Post by Inside Australian Idol on Sept 6, 2003 0:03:06 GMT 10
New pot of gold
Jennifer Dudley
31jul03
Popstars look out: Australian Idol, our own version of the international franchise which has made stars out of shower singers, has been unleashed. In the process of contestant elimination, there is bound to be a few laughs as egos are hung out to dry. Jennifer Dudley reports.
JUDGE Mark Holden brands some contestants delusional. Co-host James Mathison tactfully says they would struggle to make a living busking. But the 9900 hopefuls rejected in the first round of Australian Idol are in extensive, if not good, company.
Ever since television arrived in Australia, producers have searched for singers they could turn into celebrities, cashing in on the cult of personality and reaping benefits from both the TV and music mediums.
To this end we have seen New Faces, Red Faces, Pot of Gold, Star Struck, Showcase, Popstars and the less-ambitious Captain Kangaroo's Karaoke on Briz31.
Australian Idol is the latest addition to this list of heat-seeking productions, but it is more like Big Brother meets a makeover show than any Daryl Somers-hosted variety series we have seen before.
Australian Idol's format is the creation of 19 Entertainment's Simon Fuller, the British record company executive who created the Spice Girls and S Club. Fuller's idea was first produced as Pop Idol in the United Kingdom and drew huge ratings.
It has since been exported around the world to countries as diverse as Lebanon and Germany (where it was called Deutschland sucht Den Superstar). The TV franchise's most recent and celebrated success was in the US, where the final of the second series attracted an audience of 36 million viewers.
One of Australian Idol's co-hosts, pay-TV's Channel V reporter James "Jimmy" Mathison already is caught up in the hype surrounding the series he calls "a cult phenomenon".
He and fellow Channel V veejay Andrew G, originally from Brisbane, were shown tapes of Idol shows from other countries before being asked to sign with the series and travel to auditions in five Australian cities.
Ten thousand people turned out for the auditions, but only 100 were chosen in a process Mathison says was "intense".
"There's so many really good singers out there and we were trying to weed them out from the people who were absolutely phenomenal and really made you feel something when they sang," he says. "That bit's up to the judges. We just have to hang outside and nip in and chat to the kids and get to know them rather than make the tough calls. We don't have to make anyone cry."
Despite the massive turnout, Mathison says the quality of performers was high, though he admits there were some "diabolical" and "hilarious" performances.
"Definitely there were a couple that, when I think back, I wonder what they were doing there and why they were so convinced they had what it took. Put it this way, if they had gone busking they'd find it hard to make a living. They'd go hungry," he says.
Others looked the part, he says, but sounded nothing like it.
Mathison, who is excited by the idea that he has already met the first Australian Idol winner, though neither knew it at the time, plans to bet on the show's "sleepers" who will blossom as their experience grows.
This is where the Idol TV franchise differs from other search-for-a-star shows – it gives contestants a chance to develop their talents and presentation over an extended period.
Australian Idol judges will continue to whittle the 10,000 hopefuls down until they agree on 40 finalists. Those finalists will be split into five groups of eight contestants.
Each week the members of one group will perform a song of their choice in front of a studio and TV audience. The public will vote for their favourites, the result will be televised the following night and the most popular two performers from each group will progress to the final 10.
The 10 finalists, plus possible wildcard entries, will each perform a song of their choice in the last few weeks, with one contestant eliminated each week until two remain. This pair will perform in a finale at the Sydney Opera House in November before the ultimate winner is chosen.
As well as gaining performance experience as they continue, contestants will be given assistance with grooming, dance moves and singing.
One of Australian Idol's three judges, music producer and former pop star Mark Holden, says it is the show's emphasis on developing talent that piqued his interest.
"It's about singers and it's about singing and that has been my life for the past 30 years," he says.
Holden made a name for himself on the pop circuit in the 1970s with hits including I Wanna Make You My Lady and Never Gonna Fall in Love Again. He scored his record deal after appearing on Showcase '74 – a star-making show similar to Australian Idol in which he came fifth.
Holden has continued to write music, penning songs for Vanessa Amorosi, whom he managed, and Delta Goodrem. He has written songs for a wide range of acts from The Temptations to David Hasselhoff.
Holden says he is delighted to be part of the Australian Idol judging panel, alongside singer Marcia Hines and record company executive Ian Dickson, as seeing new Australian talent "inspires me and is something you really enjoy when you're an old turk".
Happily, Idol's contestants are not all Mariah Carey-wannabes, Holden says, and he is delighted by the range of styles attempted at the auditions – from pop and rock to opera and cabaret.
"One young kid from Adelaide came out and did a Meatloaf song really well and I can't wait to see if he can do something other than that," he says. "There's some Tom Jones types and there's a few Craig Davids and some country music types. It hasn't been one-dimensional."
Knowing what the contestants are going through from his own experience, Holden says he tries to be honest and constructive in his criticism. He admits he is keen to break the illusions of those who think they are more talented than they are, but maintains he is not Australian Idol's harshest critic. Dickson, he says, fills that role.
"Dicko is really brutal and funny," he says. "He's really terrible. He has that sly wit and he just can't help himself. I think he will be the Simon Cowell (the English judge known for his acerbic appraisals) of this series."
