Australian Idol - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Australian Idol finalists (with dates of elimination)
Australian Idol season 1 Australian Idol (season 1) The first season of Australian Idol was produced by Fremantle Media subsidiary Grundy Television in association with UK company 19TV, and was broadcast on Network Ten for 19 weeks in the latter half of 2003... finalists
Nathan O'Reilly	Winner
Shannon Noll Shannon Noll Shannon Noll first came to prominence as runner-up of the first series of Australian Idol which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. Since then he has released five Top 10 albums and ten Top 10 singles. His first two albums That's What I'm Talking About in 2004 and Lift in 2005 debuted at No...	19 November
Cosima De Vito Cosima De Vito Cosima De Vito , also known simply as Cosima, is an Australian singer-songwriter. She rose to fame as a contestant of the original Australian Idol series in 2003...	3 November
Paulini Curuenavuli Paulini Curuenavuli Paulini Curuenavuli , commonly known as Paulini, is an Australian R&B/pop singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as a contestant of the first season of the television series, Australian Idol in 2003....	27 October
Rob Mills Rob Mills Rob Mills is an Australian singer best known as one of the finalists from Australian Idol 2003. He was a co-host on the late-night quiz show The Mint as well as a regular singer on the game show The Singing Bee both on the Nine Network...	20 October
Levi Kereama^†	13 October
Rebekah LaVauney	6 October
Kelly Cavuoto	6 October
Lauren Buckley	29 September
Cle Wootton	29 September
Peter Ryan	22 September
Matthew Chadwick	22 September
Australian Idol season 2 (2004)Australian Idol (season 2) The second season of Australian Idol debuted on 13 July 2004. Over 50,000 people throughout Australia auditioned.-Overview:As well as the five larger cities, the judges also visited Canberra, Hobart, Darwin and Tamworth this year... finalists
Casey Donovan Casey Donovan (singer) -Australian Idol :Donovan transferred to the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney's Surry Hills in 2004 and it was in this year that her stepfather encouraged her to audition for the second season of Australian Idol...	Winner
Anthony Callea Anthony Callea Anthony Cosmo Callea is an Australian singer-songwriter who rose to prominence in the 2004 season of Australian Idol when he became runner up. He was signed to Sony Music Australia until 2009 and is now an independent artist...	21 November
Courtney Murphy	8 November
Hayley Jensen Hayley Jensen Hayley Jensen is an Australian singer and songwriter who became well known after appearing on the second series of Australian Idol. She was the fourth finalist, leaving the show on 1 November...	1 November
Chanel Cole Chanel Cole Chanel Cole is a musician from Bega, New South Wales. She is a member of the Australian trip hop group Spook....	25 October
Marty Worrall	18 October
Ricki-Lee Coulter Ricki-Lee Coulter Ricki-Lee Coulter is an Australian recording artist and television and radio presenter. In 2004, Coulter was placed seventh place on the second season of Australian Idol...	11 October
Daniel Belle	4 October
Emelia Rusciano	27 September
Amali Ward	20 September
Dan O'Connor	13 September
Angeline Narayan	6 September
Australian Idol season 3 (2005)Australian Idol (season 3) The third season of Australian Idol debuted on 26 July 2005. The first of three semi-finals was held on 16 August 2005 with three of the Final 12 contenders announced the following night on 17 August 2005... finalists
Kate DeAraugo Kate DeAraugo Katherine Jenna "Kate" DeAraugo, pronounced de roosh , is an Australian singer-songwriter who was the third winner of Australian Idol in 2005. After idol, DeAraugo signed to Sony BMG and released her debut single, "Maybe Tonight", in November 2005. The single debuted and peaked at Number 1 on the...	Winner
Emily Williams Emily Williams Emily Williams , is a New Zealand-born Australian singer-songwriter, who rose to fame on the third season of Australian Idol in 2005, and became runner-up of the season...	21 November
Lee Harding Lee Harding Lee Harding is an Australian pop singer. He is from Frankston, Victoria, where he worked at the local AMC cinema multiplex...	14 November
Dan England	7 November
Daniel Spillane	31 October
Anne Robertson	24 October
James Kannis James Kannis James Jay Kannis is a singer from Australia who was well known for participating in the reality television show Australian Idol. Kannis was placed in seventh position, eliminated on 17 October 2005....	17 October
Milly Edwards	10 October
Roxane LeBrasse	3 October
Laura Gissara Laura Gissara Laura Gissara was a contestant on the 2005 season of Australian Idol. She was eliminated from the show on 26 September 2005.- Australian Idol :...	26 September
Natalie Zahra	19 September
Chris Luder	12 September
Tarni Stephens	12 September
Australian Idol season 4 (2006)Australian Idol (season 4) The fourth season of Australian Idol first episode aired on 6 August 2006 and concluded on 26 November.-Format Changes:Changes for the fourth season of Australian Idol included the cancellation of "Inside Idol"; a "streamlined" semi-finals ; and the contestants will be able to bring... finalists
Damien Leith Damien Leith Damien Leo Leith is an Irish Australian singer–songwriter. He was the winner of the Network Ten music contest Australian Idol 2006Damien has also guest co-hosted 'The Morning Show' on Network Ten on 18 July 2011.He was born in Ireland and now lives in Australia with his Australian wife, Eileen...	Winner
Jessica Mauboy Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy , is an Indigenous Australian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. In 2006, Mauboy was the runner-up on the fourth season of Australian Idol, she had auditioned for the talent show in Alice Springs to pursue a recording career...	26 November
Dean Geyer Dean Geyer Dean Stanley Geyer is an Australian Singer-Songwriter and Actor who came third in the 2006 season of the talent show television series, Australian Idol.-Early life:...	13 November
Chris Murphy Chris Murphy (Australian singer) Christopher Bryce Murphy , is an Australian male singer-songwriter who rose to fame when he placed fourth in Australian Idol 2006....	6 November
Ricky Muscat	30 October
Lisa Mitchell Lisa Mitchell Lisa Helen Mitchell is an Australian singer-songwriter who grew up in Albury, New South Wales. Her debut EP, Said One To The Other topped iTunes in Australia and this success brought her to the attention of boutique London-based publisher, Little Victories , a subsidiary of Sony/ATV, with whom she...	23 October
Bobby Flynn Bobby Flynn Robert Andrew "Bobby" Flynn is an Australian singer-songwriterThe band made a nationwide tour through Australia in 2007, appearing in many regional centres including Burnie, Wagga Wagga, Townsville and Lismore....	16 October
Lavina Williams	9 October
Guy "Mutto" Mutton Guy Mutton Guy Christopher Mutton, also known as Mutto , is an Australian singer, a Top 12 contestant in the fourth season of Australian Idol and lead singer of the Gold Coast based rock band, Soulframe....	2 October
Klancie Keough	25 September
Reigan Derry	18 September
Joseph Gatehau	11 September
Australian Idol season 5 (2007)Australian Idol (season 5) The fifth season of Australian Idol premiered on 5 August 2007 on Network Ten. It concluded on 25 November.-Format Changes:The series was again hosted by Andrew G and James Mathison with Ian "Dicko" Dickson returning to the show as one of the judges, along with Mark Holden, Marcia Hines and Kyle... finalists
Natalie Gauci Natalie Gauci Natalie Gauci is an Australian singer of Italian and Maltese descent. Gauci undertook music tuition at the Victorian College of the Arts, formed her own band that played gigs in Melbourne, while also working as a music teacher...	Winner
Matt Corby Matt Corby Matthew John "Matt" Corby is an Australian singer-songwriter, who was the runner-up to Natalie Gauci on the fifth season of Australian Idol in 2007.-2007:...	25 November
Carl Riseley	12 November
Marty Simpson	5 November
Tarisai Vushe	29 October
Daniel Mifsud	22 October
Ben McKenzie	15 October
Jacob Butler	8 October
Mark Da Costa	1 October
Lana Krost	24 September
Brianna Carpenter	17 September
Holly Weinert	10 September
Australian Idol season 6 (2008)Australian Idol (season 6) The sixth season of Australian Idol premiered on Sunday, 24 August 2008, on Network Ten. The season finale aired live on Sunday, 23 November 2008. The winner was Wes Carr with Luke Dickens as runner-up.-Changes to Format:... finalists
Wes Carr Wes Carr Wes Carr is an Australian singer-songwriter. He released his first studio album Simple Sum independently in 2008 shortly before entering Australian Idol. In November 2008 he was announced as the winner of the sixth season of Australian Idol...	Winner
Luke Dickens	23 November
Mark Spano	17 November
Teale Jakubenko	10 November
Chrislyn Hamilton	3 November
Roshani Priddis	27 October
Sophie Paterson	20 October
Thanh Bui	13 October
Madam Parker	6 October
Tom Williams Tom J Williams Thomas James Howard-Williams , better known as Tom J Williams, is a singer-songwriter from Adelaide, Australia. At the age of sixteen, Williams was the youngest contestant to reach the Final 12 of Australian Idol, placing tenth in season 6.-Singles:-Music Videos:-"LOL" Instore Tour 2010:During...	29 September
Brooke Addamo	22 September
Jonny Taylor	15 September
Australian Idol season 7 (2009)Australian Idol (season 7) The seventh and final season of the Australian Idol series began on 9 August 2009, to determine who would succeed Season 6 winner, Wes Carr. Beginning amid controversy, judge Kyle Sandilands was replaced by Sony Music record executive, Jay Dee Springbett. It was the first season where all four... finalists Australian Idol (season 7) The seventh and final season of the Australian Idol series began on 9 August 2009, to determine who would succeed Season 6 winner, Wes Carr. Beginning amid controversy, judge Kyle Sandilands was replaced by Sony Music record executive, Jay Dee Springbett. It was the first season where all four...
Stan Walker Stan Walker Stan Walker , is an Australian recording artist and actor. In 2009, Walker was the winner on the seventh season of Australian Idol. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia....	Winner
Hayley Warner	22 November
James Johnston	15 November
Nathan Brake	8 November
Toby Moulton	1 November
Kate Cook	25 October
Kim Cooper	18 October
Scott Newnham	11 October
Tim Johnston	4 October
Sabrina Batshon	27 September
Casey Barnes	20 September
Ashleigh Toole	13 September

