Australian Idol (season 6)

Main article: Australian Idol
Australian Idol
Season 6
Broadcast from 24 August 2008 – 23 November 2008
Judges Ian Dickson
Marcia Hines
Kyle Sandilands
Host(s) Andrew G
James Mathison
Ricki-Lee Coulter
Broadcaster Network Ten
Finals venue Fox Studios, Sydney
Sydney Opera House (Grand Final)
Winner:
Wes Carr
Origin Adelaide, Australia
Song "You"
Genre(s) Rock, Pop rock, Soft rock, Blue-eyed soul
Runner-up
Luke Dickens
Chronology
◀ 2008 ►
Finalists
(in alphabetical order and elimination date)
Wes CarrWinner
Luke Dickens23 November
Mark Spano17 November
Teale Jakubenko10 November
Chrislyn Hamilton3 November
Roshani Priddis27 October
Sophie Paterson20 October
Thanh Bui13 October
Madam Parker6 October
Tom Williams29 September
Brooke Addamo22 September
Jonny Taylor15 September

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

Kyle Sandilands, Ian Dickson, and Marcia Hines returned as judges, however long term judge Mark Holden left to pursue other interests.[1] Andrew G was temporarily absent while he prepared 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 contest, the format for eliminations in the Top 12 round will be different. In the new result nights, the bottom 3 of the week will be announced first and the voting line will be opened again for viewers to vote for their favourite in the bottom 3. 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:

^ These auditions were not filmed, with successful contestants going to capital city of the respective state for their second tier audition. Auditioning contestants are 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 1 September to 4 September the Semi-final rounds aired on television, allowing viewers to vote. The Wildcard Performance Show was held on Sunday, 7 September, with results on 8 September.

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

Weekly Song Themes

WeekThemeMentor/guest judge
Top 12Idols' IdolsNone
Top 11'80s MusicCyndi Lauper
Top 10Aussie HitsDarren Hayes
Top 9ABBANone
Top 8RockTim Farriss and Kirk Pengilly
Top 7MotownGuy Sebastian
Top 6Rolling StonesNone
Top 5Michael JacksonJermaine Jackson
Top 4American HitsChris Isaak
Top 3Idols' ChoiceTina Arena

Top 12 Finalists

Wesley Carr

Main article: Wes Carr

Wes Carr is a 26 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. On 23 November 2008, Wes Carr was announced the winner of Australian Idol 2008.

  1. "Times Like These" by Foo Fighters - (Top 24)
  2. "Beautiful Day" by U2 - (Top 12)
  3. "Dancing In The Dark" by Bruce Springsteen - (Top 11)
  4. "Friday on My Mind" by The Easybeats - (Top 10)
  5. "Fernando" by ABBA - (Top 9)
  6. "Desire" by U2 - (Top 8)
  7. "If I Were A Carpenter" by The Four Tops - (Top 7)
  8. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6)
  9. "Black or White" by Michael Jackson TOUCHDOWN! (from Marcia Hines and Jermaine Jackson) - (Top 5)
  10. "When You Were Young" by The Killers - (Top 4)
  11. "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong - (Top 4)
  12. "Easy" by Faith No More - (Top 3)
  13. "Get Back" by The Beatles TOUCHDOWN! (from Dicko) and TV Throw (from Kyle Sandilands) - (Top 3)
  14. "White Noise" by The Living End - (Top 2)
  15. "You" by Wes Carr - (Top 2)
Preceded by
Natalie Gauci		 Australian Idol winner
2008 		Succeeded by
Stan Walker

Luke Dickens

Luke Dickens (born 7 June 1982) is from Young, New South Wales. Before he auditioned, Luke Dickens was a sheep shearer and had taught himself how to play the guitar. He was announced runner-up to Wes Carr on 23 November 2008.

  1. "Mustang Sally" by Mack Rice - (Top 24)
  2. "Angels" by Robbie Williams - (Wildcard)
  3. "Feelin' Alright" by Joe Cocker - (Top 12)
  4. "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp - (Top 11)
  5. "Flame Trees" by Cold Chisel - (Top 10)
  6. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" by ABBA - (Top 9)
  7. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz - (Top 8)
  8. "My Girl" by Temptations - (Top 7)
  9. "Honky Tonk Woman" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6) Bottom 2
  10. "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson - (Top 5)
  11. "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed - (Top 4)
  12. "One of These Nights" by The Eagles - (Top 4)
  13. "Stuck in the Middle" by Stealer's Wheel - (Top 3)
  14. "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" by Elton John - (Top 3)
  15. "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger - (Top 2)
  16. "When We Hear Hallelujah" - by Luke Dickens - (Top 2)

Mark Spano

Mark Spano is a 26-year-old from Brighton, Victoria.He is of Italian Heritage. Mark Spano fronted band The Need for seven years, but had to stop after losing his voice due to polyp in his vocal cords. During his 2 year recovery, Mark Spano worked as a labourer until he auditioned for Australian Idol. Spano was eliminated during the Top 3 results night.

