Australian Idol season 6
| Australian Idol season 6 | |
|---|---|
 Australian Idol logo | |
| Created by | Simon Fuller |
| Presented by | James Mathison Andrew G Ricki-Lee Coulter |
| Judges | Kyle Sandilands Ian Dickson Marcia Hines Tina Arena (Guest) Darren Hayes (Guest) |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Suzanne Mitchell Greg Beness |
| Production locations | Fox Studios, Sydney Sydney Opera House (Finale) |
| Running time | Varies |
| Original release | |
| Network | Network Ten |
| Finalists (in alphabetical order) | |
| Thanh Bui | |
| Wes Carr | |
| Chrislyn Hamilton | |
| Teale Jakubenko | |
| Mark Spano | |
| Tom Williams | |
| Finalist 7 | |
| Finalist 8 | |
| Finalist 9 | |
| Finalist 10 | |
| Finalist 11 | |
| Finalist 12 | |
The sixth season of Australian Idol premiered on Sunday August 24, 2008, on Network Ten.
Changes to Format
Kyle Sandilands, Ian Dickson, and Marcia Hines returned as judges, however long term judge Mark Holden left to pursue other interests.[1] Andrew G is temporarily absent as he prepares for his wedding and Ricki-Lee Coulter is acting as a new back-stage host.[2] The London auditions featured guest judges Tina Arena and Darren Hayes.
Also for the second time on an idol show, the format for eliminations in the Top 12 round will be different as once announced the bottom 3 of the week, the voting line will be opened again for voting for the people who are in the bottom 3, in order to save the best 2 out of the 3 and keep the best singer in the competition. Music Idol, the Bulgarian version of Idol, were the first to use this new format in their second season. New Zealand Idol season 3 used a similar format for the second week of the finals, but dropped it afterwards.[3]
Process
Regional auditions phase
Locations
The Auditions were held in the following cities:
- Newcastle, New South Wales: Broadmeadow Racecourse - 6 April
- Darwin, Northern Territory: Crowne Plaza - 13 April
- Cairns, Queensland: Shangri-La Hotel - 15 April
- London, United Kingdom: The Cumberland Hotel - 19 April
- Albury, New South Wales: The Albury Convention Centre - 20 April
- Hobart, Tasmania: Hobart Function & Conference Centre - 23 April
- Brisbane, Queensland: Suncorp Piazza - 24 April and 25 April
- Albany, Western Australia: Albany Town Hall - 1 May
- Perth, Western Australia: Ascot Racecourse - 4 May
- Melbourne, Victoria: Melbourne Park Function Centre - 10 May and 11 May
- Adelaide, South Australia: Adelaide Entertainment Centre - 18 May with second tier auditions held in the Barossa Valley.
- Sydney, New South Wales: Australian Technology Park - 1 June and 2 June
^ These auditions were not filmed, with successful contestants going to capital city of the respective state for their second tier audition. Auditioning contestants were required to be between the ages 16 and 30 on 1 July 2008 (born between 2 July 1978 and 2 July 1992).
Registrations were also conducted online,[4] although not mandatory, allowed users to enter a draw of $2,000.
Semi-Finals
From September 1 to September 4 the Semi-final rounds will be aired on television, allowing viewers to vote. The Wildcard performance show will be on Sunday, September 7, with results on September 8.
List of the semi-finalists below.
| Females | Males |
|---|---|
| Brooke Addamo | Thanh Bui |
| Nicole Banks | Wes Carr |
| Natalie Colavito | Olly Corpe |
| Jaden Dowd | Luke Dickens |
| Amanda Grafanakis | Teale Jakubenko |
| Chrislyn Hamilton | Matthew Parsons |
| Madam Parker | Irae Schwenke |
| Sophie Paterson | Mark Spano |
| Roshani Priddis | James Spargo |
| Brooke Schubert | Mitchell Steele |
| Kayla Vanzetta | Jonny Taylor |
| Brooke Wilkie | Tom Williams |
- Confirmed top 12 finalists in bold.