Australian Idol is a Logie Award

Logie Award

The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...

-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise
Idol series
The British talent search television series Pop Idol has spawned spin-offs in 42 territories, in what is now referred to as the "Idols" format, as described by FremantleMedia...

, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol

Pop Idol

Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...

, which was created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller is a British artist manager, television producer and creator of the Idol franchise, first seen as Pop Idol in the UK. Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality show So You Think You Can Dance and other U.S...

. Australian Idol was televised on Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...

for all seven series, and was broadcast on Austereo Radio Network between 2005 and 2007.

The show
Australian Idol was a show which sought to discover the most commercial young singer in Australia through a series of nationwide auditions. The outcomes of the later stages of this competition were determined by public voting. The original judging panel featured Mark Holden

Mark Holden

Mark Holden is an Australian singer, television personality and barrister. He was one of a panel of three judges on the television series Australian Idol.-Acting career:...

, Marcia Hines

Marcia Hines

Marcia Elaine Hines, AM is a vocalist, actress and TV personality who achieved success in her adopted homeland of Australia. Hines made her debut, at the age of sixteen, in the Australian version of the stage musical Hair and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar...

and Ian Dickson. In 2005, this was changed as Ian Dickson was replaced by Kyle Sandilands

Kyle Sandilands

Kyle Dalton Sandilands is an Australian radio and TV personality. He is currently the host with Jacqueline Henderson, better known as Jackie O, on the weekday morning radio program The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Sydney radio station 2Day FM, The Kyle and Jackie O Hour of Power which airs on...

. In 2007, Ian Dickson returned to the program, when Mark Holden

Mark Holden

Mark Holden is an Australian singer, television personality and barrister. He was one of a panel of three judges on the television series Australian Idol.-Acting career:...

left at the end of the season. In 2009, Kyle Sandilands

Kyle Sandilands

was replaced by Jay Dee Springbett

Jay Dee Springbett

Jay Dee Springbett was a British-born record executive who appeared as a judge on the singing competition Australian Idol during the show's seventh season in 2009...

. Network Ten

Network Ten

Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...

made the decision to "rest" the program for 2010, supposedly due to a clash with the Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....

History

In its seven seasons, the show has seen a mixture of judges and hosts. The winner, runner-ups, judges and hosts of Australian Idol are:

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Judges	Host(s)
2003 Australian Idol (season 1) The first season of Australian Idol was produced by Fremantle Media subsidiary Grundy Television in association with UK company 19TV, and was broadcast on Network Ten for 19 weeks in the latter half of 2003...	Guy Sebastian Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian is an Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of Australian Idol in 2003. He is currently a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor. Sebastian has released six top ten platinum/multi platinum albums, including a number-one and...	Shannon Noll Shannon Noll Shannon Noll first came to prominence as runner-up of the first series of Australian Idol which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. Since then he has released five Top 10 albums and ten Top 10 singles. His first two albums That's What I'm Talking About in 2004 and Lift in 2005 debuted at No...	Mark Holden Mark Holden Mark Holden is an Australian singer, television personality and barrister. He was one of a panel of three judges on the television series Australian Idol.-Acting career:... Marcia Hines Marcia Hines Marcia Elaine Hines, AM is a vocalist, actress and TV personality who achieved success in her adopted homeland of Australia. Hines made her debut, at the age of sixteen, in the Australian version of the stage musical Hair and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar... Ian Dickson	Andrew G Andrew G Andrew Günsberg , commonly known as Andrew G, is a British-born Australian television and radio presenter who is best known as the host of the reality series Australian Idol. He was also the compere of Network Ten's game show The Con Test, and for three years co-hosted the Sydney New Year's Eve... James Mathison James Mathison James Mathison is an Australian television presenter.-Early life:Mathison was born in Sydney, New South Wales He grew up in Frenchs Forest and attended St...
2004 Australian Idol (season 2) The second season of Australian Idol debuted on 13 July 2004. Over 50,000 people throughout Australia auditioned.-Overview:As well as the five larger cities, the judges also visited Canberra, Hobart, Darwin and Tamworth this year...	Casey Donovan Casey Donovan (singer) -Australian Idol :Donovan transferred to the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney's Surry Hills in 2004 and it was in this year that her stepfather encouraged her to audition for the second season of Australian Idol...	Anthony Callea Anthony Callea Anthony Cosmo Callea is an Australian singer-songwriter who rose to prominence in the 2004 season of Australian Idol when he became runner up. He was signed to Sony Music Australia until 2009 and is now an independent artist...
2005 Australian Idol (season 3) The third season of Australian Idol debuted on 26 July 2005. The first of three semi-finals was held on 16 August 2005 with three of the Final 12 contenders announced the following night on 17 August 2005...	Kate DeAraugo Kate DeAraugo Katherine Jenna "Kate" DeAraugo, pronounced de roosh , is an Australian singer-songwriter who was the third winner of Australian Idol in 2005. After idol, DeAraugo signed to Sony BMG and released her debut single, "Maybe Tonight", in November 2005. The single debuted and peaked at Number 1 on the...	Emily Williams Emily Williams Emily Williams , is a New Zealand-born Australian singer-songwriter, who rose to fame on the third season of Australian Idol in 2005, and became runner-up of the season...	Mark Holden Marcia Hines Kyle Sandilands Kyle Sandilands Kyle Dalton Sandilands is an Australian radio and TV personality. He is currently the host with Jacqueline Henderson, better known as Jackie O, on the weekday morning radio program The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Sydney radio station 2Day FM, The Kyle and Jackie O Hour of Power which airs on...
2006 Australian Idol (season 4) The fourth season of Australian Idol first episode aired on 6 August 2006 and concluded on 26 November.-Format Changes:Changes for the fourth season of Australian Idol included the cancellation of "Inside Idol"; a "streamlined" semi-finals ; and the contestants will be able to bring...	Damien Leith Damien Leith Damien Leo Leith is an Irish Australian singer–songwriter. He was the winner of the Network Ten music contest Australian Idol 2006Damien has also guest co-hosted 'The Morning Show' on Network Ten on 18 July 2011.He was born in Ireland and now lives in Australia with his Australian wife, Eileen...	Jessica Mauboy Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy , is an Indigenous Australian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. In 2006, Mauboy was the runner-up on the fourth season of Australian Idol, she had auditioned for the talent show in Alice Springs to pursue a recording career...
2007 Australian Idol (season 5) The fifth season of Australian Idol premiered on 5 August 2007 on Network Ten. It concluded on 25 November.-Format Changes:The series was again hosted by Andrew G and James Mathison with Ian "Dicko" Dickson returning to the show as one of the judges, along with Mark Holden, Marcia Hines and Kyle...	Natalie Gauci Natalie Gauci Natalie Gauci is an Australian singer of Italian and Maltese descent. Gauci undertook music tuition at the Victorian College of the Arts, formed her own band that played gigs in Melbourne, while also working as a music teacher...	Matt Corby Matt Corby Matthew John "Matt" Corby is an Australian singer-songwriter, who was the runner-up to Natalie Gauci on the fifth season of Australian Idol in 2007.-2007:...	Mark Holden Marcia Hines Ian Dickson Kyle Sandilands
2008 Australian Idol (season 6) The sixth season of Australian Idol premiered on Sunday, 24 August 2008, on Network Ten. The season finale aired live on Sunday, 23 November 2008. The winner was Wes Carr with Luke Dickens as runner-up.-Changes to Format:...	Wes Carr Wes Carr Wes Carr is an Australian singer-songwriter. He released his first studio album Simple Sum independently in 2008 shortly before entering Australian Idol. In November 2008 he was announced as the winner of the sixth season of Australian Idol...	Luke Dickens	Marcia Hines Ian Dickson Kyle Sandilands	Andrew G James Mathison Ricki-Lee Coulter Ricki-Lee Coulter Ricki-Lee Coulter is an Australian recording artist and television and radio presenter. In 2004, Coulter was placed seventh place on the second season of Australian Idol...
2009 Australian Idol (season 7) The seventh and final season of the Australian Idol series began on 9 August 2009, to determine who would succeed Season 6 winner, Wes Carr. Beginning amid controversy, judge Kyle Sandilands was replaced by Sony Music record executive, Jay Dee Springbett. It was the first season where all four...	Stan Walker Stan Walker Stan Walker , is an Australian recording artist and actor. In 2009, Walker was the winner on the seventh season of Australian Idol. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia....	Hayley Warner	Jay-Dee Springbett Marcia Hines Ian Dickson Kyle Sandilands (Auditions Only)	Andrew G Ricki-Lee Coulter

Auditions

Auditions were held in major cities around Australia to find each season's contestants.
These auditions helped find the top 100.