  1. "Come Said The Boy" by Mondo Rock - (Top 24)
  2. "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS - (Top 12)
  3. "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner - (Top 11)
  4. "Age of Reason" by John Farnham - (Top 10)
  5. "Waterloo" by ABBA - (Top 9)
  6. "Sex on Fire" by The Kings of Leon - (Top 8)
  7. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by The Supremes - (Top 7) Bottom 2
  8. "Angie" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6) TOUCHDOWN! (from Dicko)
  9. "Bad" by Michael Jackson - (Top 5) Bottom 2
  10. "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" by Chris Isaak - (Top 4)
  11. "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. - (Top 4)
  12. "Bad Day" by Fuel - (Top 3)
  13. "Smooth" by Carlos Santana & Rob Thomas - (Top 3) Eliminated 17 November 2008

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. Jakubenko was eliminated during the Top 4 results night. Teale was placed in the Bottom 3 six times including elimination and therefore has been placed there the most times out of any contestant in the history of Australian Idol.

  1. "Running" by Evermore - (Top 24)
  2. "Walk Away Renée" by Rick Price - (Top 12) Bottom 2
  3. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2 - (Top 11)
  4. "Black Fingernails, Red Wine" by Eskimo Joe - (Top 10) Bottom 2
  5. "Thank You For The Music" by ABBA - (Top 9)
  6. "Slide" by Goo Goo Dolls - (Top 8) Bottom 3
  7. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - (Top 7) Bottom 3
  8. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6) Bottom 3
  9. "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson - (Top 5)
  10. "No Such Thing" by John Mayer - (Top 4)
  11. "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake - (Top 4) Eliminated 10 November 2008

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. Hamilton was eliminated during the Top 5 results night, and for the first time, the contest was left with four male finalists.

  1. "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner - (Top 24)
  2. "Think" by Aretha Franklin - (Top 12) TOUCHDOWN! (from Kyle Sandilands)
  3. "True Colours" by Cyndi Lauper - (Top 11)
  4. "Chains" by Tina Arena - (Top 10)
  5. "Mamma Mia" by ABBA - (Top 9) Bottom 2
  6. "Don't Speak" by No Doubt - (Top 8)
  7. "Get Ready" by Temptations - (Top 7) TOUCHDOWN! (from Guy Sebastian)
  8. "Get off of My Cloud" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6)
  9. "Thriller" by Michael Jackson - (Top 5) Eliminated 3 November 2008

Roshani Priddis

Roshani Priddis (born August 1987) is a 21-year-old from Ashfield, New South Wales, although she grew up in Tamworth, New South Wales. Born in Sri Lanka, Priddis moved to Australia as a 6-week-old when she was adopted by an Australian family. Priddis was eliminated during the Top 6 results night. In April 2010, it was announced Roshani will be part of the new Young Divas group. She will be replacing former member, Paulini Curuenavuli.

  1. "Knock on Wood" by Eddie Floyd - (Top 24)
  2. "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys - (Wildcard)
  3. "Tell Me 'bout It" by Joss Stone - (Top 12)
  4. "What's Love Got To Do With It" by Tina Turner - (Top 11)
  5. "Heading In The Right Direction" by Renée Geyer - (Top 10)
  6. "Money, Money, Money" by ABBA - (Top 9) Bottom 3
  7. "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters - (Top 8)
  8. "Reflections" by Diana Ross & The Supremes - (Top 7)
  9. "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6) Eliminated 27 October 2008

Sophie Paterson

Sophie Paterson is a 23-year-old from London, United Kingdom. Originally from Maryknoll, Victoria, Paterson moved to England to pursue a music career. Before she auditioned, Sophie Paterson worked as a bar manager and performed regularly. She was eliminated during the Top 7 results night.

  1. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 24)
  2. "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz - (Wildcard)
  3. "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows - (Top 12) Bottom 3
  4. "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics - (Top 11) Bottom 2
  5. "Don't Hold Back" by The Potbelleez - (Top 10)
  6. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" by ABBA - (Top 9)
  7. "Ana's Song (Open Fire)" by Silverchair - (Top 8) Bottom 2
  8. "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" by Temptations - (Top 7) Eliminated 20 October 2008

Thanh Bui

Thanh Bui is a 25-year-old from Abbotsford, Victoria. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Vietnamese parents, he moved to Melbourne as a 7-year-old. He was educated at Melbourne High School, graduating in 2000. Thanh Bui was part of the boy-band North who toured around Malaysia and split up in 2006. Aside of Australian Idol he is the director and vocal coach at International Artist Academy. Bui was eliminated during the Top 8 Results Night.

