The tour will be a walk down memory lane for fans and will include songs from Leith’s eight successful studio albums, with audiences given the chance to make song requests on Leith’s Facebook page.

“From The Winner’s Journey album right through to Songs from Ireland, there’s lots of songs to choose from,” he said.

“I’m going to over as many as I can. I’ll do audience favourites like Hallelujah, Unchained Melody, Message To My Girl and Creep, but I’ll also perform some old gems and original recordings that don’t get heard that often.”

Leith said he is looking forward to returning to the Hunter to reconnect with fans that have supported him since first stepping out onto the Idol stage.

“What I love about going to any town where I haven’t played for a while is seeing the audience, at the end of the day,” Leith said.

“You get to meet people that you haven’t met before and see those you haven’t seen in a while… and share the stories in a fresh way.”

The singer said Australian Idol provided an important platform for himself and his fellow contestants to reach for the stars.

Jessica Mauboy (The Sapphires, The Secret Daughter) and Dean Geyer (Glee) were among the 2006 alumni.

“I’ve kept in touch and have good relationships with all of the Idol contestants,” Leith said.

“We are all really proud of what everyone has achieved over the years.”

Leith will play at Cessnock Performing Arts Centre on Saturday, November 5.

Tickets are available at cessnockperformingartscentre.com.au or on 4990 7134.