Top 100

Around 100 people made it to Sydney to compete in the Top 100. The first task in the Top 100 was the 'chorus line' where 10 people were chosen randomly to perform in front of the judges. Each sang a short piece from a song of their choice. When all 10 were finished performing, the judges chose which contestants were eliminated. In the next phase, the Top 100 contestants were randomly put into groups of four and the groups chose a song from a short list of pop songs. They were given all night to rehearse so they would be able to perform it next morning. These group performances were generally criticized by the judges but with few exceptions. The next day each contestant performed a song of their choice acapella in front of the judges and all the remaining contestants. That night contestants were informed individually whether they made it to the semi-final round, the Top 24.

Semi-finals

The semifinal format has varied from season to season. The formats for the different seasons were:

Season 1

The semi-finals for the first season consisted of 40 contestants, who were then split into 5 groups of 8. The 2 contestants with the highest number of votes then advanced into the finals. At the end of the last group results, a special wild card round was held, where the 10 previously rejected contestants where given a second chance to make it to the finals. In this special show, another 2 would advance in the finals. One public choice, and one Judge's Choice. However, a contestant by the name of Daniel Wakefield withdrew from the competition, leaving one vacant slot in the final 12. Because of this, instead of only one public choice, the contestant with the next highest number of votes was also declared a finalist.

Seasons 2 and 3

The number of semi-finalists was cut down to 30. The top 30 were then divided into 3 groups of 10, the top 3 vote-getters of each group advancing in to the final 12. The wild card show format changed slightly as it was the judges who selected two to advance and the public only choosing one. The wild card episode in the 3rd season had a little twist, when the judges announced a third person, namely, Roxanne Lebrasse, who also had the 2nd highest number of votes, would be included in the finals, making it a Top 13.

Season 4

The semi finals now consisted of 24 finalists, with 12 males and 12 females. The contestants would then be split into groups of six, with each group of contestants consisting of the same gender. The top two from each group would then advance into the finals. After all four groups had performed, eight contestants would then be brought back for a wild card show. The judges selected three while the public chose one. In addition, instead of one semi final round every week, all the semi finals were done in a week, airing one semi final round on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The wild card show and the live results on Wednesday's show is aired the following Sunday with the wild card live results shown on Monday. This was done to prevent the earlier contestants that made the finals to spend their time collect votes for the upcoming finals and the later contestants to practice their songs and collecting votes for their semi final round.

Season 5 maintained a similar format to that of the previous season, but there was a slight change in the wild card show, when the top two from the public vote would advance, and the judges would select only the remaining two.

Season 6

The season still maintained a top 24, but instead of all groups consisting of the same gender, each group now consisted of three males and three females, with the top two advancing in the finals. The wild card show then used the same format as that of Season 4, where the judges selected three to advance in the finals, and the public chose one.

Contestants who had previously made the top 24 in the past seasons but unfortunately did not continue on to the top 12 were ineligible to audition for Australian Idol again, however, it was announced that from 2008 season onwards previous top 24 contestants would be eligible for another chance and could audition; this is similar to the concept on Canadian Idol

Canadian Idol

Canadian Idol is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show Pop Idol. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore was the "roving reporter" for the first three seasons...

Finals

As the number of performers reached 12, the contestants were given the task of choosing a song, in accordance with a weekly theme, to perform live on national television. Viewers then telephoned (or SMS) their vote(s) in relation to who they wanted to stay another week.

At the beginning of an elimination show, the remaining idols also took part in a group performance that usually related to the previous night's theme. First, the contestants were told who was safe for another week. Then the contestants with the three lowest amounts of votes were announced, the 'bottom three'. The person who received the third lowest amount of votes for the week was quickly sent back to join the other safe contestants, leaving the two lowest votegetters. Finally it was announced who had received the lowest amount of votes and been eliminated. The eliminated competitor then presented a final song – usually the number they sang the previous night.

Grand Finale

The Grand Finale was held at the Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...

, featuring fireworks, an outdoor concert with many past Idol stars and other Australian musicians. It had been the highest rating episode of each season. The top 12 were celebrated and at the end of the night the winner was announced. Seasons 1–5 were held inside Sydney Opera House on the concert hall stage. For seasons 6 and 7, the finale was held on a stage erected on the Opera House forecourt.

After the first two seasons, the top 12 and top 10 went on a national tour. There were no tours for later seasons. However, there was a "Winner's Journey Tour" involving the winner with some guest performances from the Top 12 for seasons 4 and 5.

Touchdowns

A "touchdown" was awarded by judge Mark Holden when, in his own opinion, a contestant's performance was particularly good. Holden awarded his first ever "touchdown" to Cosima De Vito

Cosima De Vito

Cosima De Vito , also known simply as Cosima, is an Australian singer-songwriter. She rose to fame as a contestant of the original Australian Idol series in 2003...

for her rendition of Cold Chisel's "When the War Is Over

When the War Is Over

"When the War Is Over" is a power ballad originally performed by Australian band Cold Chisel on their 1982 album Circus Animals. The song was written by drummer Steve Prestwich and issued as the third single from the album, peaking at #25 on the national singles chart.-Cold Chisel version:Like many...

" in the Top 8 on Australian Made night in Season 1. De Vito also received a touchdown for her rendition of RESPECT, a classic hit by Aretha Franklin. Season 4 winner, Damien Leith

Damien Leith

Damien Leo Leith is an Irish Australian singer–songwriter. He was the winner of the Network Ten music contest Australian Idol 2006Damien has also guest co-hosted 'The Morning Show' on Network Ten on 18 July 2011.He was born in Ireland and now lives in Australia with his Australian wife, Eileen...

and Season 2 winner, Casey Donovan

Casey Donovan (singer)

-Australian Idol :Donovan transferred to the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney's Surry Hills in 2004 and it was in this year that her stepfather encouraged her to audition for the second season of Australian Idol...

have the record for the highest number of touchdowns at four apiece. Leith is the only contestant to receive two touchdowns in the same night. Emily Williams

Emily Williams

Emily Williams , is a New Zealand-born Australian singer-songwriter, who rose to fame on the third season of Australian Idol in 2005, and became runner-up of the season...

, and Matt Corby

Matt Corby

Matthew John "Matt" Corby is an Australian singer-songwriter, who was the runner-up to Natalie Gauci on the fifth season of Australian Idol in 2007.-2007:...

, runner-ups of seasons 3 and 5 respectively both hold the record of receiving the most amount of touchdowns without winning, at three apiece. In 2004, Top 8 contestants choice night, he awarded his only ever 'Grand Royal' Touchdown when Anthony Callea

Anthony Callea

Anthony Cosmo Callea is an Australian singer-songwriter who rose to prominence in the 2004 season of Australian Idol when he became runner up. He was signed to Sony Music Australia until 2009 and is now an independent artist...

sang his stunning rendition of "The Prayer" which is still regarded as one of the most memorable performances of all seven series. Another two of Holden's most memorable "touchdowns" were awarded to Guy Sebastian

Guy Sebastian

Guy Theodore Sebastian is an Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of Australian Idol in 2003. He is currently a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor. Sebastian has released six top ten platinum/multi platinum albums, including a number-one and...

for his rendition of "Climb Every Mountain" on the Top 3 show in Season 1 and to Jessica Mauboy

Jessica Mauboy

Jessica Hilda Mauboy , is an Indigenous Australian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. In 2006, Mauboy was the runner-up on the fourth season of Australian Idol, she had auditioned for the talent show in Alice Springs to pursue a recording career...

for her rendition of Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera

Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

's "Beautiful

Beautiful (Christina Aguilera song)

"Beautiful" is a song written by Linda Perry and recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera for Aguilera's fourth studio album, Stripped...

