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Post by dededom on May 18, 2007 13:35:22 GMT 10
50,000 want to be Australian Idol
May 18, 2007 09:00am
www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,21753334-5005368,00.html
WITH auditions yet to be held in Australia's largest city, the number of singers keen to become the next Damien Leith has already topped last year.
Those close to Australian Idol - which will this year air its fifth series - credit a subtle reinvention of the format.
This year the show cast its net in search of the next Australian chart-topper to more remote areas than ever before.
Last year producers increased the age limit for eligible contestants from 30 to 32 and, in a world first, allowed performers to audition and perform on the show with an instrument to show their overall musical ability.
Idol 2007 has already seen 30,000 singers try out for the show, the same as last year, and thousands more are expected to try their luck at Sydney's Australian Technology Park from tomorrow to Monday.
Australian Idol began in 2003 and sifted through 20,000 hopefuls in capital cities to find its first winner, Guy Sebastian.
The huge success of that first series saw the number of contestants skyrocket to 50,000.
But in the past two years there have been fears the Australian singing talent pool has been tapped out with numbers dropping to 25,000.
James Mathison, the show's co-host since day one, said allowing performers to bring along their guitars and perform original material had attracted a new kind of potential Australian Idol winner.
The evidence comes in the form of last year's winner Damien Leith, an Irishman who would have been too old to audition for previous seasons, and the quirky finalist Bobby Flynn, whose unconventional style attracted a new kind of audience to the show.
But it's the regional areas that have impressed Mathison.
This year's Idol audition tour reached 10 remote areas, including Dubbo, Rockhampton, Wagga Wagga and Kalgoorlie, in addition to the capital cities.
"We got a taste of it last year. In Albury we found Lisa Mitchell and who would of thought that when we went to Alice Springs we'd find a voice like Jessica Mauboy,'' Mathison said.
"And this year there have already been some genuine stand-outs from those areas.''
Final 12 finalist Mitchell was a 16-year-old who was most comfortable with a guitar in her arms while Mauboy, who auditioned wearing thongs in the red dirt of the Northern Territory, was last year's runner-up.
"It's amazing where people can be hiding,'' he said.
Australian Idol 5 will hit screens when Big Brother wraps up in July. Comment: interesting, the Perth version of this article says "who wants to be the next Damien Leith". The Sydney version of this says "who wants to be the next Guy Sebastian" - see www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21753060-1702,00.html |
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Post by Spud on May 18, 2007 13:58:32 GMT 10
Thanks for that Dede.  Yay, Damien helped to raise Australian Idol's popularity. Good on him.  I would rather be the next Damien Leith than the next Guy Sebastian. ;D |
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Post by Mi chiamano Kami on May 18, 2007 16:20:46 GMT 10
I'm with you there, Spud! ;D
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Post by astrokath on May 18, 2007 16:50:40 GMT 10
OMG! That quote from Mathison say 'would of'!!
Don't journalists have to pass English these days??
*grammar nazi rant off*
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Post by Spud on May 18, 2007 16:55:01 GMT 10
If it's a direct quote from James then it's he who used bad grammar. It's would HAVE, James, would have.  |
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Post by thebraff (Braffy) on May 18, 2007 17:11:30 GMT 10
I noticed that too. It is amazing how many people say 'would of'. You see it a lot here in the posts.
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Post by Spud on May 18, 2007 17:23:34 GMT 10
Well the 've in would've sounds a lot like of, so if you just go by what you hear people say then I guess it's an easy mistake to make.
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Post by Mysterri on May 18, 2007 18:05:17 GMT 10
OMG! That quote from Mathison say 'would of'!! Don't journalists have to pass English these days?? *grammar nazi rant off* Yes I agree Kath and I don't know if James Mathison was quoted word for word or the journo just needs a good smack.  My other pet hate is "I seen" instead of "I have seen" or "I've seen". That really drives me bananas along with youse! urrrghhhh. |
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Post by Mi chiamano Kami on May 18, 2007 20:31:52 GMT 10
It's little points like that which tell you whether someone read much as a child or not, I think. I think maybe I'm guilty of saying "would of" occasionally, but it would never feel quite right to me to write it out that way. At least you can see how that came about, though. There is NO similar excuse for "I seen".  |
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Post by gj on May 18, 2007 21:41:10 GMT 10
There will only ever be one Damien Leith   |
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Post by thebraff (Braffy) on May 18, 2007 21:42:15 GMT 10
There will only ever be one Damien Leith Hallelujah!  |
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Post by Spud on May 18, 2007 21:56:52 GMT 10
There will only ever be one Damien Leith Hallelujah! Damien is Damien Leith (II) on IMDB.  I bet the other guy isn't as cool as our Damo. |
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Post by kel on May 18, 2007 22:11:17 GMT 10
50,000 want to be Australian Idol
May 18, 2007 09:00am
www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,21753334-5005368,00.html
WITH auditions yet to be held in Australia's largest city, the number of singers keen to become the next Damien Leith has already topped last year.
Those close to Australian Idol - which will this year air its fifth series - credit a subtle reinvention of the format.
This year the show cast its net in search of the next Australian chart-topper to more remote areas than ever before.
Last year producers increased the age limit for eligible contestants from 30 to 32 and, in a world first, allowed performers to audition and perform on the show with an instrument to show their overall musical ability.
Idol 2007 has already seen 30,000 singers try out for the show, the same as last year, and thousands more are expected to try their luck at Sydney's Australian Technology Park from tomorrow to Monday.
Australian Idol began in 2003 and sifted through 20,000 hopefuls in capital cities to find its first winner, Guy Sebastian.
The huge success of that first series saw the number of contestants skyrocket to 50,000.
But in the past two years there have been fears the Australian singing talent pool has been tapped out with numbers dropping to 25,000.
James Mathison, the show's co-host since day one, said allowing performers to bring along their guitars and perform original material had attracted a new kind of potential Australian Idol winner.
The evidence comes in the form of last year's winner Damien Leith, an Irishman who would have been too old to audition for previous seasons, and the quirky finalist Bobby Flynn, whose unconventional style attracted a new kind of audience to the show.
But it's the regional areas that have impressed Mathison.
This year's Idol audition tour reached 10 remote areas, including Dubbo, Rockhampton, Wagga Wagga and Kalgoorlie, in addition to the capital cities.
"We got a taste of it last year. In Albury we found Lisa Mitchell and who would of thought that when we went to Alice Springs we'd find a voice like Jessica Mauboy,'' Mathison said.
"And this year there have already been some genuine stand-outs from those areas.''
Final 12 finalist Mitchell was a 16-year-old who was most comfortable with a guitar in her arms while Mauboy, who auditioned wearing thongs in the red dirt of the Northern Territory, was last year's runner-up.
"It's amazing where people can be hiding,'' he said.
Australian Idol 5 will hit screens when Big Brother wraps up in July. Comment: interesting, the Perth version of this article says "who wants to be the next Damien Leith". The Sydney version of this says "who wants to be the next Guy Sebastian" - see www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21753060-1702,00.html 1 da pic is great  2 30-32 ... da article is kidding 3 wow ... 10 remote areas in Australia ... wow, now that is really important! Only 10 ... who is kidding whom here ... 4 I will not engage in the other inaccuracies and tv stuff ... Oz (I hope this is a password thread... oh, well) |
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