017 contest. On 7 March 2017, broadcaster SBS announced that they had internally selected Firebrace to represent Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kiev, Ukraine. His entry, "Don't Come Easy", was written by DNA Songs, who also composed Dami Im's entry "Sound of Silence". On 9 May 2017, he qualified from the first semi-final and competed in the final on 13 May, finishing in 9th place. Throughout 2019, Firebrace completed a 55-date 'Spirit and Beyond' tour through central and regional Australia, where he made it a priority to speak with as many Aboriginal school children as possible to pass on powerful messages about working hard to achieve goals and the importance of finding a passion. In 2019, Firebrace sang the Australian National Anthem at the TAB Million Dollar Chase greyhound race at Wentworth Park. In July 2020, Firebraece released "Know Me Better". He said "This song actually means a lot to me because I finally feel like I'm starting to know myself better and I am heading in the direction I want to with my music. I've been in the studio a lot over the last three years and have experimented with lots of styles but 'Know Me Better' is a song that I'm really proud to release. I love the song, I love the production and I just can't wait to be able to show people this song". As of 2020, Firebrace is currently writing a children's book called "The Purple Platypus"; pushing a positive message for kids who feel different.