" on the Top 10 Number 1 Hits show in Season 4. Holden's final touchdown went to 2007 winner Natalie Gauci

Natalie Gauci

Natalie Gauci is an Australian singer of Italian and Maltese descent. Gauci undertook music tuition at the Victorian College of the Arts, formed her own band that played gigs in Melbourne, while also working as a music teacher...

in the Top 4 on Big Band night during Season 5.

During Season 6, due to Holden's departure from the judging panel, the other judges awarded "touchdowns" themselves. The first "touchdown" was delivered by Kyle Sandilands to Chrislyn Hamilton on top 12 night. She later received another on Motown night by guest judge and first series winner, Guy Sebastian. Thanh Bui received one from Marcia Hines during ABBA night and Mark Spano was also delivered one by Ian "Dicko" Dickson during Top 6 Rolling Stones night. Eventual winner, Wes Carr was awarded two; one by Hines and guest judge Jermaine Jackson

Jermaine Jackson

Jermaine La Jaune Jackson is an American singer, bassist, composer, a member of The Jackson 5, older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and occasional film director...

on Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

night and another on Top 3 night by Dickson.

An alternate version of a "touchdown" was done by Dickson if he believes the performance was extraordinary saying "big ticko from Dicko". This was used in one of Natalie Gauci's performances and a few other performances when Holden was around.

Season 1

When Network Ten paid $15 million for the first season of Australian Idol they anticipated it to be a critical and financial success like it had been in other countries such as the UK and the USA. When the show aired for the first time in August 2003 it was a ratings bonanza attracting diverse ranges of viewers, from people wanting the crazy auditions to people who wanted to hear great voices. The audition process went through several major cities in Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Darwin. Sooner or later Australian Idol became the most popular TV show in the country with more ratings than major events such as the AFL Grand Final. The Grand Final at the Sydney Opera House attracted more than 3 million viewers. It was listed as the ninth highest rating TV show in Australia in the past century in 2007. The eventual winner of the competition was Guy Sebastian

Guy Sebastian

with Shannon Noll

Shannon Noll

Shannon Noll first came to prominence as runner-up of the first series of Australian Idol which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. Since then he has released five Top 10 albums and ten Top 10 singles. His first two albums That's What I'm Talking About in 2004 and Lift in 2005 debuted at No...

finished in 2nd place.

Guy Sebastian has released six top 10 albums including a #1 and #2 which have all gained either platinum or multi platinum accreditation. His first album Just As I Am

Just as I Am (Guy Sebastian album)

Just as I Am is the debut album by the first Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian.Given the relative popularity of Australian Idol in late 2003, BMG Australia subsequently contracted Sebastian for a record before Christmas 2003. He wanted to record a mixture of pop and R&B material...

was accredited 6x platinum and sold in excess of 480,000 units. Beautiful Life, Closer to the Sun

Closer to the Sun (Guy Sebastian album)

Closer to the Sun is the third studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Guy Sebastian, released on 28 October 2006 by Sony BMG Australia. Early news hinted that the album would feature a little bit of rock, soul, funk and pop genres. Some tracks that appear on the album were premiered at the...

, Like It Like That

Like It Like That (Guy Sebastian Album)

Like It Like That is the fifth album by Australian singer Guy Sebastian. The album was produced by David Ryan Harris & Fredrik Odesjo and was released in Australia on 23 October 2009 and in the US on 29 June 2010. The album contains a duet with Jordin Sparks, and also three tracks with John Mayer...

and Twenty Ten were all platinum sellers, with The Memphis Album

The Memphis Album

The Memphis Album is a cover album of Memphis soul songs by Australian singer Guy Sebastian released in Australia by Sony Music on 10 November 2007. The album was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis with Steve Cropper, Donald 'Duck' Dunn, Steve Potts , and Lester Snell...

reaching double platinum. Sebastian has also released 11 top 15 singles, eight of which have reached the top 10 of the ARIA singles chart, including five #1's. Sebastian is the only Australian male artist in Australian music history to achieve five #1 singles, and is equal third overall for all Australian acts. His debut single Angels Brought Me Here

Angels Brought Me Here

"Angels Brought Me Here" is a pop song written by Jörgen Elofsson and John Reid for 2003 Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian, for his first album Just as I Am . Recorded versions were made for both grand finalists, Sebastian and Shannon Noll, with only Sebastian's version officially released by BMG...

was the highest selling single in Australia in 2003, reaching 4x platinum accreditation. It won the 2004 ARIA for Highest Selling Single, and in 2010 ARIA announced it was the highest selling song of the previous decade. "Like It Like That" the title track from his 5th album reached triple platinum and was the highest selling Australian artist single of 2009. "Who's That Girl

Who's That Girl (Guy Sebastian song)

"Who's That Girl" is a song performed by Australian singer-songwriter Guy Sebastian. The single features American rapper Eve. It was written by Sebastian, with Eve writing and performing the rap, and Sebastian co-produced the song with Andre Harris. Released as a digital download on November 5,...

", Twenty Tens lead single reached 4x platinum accreditation and won the 2011 ARIA Award for Highest Selling Single. In total, Sebastian has been awarded 26 platinum and two gold accreditations for albums and singles in Australia, the highest accreditations for any Australian Idol contestant. Sebastian's first single reached #1 in Malaysia, Singapore, The Philippines, Indonesia and New Zealand. Sebastian achieved a second #1 on the New Zealand Charts with "Who's That Girl", and reached the Top 10 with his debut album and two other singles, and has four platinum and two gold accreditations there. During his career Sebastian has received 14 ARIA Award. Ten of these nominations, including Best Male Artist and Best Pop Release and Single of the Year were received in 2010 and 2011.

Shannon Noll has released four top 10 albums. His debut album That's What I'm Talking About
That's What I'm Talking About
That's What I'm Talking About is the debut album by Australian singer Shannon Noll, released on 8 February 2004 . The album includes a longer version of his number one smash-hit, 5x Platinum debut single, "What About Me", the Bryan Adams penned Top 5 single, "Drive", as well as the number one...

gained 5x platinum accreditation and his second album Lift

Lift (Shannon Noll album)

Lift is the second album by Australian singer-songwriter Shannon Noll. It was released by Sony BMG in Australia on 16 October 2005. Noll co-wrote eleven out of the thirteen songs in the album. The album debuted at number 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association album chart on 23 October...

reached 3x platinum, both debuting at #1 on the ARIA charts. His third album, Turn It Up, peaked at #3 and achieved platinum accreditation, His fourth album No Turning Back: The Story So Far
No Turning Back: The Story So Far
No Turning Back: The Story So Far is the first compilation album by Shannon Noll, celebrating multiple number ones taken from his three multi-platinum albums. The album contains Noll's ten biggest single releases and includes five brand new tracks...

reached #7 and has not as yet gained accreditation. Noll has also released ten top 10 singles including three #1's and is the only Australian artist to have achieved 10 consecutive top 10 singles."What About Me

What About Me (song)

"What About Me" is a song written by Garry Frost and Frances Swan, first recorded by Australian rock band Moving Pictures from their album Days of Innocence. It was the band's first number-one single in Australia spending six consecutive weeks on the top; there, it was the second-highest selling...

" was the highest selling single in Australia in 2004 and he received ARIA nominations for highest seller for it and his debut album at the 2004 Aria Awards. He also received nominations for best pop release for his second album Lift
Lift (Shannon Noll album)
Lift is the second album by Australian singer-songwriter Shannon Noll. It was released by Sony BMG in Australia on 16 October 2005. Noll co-wrote eleven out of the thirteen songs in the album. The album debuted at number 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association album chart on 23 October...

and a highest selling single nomination for its lead single "Shine

Shine (Shannon Noll song)

"Shine" was the first single to be released from Shannon Noll's second album, Lift.It was released in Australia on 26 September 2005, and debuted at number one on the Australian Singles Chart...

" in 2006. "Don't Give Up" a duet with Natalie Bassingthwaighte

Natalie Bassingthwaighte

Natalie Bassingthwaighte is an Australian actress, singer-songwriter and television personality. She began her career as an actress on the television series All Saints. She then starred in the American television movie Counterstrike...

was nominated for highest selling single at the 2007 ARIA Awards. He has a total of 17 platinum and 2 gold accreditations for albums and singles. Noll's first single "What About Me" also reached #2 in Ireland and #10 in New Zealand, with his debut album peaking at #31 in NZ.

Paulini who came fourth has released two albums as a solo artist, One Determined Heart

One Determined Heart

One Determined Heart is the debut studio album by Australian singer Paulini, released in Australia on 23 July 2004. The album was produced by Audius Mtawarira and has a genre of R&B & pop songs. The album mainly cover songs including some by Jeff Healey, TLC, The Four Tops, Barbra Streisand, Jeff...

which reached #1 and gained platinum accreditation, and Superwoman

Superwoman (album)

Superwoman is the second studio album by Australian singer Paulini. It was released physically and digitally on 5 August 2006 and contains the lead single, "Rough Day" and the second, "So Over You".-Writing and development:...

which peaked at #77. She has also released four top 50 singles including the #1 "Angel Eyes", a platinum seller which was nominated for highest selling single at the 2004 ARIA Awards. In 2007, Paulini was nominated for "Urban Music Awards" for "Best R&B Album" & "Best Female Artist" for Superwoman. Paulini was also a member of The Young Divas, who released two Top 10 albums and four Top 50 singles.

