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Australian Idol is the Australian version of the British TV hit show Pop Idol. It is a talent contest to find a pop performer and is hosted by Andrew G and James Mathison aired on Network Ten and broadcast on the Austereo Radio Network. The first season started on July 27, 2003, and finished on November 19.
The first season was won by Guy Sebastian ahead of Shannon Noll while the 2004 season saw Casey Donovan win ahead of Anthony Callea. The 2005 season was won by Kate DeAraugo ahead of Emily Williams. The 2006 season ended on Sunday, November 26 and was won by Damien Leith ahead of Jessica Mauboy.
Australian Idol holds the distinction out of all Idol series of having both the youngest winner (Casey Donovan at 16 years, 6 months, 8 days) and the oldest winner (Damien Leith at 30 years, 10 months, 8 days).
It has been noticed that, in the first three seasons of Australian Idol, the contestant standing directly in the middle of the top 12 photo was the eventual winner of the series. However in the fourth season, the contestant standing in the middle of the top 12 photo, Jessica Mauboy, was runner-up.
About the show
The panel of judges for the Australian show are Mark Holden, a former pop star and now music producer, Marcia Hines, a soul singer, and Kyle "Poofter Pants" Sandilands, a radio personality/transexual pornstar. Sandilands replaced Ian "Dickhead" Dickson, a marketing manager of BMG Australia, who left after the second season for the competing Seven Network. On November 30, 2006, it was announced that Ian Dickson is returning to the show as a permanent fourth judge of the competition.
This show is a competition which gives people the chance to win a recording contract with Sony BMG. The show is filmed at the Global Television Studios in Sydney.
Auditions
Auditions are held in major cities around Australia to find each season's contestants. As of 2006 the audition locations are; Adelaide, Albury-Wodonga, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Broken Hill, Byron Bay, Hobart, Melbourne, Mount Isa, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney and Townsville.
During auditions contestants perform a song of their choice before all three judges who then respond with either criticism or praise followed by a yes or no vote as to whether the contestant has been accepted.
Top 100
Generally around 100 people are accepted from the auditions who then go to Sydney to participate in various performances which help judges decide which of the contestants will make it into the next tier. These consist of both solo and group performances and are on which judges base their decision to cull the number of competitors down to 24.
Semi-finals
The top 24 format has varied season to season, however as of 2006 takes the form of splitting contestants into groups from which both the audience and judges choose a select amount to keep. A wildcard entrant from the eliminated competitors is then chosen and reinstated into the competition, who by this stage becomes the 12th competitor. Performances generally last around 2 minutes and are followed by comments from each of the three judges.
Finals
As the number of performers reaches 12 the contestants are given the task of choosing a song, in accordance with a weekly theme, to perform live on national television. Viewers then telephone (or SMS) their vote(s) in relation to who they want to stay another week.
On elimination shows the people with the 3 lowest amounts of votes are taken into the 'bottom 3', before being read first who is safe for another week and finally who has been eliminated.
Grand Finale
The winner of Australian Idol is announced during the spectacular Grand Finale at the Sydney Opera House. Featuring fireworks, an outdoor concert with many Idol stars and highlights of the series.
Contestants commercial performance
- Main article: List of Australian Idol commercial releases
The success of Australian Idol has been reflected on the Australian charts with three finalists albums and multiple contestant albums all enjoying considerable success so far.
In total, Australian Idol contestants have sold approximately a million albums in Australia since November 2003. BMG who signed up the two original finalists have presented Guy Sebastian with a royalty cheque for a million dollars in July 2004, with Shannon Noll also receiving a similar cheque later in the year.
As of May 2006, Australian Idol contestants have enjoyed over forty top 40 hits in Australia since November 2003. The strength of the success of Australian Idol contestants in the charts was shown when Shannon Noll's single "Learn to Fly" debuted at #1 just a few sales points ahead of "Angel Eyes" by Paulini Curuenavuli on the Australian singles charts of 12 July, 2004. Paulini's single even jumped up to #1 the following week. Paulini's and Guy Sebastian's singles and albums, as well as one of Ricki Lee's singles, have also featured prominently in the Urban Music charts.
References
- "Sydney Morning Herald", Sydney Morning Herald, November 30, 2006
- "Audition Locations", Australian Idol official site, 2006
See also
External links
- Australian Idol
- Australian Idol at IMDb
- NEWS.com.au Follow Australian Idol 2006
- WHO.com Australian Idol blog
| Australian Idol | |
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| Seasons | |
| Winners | |
| Winners' singles | |
| Runners-up | |
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| List of winners | |||||||||||
| Main franchise |
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