  1. "One" by U2 - (Top 24)
  2. "This Love" by Maroon 5 - (Top 12)
  3. "Every Breath You Take" by The Police - (Top 11) Bottom 3
  4. "You're the Voice" by John Farnham - (Top 10)
  5. "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA - (Top 9) TOUCHDOWN! (from Marcia Hines)
  6. "Shadow of the Day" by Linkin Park - (Top 8) - Eliminated 13 October 2008

Madam Parker

Madam Parker is a 23-year-old who lives with her family in Beverly Hills, New South Wales. Originally from New Zealand, Parker moved to Australia in order to make a better future for her son and pursue her musical dreams. Parker is of Māori and West African descent. Parker was eliminated during the Top 9 Results Night. In April 2010, it was announced that Madam will be a new member of the Young Divas group, replacing former member, Emily Williams.

  1. "No One" by Alicia Keys - (Top 24)
  2. "Closer" by Ne-Yo - (Top 12)
  3. "Upside Down" by Diana Ross - (Top 11)
  4. "Hook Me Up" by The Veronicas - (Top 10) Bottom 3
  5. "Dancing Queen" by ABBA - (Top 9) - Eliminated 6 October 2008

Tom Williams

Tom Williams (born 14 May 1992) is a 21-year-old from Adelaide, South Australia. At 15-months-old, Tom Williams was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Before the auditions, he attended high school . Williams was eliminated during the Top 10 Results Night.

  1. "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban - (Top 24)
  2. "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith - (Top 12)
  3. "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel - (Top 11)
  4. "Light Surrounding You" by Evermore - (Top 10) - Eliminated 29 September 2008

Brooke Addamo

Brooke Addamo is a 17-year-old from Werribee, Victoria. Addamo takes professional vocal coaching and won Teen Idol in 2007. She was eliminated during the Top 11 Results Night. She has now released an E.P. with Wunderkind (Warner Music) under the moniker "Owl Eyes" which is in stores now.

  1. "Foolish Games" by Jewel - (Top 24)
  2. "These Words" by Natasha Bedingfield - (Top 12)
  3. "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes - (Top 11) - Eliminated 22 September 2008

Jonny Taylor

Jonny Taylor is a 22-year-old from Perth, Western Australia. Since 2006, Taylor has been determined to make his life count after a serious motorcycle accident almost took his life. He was eliminated during the Top 12 Results Night.

  1. "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley - (Top 24)
  2. "Let Her Cry" by Hootie & the Blowfish - (Wildcard)
  3. "Better Man" by Pearl Jam - (Top 12) - Eliminated 15 September 2008

Elimination chart

Females Males Top 24 Top 12 Wild Card Winner
Did Not Perform Safe Safe First Safe Last Eliminated
Stage: Semi-Finals Wild Card Finals
Week: 1/9 2/9 3/9 4/9 7/9 14/9 21/9 28/9 5/10 12/10 19/10 26/10 2/11 9/11 16/11 23/11
Place Contestant Result
1 Wes Carr Top 12 Bottom 2 Winner
2 Luke Dickens Wild Card Top 12 Bottom 2 Runner-up
3 Mark Spano Top 12 Bottom 2 Bottom 2 Elim
4 Teale Jakubenko Top 12 Bottom 2 Bottom 2 Bottom 2 Bottom 3 Bottom 3 Bottom 3 Elim
5 Chrislyn Hamilton Top 12 Bottom 2 Elim
6 Roshani Priddis Wild Card Top 12 Bottom 3 Elim
7 Sophie Paterson Wild Card Top 12 Bottom 3 Bottom 2 Bottom 3 Elim
8 Thanh Bui Top 12 Bottom 3 Elim
9 Madam Parker Top 12 Bottom 3 Elim
10 Tom Williams Top 12 Elim
11 Brooke Addamo Top 12 Elim
12 Jonny Taylor Wild Card Top 12 Elim
Wild Card Amanda Grafanakis Wild Card Elim
Savannah Rakz Wild Card
James Spargo Wild Card
Charley Yates Wild Card
Semi-Final 4 Irae Schwenke Elim
Cat Badasio
Semi-Final 3 Matthew Parsons Elim style="background:#919191;" colspan="13" rowspan1"|
Semi-Final 2 Madison Peter Elim
Brooke Kcleve
Semi-Final 1 Jaden Dowd Elim
Mitchell Steele
Olly Corpe