Finalists
Thanh Bui
Thanh Bui is a 25-year-old from Abbotsford, Victoria. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Vietnamese parents who arrived in Australia as boat people he moved to Melbourne as a 7-year-old. Thanh Bui was part of the boy-band North who toured around Malaysia and split up in 2007. Before he auditioned for Australian Idol he was a vocal coach at the International Artist Academy.
Wes Carr
Wes Carr is a 25-year-old from Bondi, New South Wales. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Wes Carr moved to Bondi as a 15-year-old. Before he auditioned for Australian Idol, Wes Carr performed and had regular resident gigs around Sydney.
- "Times Like These" by Foo Fighters - (Top 24)
Chrislyn Hamilton
Chrislyn Hamilton is a 17-year-old from Scarborough, Queensland. Before her audition, Chrislyn Hamilton was in high school and was the lead singer in her school band, picked up a leading role in her school musical and performed in a gospel rock choir group every week.
- "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner - (Top 24)
Teale Jakubenko
Teale Jakubenko is a 22-year-old from Yatala, Queensland. Born in Gold Coast, Queensland, Teale Jakubenko recently toured with renowned Australian singer Wendy Matthews.
Mark Spano
Mark Spano is a 26-year-old from Brighton, Victoria. Mark Spano fronted band The Need for seven years, but had to stop after losing his voice due to polyp in his vocal chords. During his 2 year recovery, Mark Spano worked as a labourer until he auditioned for Australian Idol.
- "Come Said The Boy" by Mondo Rock - (Top 24)
Tom Williams
Tom Williams is a 16-year-old from Adelaide, South Australia. At 15-months-old, Tom Williams was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Before the auditions, he attended high school.
- "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban - (Top 24)
Eliminations (Summary)
Contestants are ordered alphabetically by last name, then by order of elimination.
Legend Female Male Top 12 Top 24 Stage: Semi-Finals Finals Week: Top 24
9/1-9/4Wildcard
9/7Top 12
9/14Top 11
9/21Top 10
9/28Top 9
10/5Top 8
10/12Top 7
10/19Top 6
10/26Top 5
11/2Top 4
11/9Top 3
11/16Top 2
11/23Place Contestant Result Thanh Bui IN Wes Carr IN Chrislyn Hamilton IN Teale Jakubenko IN Mark Spano IN Tom Williams IN Brooke Addamo Nicole Banks Natalie Colavito Olly Corpe Luke Dickens Jaden Dowd Amanda Grafanakis Madam Parker Matthew Parsons Sophie Paterson Roshani Priddis Brooke Schubert Irae Schwenke James Spargo Mitchell Steele Jonny Taylor Kayla Vanzetta Brooke Wilkie
Criticisms
Lack of industry support
It is unsure as to the future of Australian Idol, because two of its top sponsors (Telstra, and Procter & Gamble) have dropped, admit fears it 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,[5] considering Channel Ten refused to air American Idol.[6]
Publicity claims
Channel Ten has also been criticized for a cover-up, in which numerous fan videos, featuring Disney model Jeremy Shum "facing off" against Idol 2008 contestants Tom Williams, were deleted by Warner/Chappell Music to ensure strong ratings.[7] Various users have responded by vowing to tune into the Olympics rather than the 2008 series despite the fact that olympics have finished as the series has begun.
References
- ^ "Holden leaves Idol". Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- ^ "Andrew G's Idol honeymoon". Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ "Australian Idol determined not to fail". Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ^ Welcome to Australianidol.com.au! - Australian IDOL
- ^ http://business.smh.com.au/business/ten-left-with-idol-and-an-empty-house-20080713-3eiq.html
- ^ http://undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=5628
- ^ "Channel Ten Goes On Australian Idol 2008 Cover-Up Spree". Retrieved 2008-08-18.
External links