The other top 5 contestants in season one were Cosima De Vito

Cosima De Vito

Cosima De Vito , also known simply as Cosima, is an Australian singer-songwriter. She rose to fame as a contestant of the original Australian Idol series in 2003...

who came 3rd, & Rob Mills

Rob Mills

Rob Mills is an Australian singer best known as one of the finalists from Australian Idol 2003. He was a co-host on the late-night quiz show The Mint as well as a regular singer on the game show The Singing Bee both on the Nine Network...

who finished in 5th place. After Idol it was these five, the Final 5, who were the most successful out of the Top 12. Other Idol contestants from Season 1 to release music were Levi Kereama, Rebekah LaVauney, Peter Ryan and Courtney Act

Courtney Act

Courtney Act is the stage name of Shane Jenek, an Australian drag celebrity, pop singer and entertainer. As Courtney Act, Jenek was a semi-finalist on Australian Idol in 2003 and was the third singer of the competition to release an official solo single, following Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll...

. All of these independent acts achieved limited success.

Date	Bottom Three
22 September	Matthew Chadwick	Peter Ryan	Kelly Cavuoto
29 September	Cle Wootton	Lauren Buckley	Kelly Cavuoto
6 October	Kelly Cavuoto	Rebekah LaVauney	Levi Kereama
13 October	Levi Kereama	Paulini Curuenavuli	Shannon Noll
	Bottom Two
20 October	Rob Mills Rob Mills Rob Mills is an Australian singer best known as one of the finalists from Australian Idol 2003. He was a co-host on the late-night quiz show The Mint as well as a regular singer on the game show The Singing Bee both on the Nine Network...	Cosima DeVito
27 October	Paulini Curuenavuli Paulini Curuenavuli Paulini Curuenavuli , commonly known as Paulini, is an Australian R&B/pop singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as a contestant of the first season of the television series, Australian Idol in 2003....	Guy Sebastian
3 November	Cosima DeVito
19 November	Shannon Noll Shannon Noll Shannon Noll first came to prominence as runner-up of the first series of Australian Idol which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. Since then he has released five Top 10 albums and ten Top 10 singles. His first two albums That's What I'm Talking About in 2004 and Lift in 2005 debuted at No...	Guy Sebastian Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian is an Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of Australian Idol in 2003. He is currently a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor. Sebastian has released six top ten platinum/multi platinum albums, including a number-one and...

Season 2

As well as the five larger cities, the judges also visited Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

, Hobart

Hobart

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

, Darwin

Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

and Tamworth

Tamworth, New South Wales

Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...

this year. Of the twelve finalists, three were from Sydney, two were from Melbourne, and one each from Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

, the Gold Coast, Hobart

Hobart

, Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, Canberra

Canberra

, Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

and Bega

Bega, New South Wales

Bega is a town in the south-east of New South Wales, Australia in the Bega Valley Shire. It is the economic centre for the Bega Valley.-Place name:One claim is that place name Bega is derived from the local Aboriginal word meaning "big camping ground"....

.

The winner was Casey Donovan

Casey Donovan (singer)

. The runners up (in descending order) were Anthony Callea

Anthony Callea

, Courtney Murphy , Hayley Jensen

Hayley Jensen

Hayley Jensen is an Australian singer and songwriter who became well known after appearing on the second series of Australian Idol. She was the fourth finalist, leaving the show on 1 November...

& Chanel Cole

Chanel Cole

Chanel Cole is a musician from Bega, New South Wales. She is a member of the Australian trip hop group Spook....

. The final two, as well as Ricki-Lee Coulter

Ricki-Lee Coulter

Ricki-Lee Coulter is an Australian recording artist and television and radio presenter. In 2004, Coulter was placed seventh place on the second season of Australian Idol...

(7th), were the only contestants from the Top 12 to be signed to a record company. Callea was the highest seller of the three, with his first release "The Prayer" spending five consecutive weeks at No 1 and sending the record-books reeling. Chanel Cole and Daniel Belle teamed up under the name Spook to release an album in October 2005; a bootleg album for Chanel was also released in November 2005. Top 30 contestants Ngaiire Joseph and Marty Worrall each released a single in late 2005, and Hayley Jensen an album in September 2007. Daniel O'Connor, another of the Top 12, gained a role on Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...

.

The Grand finale of this series remains the highest rated show out of all broadcast over the five seasons.

On a darker note, Telstra

Telstra

Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....

, a major sponsor of the series, made an embarrassing error when they issued a series of half-page advertisements in major newspapers congratulating Donovan on her victory, with a reference to her website. However, the address was incorrect, leading to a website about gay porn star Casey Donovan

Casey Donovan (porn star)

Casey Donovan was an American male pornographic actor of the 1970s and 1980s, appearing primarily in adult films and videos catering to gay male audiences....

, rather than the singer's. The company issued a prompt apology upon realising their mistake.

After this season, judge Ian Dickson left the series, later to appear in the Seven Network

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

reality TV shows My Restaurant Rules
My Restaurant Rules
My Restaurant Rules is an Australian reality television series that aired on the Seven Network.-Overview:The series pits five couples, one each from Australia's five largest cities, to compete against each other in opening a successful restaurant....

, Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a Logie Award-winning, Australian light entertainment reality show airing on the Seven Network and filmed live from the HSV-7 studios in Melbourne...

and most recently, Australian Celebrity Survivor. The 2004 season was also notable for an Asian contestant named "Flynn", who sang the Freestylers

Freestylers

The Freestylers are a British electronic music group, generally fitting into the breakbeat genre. Recently their style has incorporated more of a drumstep sound, more in line with The Prodigy and other such artists.-Career:...

song "Push Up" after being found from a terrible audition, in the same vein as William Hung

William Hung

William James Hung Hing Cheong , commonly known as William Hung, is an American singer who gained fame in early 2004 as a result of his off-key audition performance of Ricky Martin's hit song "She Bangs" on the third season of the television series...

Date	Theme	Bottom Three
6 September	Australian Made	Angeline Narayan	Emelia Rusciano	Amali Ward
13 September	Pop	Dan O'Connor	Hayley Jensen	Marty Worrall
20 September	1960s	Amali Ward (2)	Hayley Jensen (2)	Marty Worrall (2)
27 September	Disco	Emelia Rusciano (2)	Marty Worrall (3)	Casey Donovan
4 October	Contestant's Choice	Daniel Belle	Chanel Cole	Hayley Jensen (3)
11 October	The Beatles	Ricki-Lee Coulter	Chanel Cole (2)	Marty Worrall (4)
18 October	1980s	Marty Worrall (5)	Casey Donovan (2)	Hayley Jensen (4)
25 October	R&B	Chanel Cole (3)	Courtney Murphy
1 November	Big Band	Hayley Jensen (5)	Casey Donovan (3)
8 November	1970s	Courtney Murphy (2)
21 November	Finale	Anthony Callea	Casey Donovan Casey Donovan (singer) -Australian Idol :Donovan transferred to the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney's Surry Hills in 2004 and it was in this year that her stepfather encouraged her to audition for the second season of Australian Idol... (3)

Season 3

For the first time in 'Australian Idol' history there were 13 finalists. This came about during the Wildcard Verdict show on 5 September 2005. The judges initially chose James Kannis and Emily Williams to go through to the final. This left one spot which was chosen by the Australian public. Out of the remaining contestants the two that received the highest votes were Daniel Spillane and Roxane Lebrasse. With only 1% between them, Dan was announced as the final member of the Top 12. This meant Roxane had missed out yet again. The judges decided however that Roxane was too good to be left out of the Top 12 so they made it a Top 13. The catch was that two contestants were eliminated in the first round of the finals.

On 21 November 2005, the winner was announced and it was Kate DeAraugo

Kate DeAraugo

Katherine Jenna "Kate" DeAraugo, pronounced de roosh , is an Australian singer-songwriter who was the third winner of Australian Idol in 2005. After idol, DeAraugo signed to Sony BMG and released her debut single, "Maybe Tonight", in November 2005. The single debuted and peaked at Number 1 on the...

. Kate was an outside chance to win throughout the whole season and after the show had ended Kate released a #1 single, a platinum selling album and a further Top 10 hit single through Sony BMG. Kate is currently working with all girl group Young Divas

Young Divas

Young Divas was an Australian girl group that had consisted of previous Australian Idol contestants. The original line up consisted of season one finalist Paulini Curuenavuli, season two finalist Ricki-Lee Coulter, season three winner Kate DeAraugo and runner-up Emily Williams...

which is madeup of past Idol contestants which include Paulini Curuenavuli

Paulini Curuenavuli

Paulini Curuenavuli , commonly known as Paulini, is an Australian R&B/pop singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as a contestant of the first season of the television series, Australian Idol in 2003....

