Australian Idol season 7
Template:Infobox reality music competition
The seventh season of the Australian Idol series began on the 9th of August 2009, to determine who will succeed Season 6 winner, Wes Carr. Beginning amid controversy, judge Kyle Sandilands was replaced by record executive, Jay Dee Springbett.
Overview
Format Changes
Ian Dickson, and Marcia Hines returned as judges, however long term judge Kyle Sandilands was sacked after causing controversy on his radio show prior to the premiere, although he was still present for the auditions as they had been prerecorded some weeks earlier. On August 23rd 2009, it was announced on the Idol show that the new judge taking over Kyle Sandilands' spot would be Jay Dee Springbett. Andrew G returned as host, with assistance from Ricki-Lee Coulter due to the departure of James Mathison. The first auditions saw guest judge Brian McFadden join the panel, and his fiancee Delta Goodrem acted as a guest judge for the Sydney auditions.
A further change has also been decided for the Top 12 round eliminations. The Monday night elimination show has been axed in favor of a two hour 'super Sunday' elimination/ performance show.
Ratings
The premiere episode which saw auditions in both Melbourne and Brisbane, achieved an audience of 1.3m. This is considerably lower than previous first episodes. In 2006, the premiere garnered 1.4m, the 2007 got 1.65m and last year achieved 1.4m. The peak audience however of 1.77 was the biggest seen in years. The show won the night in the 18- 49 demographic.[1]
| # | Title | Airdate | Timeslot | Ratings[nb 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Audition 1" | 9 August 2009 | Sunday 6:30pm–8:30pm | 1,300,000 (5th)[2] |
| 2 | "Audition 2" | 16 August 2009 | 1,171,000 (8th)[3] | |
| 3 | "Top 100" | 23 August 2009 | 1,086,000 (8th)[4] | |
| 4 | "Semi Final 1" | 24 August 2009 | Monday 7:30pm–8:30pm | 1,110,000 (10th)[4] |
| 5 | "Semi Final 2" | 25 August 2009 | Tuesday 7:30pm–8:30pm | 1,049,000 (14th)[4] |
| 6 | "Semi Final 3" | 26 August 2009 | Wednesday 7:30pm–8:30pm | 1,049,000 (12th)[4] |
| 7 | "Semi Final 4" | 27 August 2009 | Thursday 7:30pm–8:30pm | 1,153,000 (5th)[4] |
| 8 | "Verdict Semi Final 4/Wildcard" | 30 August 2009 | Sunday 6:30pm–8:30pm | 992,000 (10th)[5] |
| 9 | "Verdict Wildcard/Final 12" | 6 September 2009 | 883,000 (11th)[6] | |
| 10 | "Live Verdict/Final 11" | 13 September 2009 | 990,000 (12th)[7] | |
| 11 | "Live Verdict/Final 10" | 20 September 2009 | Sunday 7:30pm–9:30pm | 976,000 (9th)[8] |
| 12 | "Live Verdict/Final 9" | 27 September 2009 | 984,000 (10th)[9] | |
| 13 | "Live Verdict/Final 8" | 4 October 2009 | 926,000 (11th)[10] | |
| 14 | "Live Verdict/Final 7" | 11 October 2009 | 978,000 (14th)[11] | |
| 15 | "Live Verdict/Final 6" | 18 October 2009 | 1,064,000 (8th)[12] | |
| Scheduled upcoming episodes | ||||
| 16 | "Live Verdict/Final 5" | 25 October 2009 | Sunday 7:30pm-9:30pm | — |
| Average series ratings (ongoing) | 1,047,400 | |||
Auditions
The auditions were held at the following locations:
- Darwin, Northern Territory: Crowne Plaza - 22 March
- Cairns, Queensland: Shangri-La Hotel - 24 March
- Mackay: CQ University, Conservatorium of Music - 26 March
- Tamworth: Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre- 29 March
- Bathurst: Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre - 1 April
- Newcastle, New South Wales: Newcastle Jockey Club - 5 April
- Perth, Western Australia: Perth Convention Exhibition Centre - 19 April
- Hobart, Tasmania: Hotel Grand Chancellor - 21 April
- Adelaide, South Australia: Adelaide Convention Centre - 26 April
- Albury, New South Wales: The Albury Convention Centre - 28 April
- Melbourne, Victoria: Flemington - The Event Centre 1 May, 2 May and 3 May
- Brisbane, Queensland: Suncorp Piazza - 9 May and 10 May
- Sydney, New South Wales: Australian Technology Park - 16 May 17 May and 18 May
^ Auditioning contestants were required to be between the ages 16 and 30 on 30 June 2009 (born between 1 July 1979 and 1 July 1993).