Result Night Performances

Guest Performances

WeekPerformer(s)Title
Top 24Axle Whitehead"I Don't Do Surprises"
Top 12Jordin Sparks"No Air"
Top 11Cyndi Lauper"Time After Time"
Top 10Vanessa Amorosi"The Simple Things (Something Emotional)"
Top 9Metro Station"Shake It"
Top 8Jessica Mauboy"Running Back"
Top 7Gabriella Cilmi"Save the Lies"
Top 6Chris Brown"Forever"
Top 5Pink"Sober"
Top 4Chris Isaak"Wicked Game"

Grand Finale

The Grand Finale occurred on 23 November at the Sydney Opera House. The 2008 finale unlike previous finales was held outside the Sydney Opera House rather than inside the building.

Grand Finale performances

  1. Top 12 - "Can You Feel It", originally by The Jacksons
  2. Wes Carr and Luke Dickens - "Times Like These", originally by Foo Fighters
  3. Mark Spano - "Sex on Fire", originally by Kings of Leon
  4. Special Performance - "Burn" by Jessica Mauboy
  5. Top 12 Male Finalists - "Higher Ground", originally by Stevie Wonder
  6. Top 12 Female Finalists - "I'm Every Woman", originally by Chaka Khan
  7. Special Performance - "Rattlin' Bones" by Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson
  8. Top 12 - "Viva la Vida", originally by Coldplay
  9. Wes Carr - "Black or White", originally by Michael Jackson
  10. Luke Dickens - "Feelin' Alright", originally by Traffic
  11. Wes Carr - "You"

Ratings

# Title Airdate Viewers
(in millions)		 Nightly Rank Weekly Rank
1 "Audition 1" 24 August 2008 1.400 #4 #15
2 "Audition 2" 25 August 2008 1.257 #8 #26
3 Audition 3 26 August 2008 1,098,000 13th 37th
4 Audition 4 27 August 2008 1,240,000 10th 28th
5 Audition 5 28 August 2008 1,148,000 8th 34th
6 Audition 6 29 August 2008 1,033,000 7th 45th
7 Top 100 31 August 2008 1,310,000 7th 22nd
8 Semi Final 1 1 September 2008 1,204,000 9th 32nd
9 Semi Final 2 2 September 2008 1,257,000 9th 28th
10 Semi Final 3 3 September 2008 1,231,000 10th 29th
11 Semi Final 4 4 September 2008 1,150,000 7th 36th
12 Wildcard Performances 7 September 2008 1,193,000 8th 28th
13 Wildcard Results 8 September 2008 1,100,000 13th 41st
14 Top 12 Performances 14 September 2008 1,224,000 7th 24th
15 Top 12 Results 15 September 2008 1,027,000 12th 47th
16 Top 11 Performances 21 September 2008 1,342,000 2nd 18th
17 Top 11 Results 22 September 2008 1,140,000 10th 38th
18 Top 10 Performances 28 September 2008 1,202,000 5th 22nd
19 Top 10 Results 29 September 2008 897,000 15th 58th
20 Top 9 Performances 5 October 2008 1,215,000 7th 25th
21 Top 9 Results 6 October 2008 971,000 13th 41st
22 Top 8 Performances 12 October 2008 1,194,000 8th 28th
23 Top 8 Results 13 October 2008 789,000 22nd 80th
24 Top 7 Performances 19 October 2008 1,138,000 6th 29th
25 Top 7 Results 20 October 2008 909,000 16th 57th
26 Top 6 Performances 26 October 2008 1,168,000 6th 24th
27 Top 6 Results 27 October 2008 903,000 17th 52nd
28 Top 5 Performances 2 November 2008 1,230,000 3rd 18th
29 Top 5 Results 3 November 2008 982,000 12th 42nd
30 Top 4 Performances 9 November 2008 1,127,000 6th 26th
31 Top 4 Results 10 November 2008 882,000 16th 59th
32 Top 3 Performances 16 November 2008 1,270,000 4th 15th
33 Top 3 Results 17 November 2008 1,079,000 12th 33rd
34 Finale 23 November 2008 1,600,000 1st 2nd

References

  1. ↑ "Holden leaves Idol". Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  2. ↑ "Andrew G's Idol honeymoon". The Daily Telegraph. 12 May 2008. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  3. ↑ "Australian Idol determined not to fail". The Age (Melbourne). 22 August 2008. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  4. ↑ Welcome to Australianidol.com.au! - Australian IDOL

External links

Preceded by
Season 5 (2007)		 Australian Idol
Season 6 (2008) 		Succeeded by
Season 7 (2009)