, Jessica Mauboy

Jessica Mauboy

and Emily Williams

Emily Williams

Emily Williams , is a New Zealand-born Australian singer-songwriter, who rose to fame on the third season of Australian Idol in 2005, and became runner-up of the season...

.
Runner up Emily Williams

Emily Williams

Emily Williams , is a New Zealand-born Australian singer-songwriter, who rose to fame on the third season of Australian Idol in 2005, and became runner-up of the season...

lost by 1% in the closest percentage ever in an Idol finale. She was originally signed to Sony BMG as a solo artist, but the agreement fell through. She is also a member of Young Divas

Young Divas

and has had much success with them.

Lee Harding

Lee Harding

Lee Harding is an Australian pop singer. He is from Frankston, Victoria, where he worked at the local AMC cinema multiplex...

finished in third position and was signed to Sony BMG and released a # 1 single and a platinum selling album. His second single from his debut album proved to be less successful and in mid 2006 Harding was released from his contract with the label. He is currently touring and performing with Bedrock

Bedrock (producers)

Bedrock is a British trance and house production duo, featuring John Digweed and Nick Muir. They produced the singles "For What You Dream Of" , "Set In Stone" / "Forbidden Zone" , "Heaven Scent" and "Voices" , all of which reached the UK Singles Chart...

.

Dan England came 4th and didn't score a recording contract with a major label but recorded several independent releases and has toured with Season 2 winner Casey Donovan

Casey Donovan (singer)

and Season 1 Runner Up Shannon Noll

Shannon Noll

.

Anne Robertson who finished in sixth position was negotiating a deal with Sony BMG, but it was rumoured that Sony BMG was reluctant in signing her as they believed she was too similar to Season 1 contestant Paulini Curuenavuli

Paulini Curuenavuli

who had been signed to the label for several years.
Other Idol contestants from Season 3 have released numerous independent material and have toured and performed with several bands and music groups.

Although averaging around the 1.5 million viewer mark, ratings were down by up to 40% on average during the third season compared to the first two seasons, which regularly drew more than 2.5 million viewers during the latter half of the competition. This created a serious situation for Ten, which was airing three Australian Idol shows every week at the time, and forced them to give away free commercial airtime to program sponsors expecting higher ratings. Commentators has theorised over the reasons why this has occurred, ranging from the viewing public being tired of the format due to Sandilands replacing the popular Dickson. This caused a major Idol revamp for Season 4 which meant Season 4 being one of the highest rating seasons yet.

Date	Theme	Bottom Three
12 September	Australian Artists	Tarni Stephens	Chris Luder	Milly Edwards
19 September	1960s	Natalie Zahra	Laura Gissara	James Kannis
26 September	Rock Supergroups	Laura Gissara (2)	James Kannis (2)	Daniel Spillane
3 October	Contestant's Choice	Roxane LeBrasse	Milly Edwards (2)	Daniel Spillane (2)
10 October	Big Band	Milly Edwards (3)	Dan England	James Kannis (3)
17 October	1980's	James Kannis (4)	Emily Williams	Daniel Spillane (3)
24 October	Motown	Anne Robertson	Daniel Spillane (4)	Dan England (2)
31 October	1970's	Daniel Spillane (5)	Lee Harding
7 November	Elvis Presley	Dan England (3)	Lee Harding (2)
14 November	Number Ones	Lee Harding (3)
21 November	Finale	Emily Williams (1)	Kate DeAraugo Kate DeAraugo Katherine Jenna "Kate" DeAraugo, pronounced de roosh , is an Australian singer-songwriter who was the third winner of Australian Idol in 2005. After idol, DeAraugo signed to Sony BMG and released her debut single, "Maybe Tonight", in November 2005. The single debuted and peaked at Number 1 on the...

Season 4

Changes for the fourth season of Australian Idol included the cancellation of "Inside Idol"; a "streamlined" semi-finals (replaced with a variant of the 12 females, 12 males format popularized by American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

); and the contestants will be able to bring instruments with them on stage for at least one of the final shows. Also, the fourth season's television promos promised a change in the viewer's role in the show, revealed to be an SMS service called 199-JUDGE which allows viewers to SMS their opinions on the judges' reactions.

Damien Leith

Damien Leith

was named the winner of Australian Idol 2006 on 26 November, beating Jessica Mauboy

Jessica Mauboy

for the title. Leith is the third most successful selling Australian Idol contestant with 385,000 units, behind Guy Sebastian

Guy Sebastian

and Shannon Noll

Shannon Noll

. He has achieved two #1 selling albums, The Winner's Journey
The Winner's Journey (Damien Leith album)
The Winner's Journey is a live album and DVD based on Australian Idol 2006 winner Damien Leith's performances on the show. The full-length album features remastered versions of Leith's live performances from the show, along with the studio version of his debut single "Night of My Life" and two of...

which sold 4x Platinum and Where We Land

Where We Land

Where We Land is the first studio album by Australian Idol 2006 winner Damien Leith. It was released by Sony BMG in Australia on 18 August 2007, and in Ireland on 28 September 2007. Leith produced the album for seven months and created the album entirely with acoustic songs...

which gained Platinum certification. His third studio album Catch the Wind: Songs of a Generation

Catch the Wind: Songs of a Generation

Catch the Wind: Songs of a Generation is the second studio album by Australian Idol 2006 winner Damien Leith. It was released on 26 April 2008....

peaked at #2, reaching gold status. His first single, Night of My Life

Night of My Life

"Night of My Life" is the title of the debut single for 2006 Australian Idol winner Damien Leith. This single was performed by the final two contestants - Leith and Jessica Mauboy - during the penultimate episode of Australian Idol 2006, and both contestants recorded and had their versions pressed...

stayed at #1 for four consecutive weeks and was certified Platinum after one week of sales. It was the fastest selling debut single for 2006, and was the most added song to radio. Leith won 4 ARIA #1 Chart Awards and the 2007 ARIA Award for Highest Selling Album. He has also released a novel titled One More Time and hosted Network Ten's heart-warming television series "Saving Kids". His most recent album Remember June released on 9 October 2009 debuted at #25 on the ARIA Charts. Third place getter Dean Geyer

Dean Geyer

Dean Stanley Geyer is an Australian Singer-Songwriter and Actor who came third in the 2006 season of the talent show television series, Australian Idol.-Early life:...

later released his debut album Rush
Rush (Dean Geyer album)
Rush is the first album by Australian singer Dean Geyer, released by Sony BMG in Australia on 28 May 2007 . The album "sums up everything that" Geyer has felt in the past year, he states "the process of creating, writing, recording and promoting has been a rush...

and top ten single "If You Don't Mean It" and currently stars on the Australian long-time running soap Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...

. Jessica Mauboy went on to join ex-Idol girl group Young Divas

Young Divas

, after member from season 2, Ricki-Lee Coulter

Ricki-Lee Coulter

Ricki-Lee Coulter is an Australian recording artist and television and radio presenter. In 2004, Coulter was placed seventh place on the second season of Australian Idol...

, left the group. Jessica Mauboy has since gained much success as a solo artist. Her album Been Waiting

Been Waiting

Been Waiting is the debut studio album by Australian recording artist Jessica Mauboy. It was released in Australia on 22 November 2008 via Sony Music. While Mauboy was still a member of the girl group Young Divas, she began to work on what became Been Waiting...

has peaked at #11, spent 50 weeks on the charts to date and achieved Platinum status since its debut on the ARIA Albums Chart

ARIA Charts

The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

. Mauboy has also continues to enjoy success with her singles "Running Back

Running Back (Jessica Mauboy song)

"Running Back" is the debut single by Australian R&B recording artist Jessica Mauboy, which features American rapper Flo Rida. It was written by Mauboy, Audius Mtawarira, and Sean Ray Mullins, and was produced by Audius. "Running Back" was released for digital download on 19 September 2008, as the...

" which was certified 2x Platinum, second single "Burn

Burn (Jessica Mauboy song)

"Burn" is a song by Australian R&B singer Jessica Mauboy. It was written by Mauboy, Taj Jackson, Mich Hansen, David Musumeci and Jonas Jeberg. Following the chart success of Mauboy's lead single, "Running Back", "Burn" was released as the second single off Mauboy's debut album Been Waiting on 22...

" reached #1 and achieved Platinum status, third single "Been Waiting

Been Waiting (song)

"Been Waiting" is a song by Australian R&B singer Jessica Mauboy. Written with Australian singer Israel Cruz and Craig Hardy, the song was released on 6 March 2009. It serves as the third single from her debut album of the same name...