Semi-Finals
These aired on the week of 24th to 27th August, allowing viewers to vote. The "Wildcard" Performance Show followed on Sunday, 30 August, with live results revealed the following week, on 6 September.
| Females | Males |
|---|---|
| Nicole Banks | Casey Barnes |
| Sabrina Batshon | Jason Bartlett |
| Kate Cook | Nathan Brake |
| Kim Cooper | Seth Drury |
| Jamila Ioane | Adam Eckersley |
| Lucie Johnson | James Johnston |
| Aliqua Mao | Tim Johnston |
| Tenielle Muslin | Toby Moulton |
| Lauren Street | Scott Newnham |
| Ashleigh Toole | Daniel Raso |
| Marijana Topalovic | Stan Walker |
| Hayley Warner | Ed Zaidan |
Group 1
Advancing to the Top 12: Stan Walker & Kate Cook Group 2
Advancing to the Top 12: Ashleigh Toole & Nathan Brake Group 3
Advancing to the Top 12: Sabrina Batshon & Scott Newnham Group 4
Advancing to the Top 12: James Johnston & Kim Cooper Wildcard
Advancing to the Top 12 through the Public vote: Toby Moulton and Hayley Warner Weekly Song Themes
The Top 6 FinalistsNathan BrakeNathan Brake is a 17-year-old from Guildford, Sydney. He is a student at the Australian International Performing Arts High School. He is the lead singer of his band, Ackolade.
Kate CookKate Cook is a 26-year-old from Lowood, Queensland. She works as a meat cutter at an abattoir. Her mother, who is her biggest musical influence, committed suicide when Kate was 16.
James JohnstonJames Johnston is an 18-year-old from Wingham, New South Wales. He was a part of Starstruck in 2008, performing in front of thousands. He is a gifted song writer and prefers the acoustic/pop/rock style of music.
Toby MoultonToby Moulton is a 30-year-old born in Melrose, South Australia. He is a primary school teacher. Toby teaches at Star of the Sea primary school in Henley Beach.
Stan WalkerStan Walker is an 18-year-old born in Melbourne. He spent part of his life growing up in Tauranga, New Zealand. He works in retail. He has the Maori word ataahua tattooed on his neck, meaning beautiful.
Hayley WarnerHayley Warner is a 17-year-old from the south of Sydney. She is the lead singer of her band, Bleached Academy and works in retail at a surf shop.
EliminatedKim CooperKim Cooper is a 21-year-old born in Melbourne. At age 17, she moved to Townsville, Queensland, after her father was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. She works in fashion retail.
Scott NewnhamScott Newnham is a 20-year-old from Melbourne. He works as a bricklayer, and before Idol, had never sung in front of another person except his best friend.
Tim JohnstonTim Johnston (born in 1981), is a 28-year-old from Newcastle, New South Wales. He auditioned for The X Factor, Series 5, while living in the United Kingdom. He advanced to the bootcamp round, but failed to make the cut for the Visit to the Judges' houses. He works as a barrista.
Sabrina Batshon is a 24-year-old from Rhodes, Sydney. Growing up she was a professional theatre performer in various big productions, including "The Wizard of Oz". Her rising career was put to a halt when she was diagnosed with agoraphobia and depression. She is now on the road to recovery.
Casey BarnesCasey Barnes is a 30-year-old father born in Tasmania. At a young age he became blind in his right eye after an infection. He has opened for Bryan Adams and played alongside Eskimo Joe, Vanessa Amorosi and Diesel during his career.
Ashleigh TooleAshleigh Toole is an 18-year-old from the Central Coast, New South Wales. A student, she grew up performing in multiple music festivals with her family.
Elimination Chart
Notes
References
External links |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
