Post by Inside Australain Idol on Jul 23, 2003 23:36:31 GMT 10
No pain, no fame
July 24 2003
The nation's aspiring pop stars will soon taste the wrath of Ian Dickson, Australian Idol's hard man. "we had some right big fat buggers," he tells Richard Jinman. Ian Dickson is bracing himself for public outrage. "I'm going to get a lot of stick from people" says the 40-year old general manager of marketing at record company BMG Australia, "but I went into this with open eyes." He's talking about Ten's new talent quest series Australian Idol, which begins on Sunday night. Dickson, or "Dicko" as he will be known - and quite possibly reviled - by sections of the Australian public, is the hard man on a judging panel that includes singer Marcia Hines and record producer Mark Holden.Australian Idol is based on the Pop Idol format that has already taken Britain and America by storm. Created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, it's a national talent quest that allows the public to vote for their favourite singer via telephone or SMS. The winner is guaranteed a single and album release and an avalanche of publicity.The big prize - BMG will invest more than $1 million in the winner - is an integral part of the show's appeal. But in Britain and America viewers were also drawn to the no-holds-barred judging of British BMG executive Simon Cowell, who reduced contestants to tears with comments such as "bloody pathetic" and "I can only describe your voice as ghastly".Dickson denies Ten has cast him in the Cowell "role", but he says he won't mince words when confronted with less-than-stellar talent. "I've said some pretty tough things to some kids that have probably never been spoken to in that way," he says. "But I've honestly not killed for fun; I've killed to eat."
The prospect of a date with Dicko certainly didn't deter the nation's starry-eyed singers. More than 10,000 turned up to capital-city auditions, even though just 40 go through to the performance stage of Australian Idol.
Dickson, who has worked in the music industry for 18 years, says the finalists will need to be extraordinary. He marks contestants in three categories: voice, look and star quality. If you think that means only willowy model-types have a chance, think again.
"Some people had a great voice but were pig ugly and had no charisma," Dickson says with characteristic bluntness. "But we had some right big fat buggers who got through because they carried it so well. I've got a suspicion one of them will make the top 10."
And while the judges have heard plenty of tone-deaf kids murdering their favourite hits, there has been some magic. "We've had some hugely emotional moments," he says. "We've had people walk in that had such jaw-dropping talent and charisma that we've broken into spontaneous applause."
Australian Idol begins on Sunday on Ten at 7.30pm.
www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/23/1058853132738.html
July 24 2003
The nation's aspiring pop stars will soon taste the wrath of Ian Dickson, Australian Idol's hard man. "we had some right big fat buggers," he tells Richard Jinman. Ian Dickson is bracing himself for public outrage. "I'm going to get a lot of stick from people" says the 40-year old general manager of marketing at record company BMG Australia, "but I went into this with open eyes." He's talking about Ten's new talent quest series Australian Idol, which begins on Sunday night. Dickson, or "Dicko" as he will be known - and quite possibly reviled - by sections of the Australian public, is the hard man on a judging panel that includes singer Marcia Hines and record producer Mark Holden.Australian Idol is based on the Pop Idol format that has already taken Britain and America by storm. Created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, it's a national talent quest that allows the public to vote for their favourite singer via telephone or SMS. The winner is guaranteed a single and album release and an avalanche of publicity.The big prize - BMG will invest more than $1 million in the winner - is an integral part of the show's appeal. But in Britain and America viewers were also drawn to the no-holds-barred judging of British BMG executive Simon Cowell, who reduced contestants to tears with comments such as "bloody pathetic" and "I can only describe your voice as ghastly".Dickson denies Ten has cast him in the Cowell "role", but he says he won't mince words when confronted with less-than-stellar talent. "I've said some pretty tough things to some kids that have probably never been spoken to in that way," he says. "But I've honestly not killed for fun; I've killed to eat."
The prospect of a date with Dicko certainly didn't deter the nation's starry-eyed singers. More than 10,000 turned up to capital-city auditions, even though just 40 go through to the performance stage of Australian Idol.
Dickson, who has worked in the music industry for 18 years, says the finalists will need to be extraordinary. He marks contestants in three categories: voice, look and star quality. If you think that means only willowy model-types have a chance, think again.
"Some people had a great voice but were pig ugly and had no charisma," Dickson says with characteristic bluntness. "But we had some right big fat buggers who got through because they carried it so well. I've got a suspicion one of them will make the top 10."
And while the judges have heard plenty of tone-deaf kids murdering their favourite hits, there has been some magic. "We've had some hugely emotional moments," he says. "We've had people walk in that had such jaw-dropping talent and charisma that we've broken into spontaneous applause."
Australian Idol begins on Sunday on Ten at 7.30pm.
www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/23/1058853132738.html