" achieved Gold peaking at #12, fourth single "Because

Because (Jessica Mauboy song)

"Because" is a song by Australian R&B recording artist Jessica Mauboy. The song was written by Michael 'Fingaz' Mugisha, Mauboy and Dion Howell, serving as the fourth single released from her debut album Been Waiting....

" peaking at #9 and achieving Gold status, and latest single "Up/Down

Up/Down

"Up/Down" is the fifth single released from Australian singer Jessica Mauboy's debut album, Been Waiting. The song was produced by Kwamé Holland and was released digitally and physically on 28 August 2009 It debuted at number 22 on the ARIA Singles Chart, before reaching its highest peak at number...

" peaking at #11, achieving Gold status and still charting.

Date	Theme	Bottom Three
11 September	Contestant's Choice	Joseph Gatehau	Lavina Williams	Reigan Derry
18 September	Rock	Reigan Derry (2)	Ricky Muscat	Guy Mutton
25 September	Number Ones	Klancie Keough	Dean Geyer	Lavina Williams (2)
2 October	Birth Year	Guy Mutton (2)	Lisa Mitchell	Jessica Mauboy
9 October	Disco	Lavina Williams (3)	Chris Murphy	Ricky Muscat (2)
16 October	Acoustic	Bobby Flynn	Lisa Mitchell (2)	Ricky Muscat (3)
23 October	Rock Swings	Lisa Mitchell (3)	Dean Geyer (2)	Ricky Muscat (4)
30 October	ARIA Hall of Fame	Ricky Muscat (5)	Dean Geyer (3)
6 November	Audience Choice	Chris Murphy (2)	Dean Geyer (4)
13 November	Judge's Choice	Dean Geyer (5)
26 November	Finale*	Jessica Mauboy (1)	Damien Leith Damien Leith Damien Leo Leith is an Irish Australian singer–songwriter. He was the winner of the Network Ten music contest Australian Idol 2006Damien has also guest co-hosted 'The Morning Show' on Network Ten on 18 July 2011.He was born in Ireland and now lives in Australia with his Australian wife, Eileen...

Season 5

Ian "Dicko" Dickson rejoined the show as one of the judges, along with Mark Holden

Mark Holden

Mark Holden is an Australian singer, television personality and barrister. He was one of a panel of three judges on the television series Australian Idol.-Acting career:...

, Marcia Hines

Marcia Hines

and Kyle Sandilands

Kyle Sandilands

from 2006. The series was again hosted by Andrew G and James Mathison

James Mathison

James Mathison is an Australian television presenter.-Early life:Mathison was born in Sydney, New South Wales He grew up in Frenchs Forest and attended St...

. The show continued with the format from Season 4 where contestants could use instruments throughout the show and for their audition they could perform original material rather than covering other artist's work.

Natalie Gauci

Natalie Gauci

went on to win the series, beating Matt Corby

Matt Corby

Matthew John "Matt" Corby is an Australian singer-songwriter, who was the runner-up to Natalie Gauci on the fifth season of Australian Idol in 2007.-2007:...

for the title. Natalie released her debut platinum selling album "The Winner's Journey

The Winner's Journey (Natalie Gauci album)

The Winner's Journey is an album based on Australian Idol 2007 winner Natalie Gauci's performances on the show. For the first time, the album will consist of longer recorded studio versions of Natalie's performances on Australian Idol, along with the studio version of her debut single "Here I...

". After the winner's single "Here I Am

Here I Am (Natalie Gauci song)

"Here I Am" is the debut single for 2007 Australian Idol winner Natalie Gauci, written by Lindy Robbins and Tom Leonard. This single was performed by the final two contestants – Gauci and Matt Corby – during the penultimate episode of Australian Idol 2007.After Gauci won the competition on 25...

" debuted at #2 on the ARIA Charts

ARIA Charts

, and the album debuted at #11, Natalie has plans to release a new album later in 2009.

Carl Riseley

Carl Riseley

Carl Riseley is an Australian singer and recording artist.-Early life and career origins:Born on the Gold Coast in 1982, Riseley started out playing the cornet, and progressed to the trumpet when he was sixteen. Riseley joined The Royal Australian Navy band in April 2003, as a trumpeter...

, who finished third in the contest went on to release a swing-style album titled "The Rise", debuting at #5 on the ARIA Charts.Carl Riseley's 2nd cd "the stillest hour" was released 24 April 2009 and peaked at NO#1 on the ARIA jazz chart. Runner-up Matt Corby however, is yet to sign a deal with record company SonyBMG, but has "had talks" about his future with the company. Natalie Gauci next album release is June 2009.

Date	Theme	Bottom Three
9 September	Contestant's Choice	Holly Weinert	Lana Krost	Brianna Carpenter
16 September	Rock	Brianna Carpenter (2)	Marty Simpson	Jacob Butler
23 September	Disco	Lana Krost (2)	Tarisai Vushe	Daniel Mifsud
30 September	Acoustic	Mark Da Costa	Jacob Butler (2)	Daniel Mifsud (2)
7 October	Brit Pop	Jacob Butler (3)	Carl Riseley	Daniel Mifsud (3)
14 October	Birth Year	Ben McKenzie	Matt Corby	Marty Simpson (2)
21 October	Judge's Choice/Contestant's Choice	Daniel Mifsud (4)	Tarisai Vushe (2)	Marty Simpson (3)
28 October	Australian Made	Tarisai Vushe (3)	Natalie Gauci
4 November	Big Band	Marty Simpson (4)	Carl Riseley (2)
11 November	Audience Choice/Contestant's Choice	Carl Riseley (3)
25 November	Finale	Matt Corby (1)	Natalie Gauci Natalie Gauci Natalie Gauci is an Australian singer of Italian and Maltese descent. Gauci undertook music tuition at the Victorian College of the Arts, formed her own band that played gigs in Melbourne, while also working as a music teacher... (1)

Season 6

Changes to the Australian Idol format for season 6 include judge Mark Holden

Mark Holden

Mark Holden is an Australian singer, television personality and barrister. He was one of a panel of three judges on the television series Australian Idol.-Acting career:...

leaving the show and temporary absence of host Andrew Günsberg, and auditions held for the first time in the United Kingdom. This was also the first season where the Top 4 contestants were all male, and the second time with two male grand finalists, after Season 1 Finale with Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll. On 23 November, Wes Carr

Wes Carr

Wes Carr is an Australian singer-songwriter. He released his first studio album Simple Sum independently in 2008 shortly before entering Australian Idol. In November 2008 he was announced as the winner of the sixth season of Australian Idol...

was announced as Australian Idol for 2008, beating Luke Dickens.

Date	Theme	Bottom Three
14 September	Idols' Idols	Jonny Taylor	Teale Jakubenko	Sophie Paterson
21 September	'80s Music	Brooke Addamo	Sophie Paterson (2)	Thanh Bui
28 September	Aussie Hits	Tom Williams	Teale Jakubenko (2)	Madam Parker
5 October	ABBA ABBA ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...	Madam Parker (2)	Chrislyn Hamilton	Roshani Priddis
12 October	Rock	Thanh Bui (2)	Teale Jakubenko (3)	Sophie Paterson (3)
19 October	Motown	Sophie Paterson (4)	Mark Spano	Teale Jakubenko (4)
26 October	The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...	Roshani Priddis (2)	Luke Dickens	Teale Jakubenko (5)
2 November	Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...	Chrislyn Hamilton (2)	Mark Spano (2)
9 November	American Hits	Teale Jakubenko (6)	Wes Carr
16 November	Contestants Choice	Mark Spano (3)
23 November	Finale	Luke Dickens (1)	Wes Carr Wes Carr Wes Carr is an Australian singer-songwriter. He released his first studio album Simple Sum independently in 2008 shortly before entering Australian Idol. In November 2008 he was announced as the winner of the sixth season of Australian Idol... (1)

Season 7

On 10 November 2008, it was announced that a seventh season of Australian Idol will be produced and aired in late 2009.

James Mathison announced on 31 March 2009 that he was leaving the show after six seasons. Andrew G continued hosting along with Ricki-Lee Coulter

Ricki-Lee Coulter

Ricki-Lee Coulter is an Australian recording artist and television and radio presenter. In 2004, Coulter was placed seventh place on the second season of Australian Idol...

who was once again co-host.

On 1 June 2009, musical director John Foreman announced that he was also leaving the show after six seasons. Foreman's right-hand man, David Pritchard-Blunt, was announced as his replacement.

On 3 August, Kyle Sandilands was let go as a judge on Australian Idol, while the future of his radio job remained uncertain after an on-air stunt went wrong. "Australian Idol is very much a family program and its appeal is very much right across the board, and we'd like to think that all families can enjoy the program in front of the TV," Idol Executive David Mott stated on the daily news.

It was announced on 3 August 2009, via a press statement from Network Ten

Network Ten

, that Sandilands had been sacked from Australian Idol due to this incident. He was replaced by Jay Dee Springbett, a Sony music executive.

