He owns a Commonwealth Games Gold medal, a Billboard top 10 hit album, a clothing range, and he even has a lifelike copy at a wax museum. Now Cody Simpson has a children’s book.
After missing out on a spot in the Dolphins squad for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Simpson shook off the disappointment by hitting the books. Or rather, one picture book — “The Sea In Me.”
The Gold Coast pop singer, songwriter, athlete and genuine allrounder turned his attention to the children’s book, which he co-authored with Jess Black and published through Penguin Books Australia.
At the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials, Simpson was unable to complete the dream with a place in the national team for his pet disciplines of 100-metre freestyle and 100-metre butterfly, and missed out on the relay team.
“Made sure I was a gangster in my training, meticulous in my preparation and fearless in my competing every step of the way,” he wrote at the time. “I promise I will never stop trying to do special things with my life. Shoot for the moon…land among the stars. My shot has landed me in a constellation of stars otherwise known as that elusive club, the Australian Swim Team.”
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On the musical front, Cody has released a handful of singles in 2024, including “Fly,” his first new music since dropping his self-titled fourth studio album in 2022, via Coast House. He hints at more “exciting projects” in the pipeline.
Though hardly a household name in his homeland, Simpson has lived large in the United States, where he once had the honor of performing his country’s national anthem at an NBA contest, for Australia Day. Five of his albums have impacted the Billboard 200 chart, including a top 10 for 2013’s “Surfers Paradise,” which peaked at No. 10.
In 2022, he Simpson collected Commonwealth Games gold as part of the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, along with silver in the 4x100m medley. His efforts earned him selection to Australia’s squad for the 2022 Duel in the Pool against the U.S. In the same year, he launched the Prince Neptune: The Label and its range of eco-wear.
Though he missed out on representing Australia in Paris, he’s watching on from poolside, cheering on his girlfriend Emma McKeon, who has lifted her career tally to six Olympic golds, a record for an Australian athlete.
“The Sea In Me” is available through Penguin Books Australia.