A Network Ten spokesman said of Sandilands' firing:

"Idol has remained a family-focused show, even more so this year with the 6.30 pm Sunday timeslot. His radio persona has taken on a more controversial position . . . which is not in the interest of the show."

Of being fired from Australia Idol, Sandilands said in a statement that "I'm disappointed at Channel Ten's decision to remove me from Australian Idol. I have truly loved being a part of the show." Network Ten had held crisis talks with advertisers in the days prior to his firing amid concerns Sandilands would damage their brands. Idol creator Simon Fuller

Simon Fuller

Simon Fuller is a British artist manager, television producer and creator of the Idol franchise, first seen as Pop Idol in the UK. Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality show So You Think You Can Dance and other U.S...

reportedly gave Ten his blessing to fire Sandilands. It was believed Sandilands earned $1 million of his estimated annual $2.8 million income from Idol.

The promotional commercial for the season featured various "Legends". It featured impersonations of Elvis, Madonna, Michael Jackson, the Supremes, Christina Aguilera, and Mariah Carey among others. The Australian Idol hopefuls were featured covering Mariah Carey's "Emotions" as the soundtrack to this commercial.

The 7th season began on 9 August at 6.30 pm. This was the first year that previously rejected contestants could return to audition again. The only ineligible contestants were those who previously made the Top 12/13. Semi-finalists (Top 24/30) had the opportunity to re-audition for the show.

Season 7 was also broadcast in New Zealand, five days after the initial airing in Australia. This marked the return of the show to New Zealand screens after a 4 year absence.

Date	Theme	Bottom Three
6 September	Rock	Ashleigh Toole	Casey Barnes	Tim Johnston
13 September	Top 10 Hits	Casey Barnes (2)	Sabrina Batshon	Kim Cooper
20 September	80's	Sabrina Batshon (2)	Kim Cooper (2)	Nathan Brake
27 September	Pink Pink (singer) Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....	Tim Johnston (2)	Scott Newnham	James Johnston
4 October	Big Band Big band A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...	Scott Newnham (2)	James Johnston (2)	Nathan Brake (2)
11 October	Movie/Theatre	Kim Cooper (3)	Hayley Warner	Kate Cook
18 October	Contestant's Choice	Kate Cook (2)	Stan Walker	James Johnston (3)
25 October	Noughties Week	Toby Moulton^*	James Johnston (4)	Nathan Brake (3)
1 November	Power Anthems	Nathan Brake (4)	Hayley Warner (2)
15 November	Contestant's Choice & Winner's Single	James Johnston (5)
22 November	Finale	Hayley Warner (3)	Stan Walker (1)

^* Toby Moulton withdrew hence keeping original eliminee James Johnston in the competition.

Loss of major advertisers

It is unsure as to the future of Australian Idol, because two of its top sponsors (Telstra

Telstra

, and Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....

) have dropped, amid fears it cannot rebound the decrease of 19% in ratings from last year, which has resulted in a decrease of $482 million off Ten's market value, considering Channel Ten refused to air American Idol

American Idol

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

Lack of ongoing Recording Industry support

Australian Idol and its performers are often criticized by the Australian media and entertainers .

Some winners and runners-up from the show have failed to maintain popularity past the airing of their respective series of the show. Critics have also lamented the associated record companies claiming high record sales but instead measuring the number of copies shipped to music stores in sale or return. This trend is more noticeable with the female winners, as Casey Donovan

Casey Donovan (singer)

, Kate DeAraugo

Kate DeAraugo

and Natalie Gauci

Natalie Gauci

only enjoyed mild and short-lived successes. Male winners such as Wes Carr

Wes Carr

and Damien Leith

Damien Leith

did also have a short-lived success.

Other idol graduates such as Guy Sebastian

Guy Sebastian

, Shannon Noll

Shannon Noll

, Dean Geyer

Dean Geyer

Dean Stanley Geyer is an Australian Singer-Songwriter and Actor who came third in the 2006 season of the talent show television series, Australian Idol.-Early life:...

, Anthony Callea

Anthony Callea

, Paulini, Ricki-Lee Coulter

Ricki-Lee Coulter

Ricki-Lee Coulter is an Australian recording artist and television and radio presenter. In 2004, Coulter was placed seventh place on the second season of Australian Idol...

and Jessica Mauboy

Jessica Mauboy

on the other hand, have established themselves in the Australian music market and continue to enjoy success. Another noticeable fact is that some female contestants who were favourites with the audiences during their respective seasons but did not win such as Jessica Mauboy

Jessica Mauboy

and Ricki-Lee Coulter

Ricki-Lee Coulter

Ricki-Lee Coulter is an Australian recording artist and television and radio presenter. In 2004, Coulter was placed seventh place on the second season of Australian Idol...

have gone on to have more commercial and long term success than all three of the female winners, none of whom were actually favourites to win their respective seasons.

The criticism of idol sales fails to take into account the fact that while accreditations are based on distribution, the ARIA

Australian Recording Industry Association

The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

weekly and end of year charts and also sales nominations at the Annual ARIA Awards are based on actual real sales and do not use distribution in their calculations to determine position. There are some Idol contestants who have achieved strong sales for their first releases, with a few having sustained success over a number of years going on chart performance, position on the ARIA end of year charts and also sales nominations at the Annual ARIA Awards.

Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll received highest selling nominations both for singles and albums at the 2004 ARIA Awards, with Sebastian winning the highest selling singles category. Paulini was also nominated for an ARIA Award for "Highest Selling Single" for the single Angel Eyes in 2004. Sebastian also received nominations for highest selling album in 2005 and 2008, with Noll nominated in the singles category in 2006 and 2007. Casey Donovon and Anthony Callea were nominated in both single and album categories in 2005 with Anthony Callea winning the ARIA for highest selling single. Damien Leith was nominated for highest selling single and album in 2007, winning the album category.

Several other contestants have received nominations for singles in various years. In more recent history Sebastian and Mauboy both achieved #1 singles in 2009, with Sebastian reaching triple platinum accreditation for his single "Like It Like That". "Like It Like That" was the highest selling Australian artist single and 6th highest seller overall in Australia in 2009
Jessica Mauboy has received ARIA nominations for highest selling album Been Waiting
Been Waiting
Been Waiting is the debut studio album by Australian recording artist Jessica Mauboy. It was released in Australia on 22 November 2008 via Sony Music. While Mauboy was still a member of the girl group Young Divas, she began to work on what became Been Waiting...

and has songs "Running Back

Running Back (Jessica Mauboy song)

" and "Burn

Burn (Jessica Mauboy song)

" in the highest selling singles category for this year and also four nominations in industry voted categories. "Running Back" won the ARIA for highest selling single.

Hillsong sponsorship claims

In October 2007, criticism was leveled at the fairness of the program's telephone voting system, where 50% of the remaining contestants were stated by the media to be members of the Hillsong Church

Hillsong Church

Hillsong Church is a Pentecostal megachurch affiliated with Australian Christian Churches and located in Sydney, Australia. The church's senior pastors, Brian and Bobbie Houston, began the church in 1983 as the Hills Christian Life Centre in Baulkham Hills...

. The 50% of remaining contestants dispute was put to rest- when Daniel and Ben both said they did not have any affiliations with the Assemblies of God., and raising concerns of vote-stacking by the church congregation. Since the members associated with the Assemblies of God were voted week by week, some media analysts also claim discrimination against those who admit being Christian, noting it being out of line with the "family-friendly" product placement

Product placement

Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...

Revenue generation

In November, reporter Neil Wooldridge stated that although the producers are coy about how much was being made from SMS promotions that "some commentators estimate Telstra and Network Ten, partners in the 'Australian Idol' program, made up to $900,000 profit each episode."

In 2003, it is estimated that viewers cast 20 million votes for their favourite Australian Idol contestant. At 55 cents for each telephone call or text message, that equates to $11 million even before advertising revenue. In Season 2, it is estimated that 29 million votes were cast making $16 million. Season 3 saw a slight drop with 18 million votes cast making $10 million. In Season 4, 26 million were cast making $14.3 million and in Season 5, 22 million were cast making $12.2 million. Network Ten pay around $13 million for each season.

Controversy

After her performance, judge Ian "Dicko" Dickson told Paulini Curuenavuli

Paulini Curuenavuli

that in order to wear the dress she had chosen she would need to "shed some pounds". This caused outrage and heated debate. Later, Paulini participated in a weight loss program involving other famous Australians. The TV show 20 to 1 named the controversy in an episode of its show titled "Scandals and Controversies".

Judge Kyle Sandilands in 2009 was axed from the show due to his radio programme's scandal involving a 14-year-old girl. He was fired from the Australian Idol show and was replaced by JayDee Springbett.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

The show

History

Auditions

Top 100

Semi-finals

Finals

Grand Finale

Touchdowns

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Loss of major advertisers

Lack of ongoing Recording Industry support

Hillsong sponsorship claims

Revenue generation

Controversy

See also

External links