Being a music writer and producer, Holden says he already is eyeing off some of the show's newly discovered talent with a view to record their music if they do not win.
The person who does win the series will claim a record deal with BMG and an artist management and sponsorship contract.
But is Australia ready for another television-created pop star? Series three Popstars winner Scott Cain scored a number-one hit with his first single released off the back of the show, but interest waned by his second song and his album, Controlled Folly, spent just one week in the top 50.
Australia's other Popstars creations Scandal'us and Bardot have both disbanded, though Sophie Monk and Katie Underwood from Bardot have continued to forge careers in the music industry.
And barely known Star Struck winners Tommy Ryan and Sophie Coe have yet to make a substantial impact on the music industry.
Time will tell if the Australian public is ready to embrace another TV-manufactured singer and whether the first Australian Idol winner is able to deviate from the formula of other shows and achieve long-term idolatry.
Australian Idol, Ten, Sunday, 7.30pm
www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6835943%5E3042,00.html
Jennifer Dudley
31jul03
Popstars look out: Australian Idol, our own version of the international franchise which has made stars out of shower singers, has been unleashed. In the process of contestant elimination, there is bound to be a few laughs as egos are hung out to dry. Jennifer Dudley reports.
JUDGE Mark Holden brands some contestants delusional. Co-host James Mathison tactfully says they would struggle to make a living busking. But the 9900 hopefuls rejected in the first round of Australian Idol are in extensive, if not good, company.
Ever since television arrived in Australia, producers have searched for singers they could turn into celebrities, cashing in on the cult of personality and reaping benefits from both the TV and music mediums.
To this end we have seen New Faces, Red Faces, Pot of Gold, Star Struck, Showcase, Popstars and the less-ambitious Captain Kangaroo's Karaoke on Briz31.
Australian Idol is the latest addition to this list of heat-seeking productions, but it is more like Big Brother meets a makeover show than any Daryl Somers-hosted variety series we have seen before.
Australian Idol's format is the creation of 19 Entertainment's Simon Fuller, the British record company executive who created the Spice Girls and S Club. Fuller's idea was first produced as Pop Idol in the United Kingdom and drew huge ratings.
It has since been exported around the world to countries as diverse as Lebanon and Germany (where it was called Deutschland sucht Den Superstar). The TV franchise's most recent and celebrated success was in the US, where the final of the second series attracted an audience of 36 million viewers.
One of Australian Idol's co-hosts, pay-TV's Channel V reporter James "Jimmy" Mathison already is caught up in the hype surrounding the series he calls "a cult phenomenon".
He and fellow Channel V veejay Andrew G, originally from Brisbane, were shown tapes of Idol shows from other countries before being asked to sign with the series and travel to auditions in five Australian cities.
Ten thousand people turned out for the auditions, but only 100 were chosen in a process Mathison says was "intense".
"There's so many really good singers out there and we were trying to weed them out from the people who were absolutely phenomenal and really made you feel something when they sang," he says. "That bit's up to the judges. We just have to hang outside and nip in and chat to the kids and get to know them rather than make the tough calls. We don't have to make anyone cry."
Despite the massive turnout, Mathison says the quality of performers was high, though he admits there were some "diabolical" and "hilarious" performances.
"Definitely there were a couple that, when I think back, I wonder what they were doing there and why they were so convinced they had what it took. Put it this way, if they had gone busking they'd find it hard to make a living. They'd go hungry," he says.
Others looked the part, he says, but sounded nothing like it.
Mathison, who is excited by the idea that he has already met the first Australian Idol winner, though neither knew it at the time, plans to bet on the show's "sleepers" who will blossom as their experience grows.
This is where the Idol TV franchise differs from other search-for-a-star shows – it gives contestants a chance to develop their talents and presentation over an extended period.
Australian Idol judges will continue to whittle the 10,000 hopefuls down until they agree on 40 finalists. Those finalists will be split into five groups of eight contestants.
Each week the members of one group will perform a song of their choice in front of a studio and TV audience. The public will vote for their favourites, the result will be televised the following night and the most popular two performers from each group will progress to the final 10.
The 10 finalists, plus possible wildcard entries, will each perform a song of their choice in the last few weeks, with one contestant eliminated each week until two remain. This pair will perform in a finale at the Sydney Opera House in November before the ultimate winner is chosen.
As well as gaining performance experience as they continue, contestants will be given assistance with grooming, dance moves and singing.
One of Australian Idol's three judges, music producer and former pop star Mark Holden, says it is the show's emphasis on developing talent that piqued his interest.
"It's about singers and it's about singing and that has been my life for the past 30 years," he says.
Holden made a name for himself on the pop circuit in the 1970s with hits including I Wanna Make You My Lady and Never Gonna Fall in Love Again. He scored his record deal after appearing on Showcase '74 – a star-making show similar to Australian Idol in which he came fifth.
Holden has continued to write music, penning songs for Vanessa Amorosi, whom he managed, and Delta Goodrem. He has written songs for a wide range of acts from The Temptations to David Hasselhoff.
Holden says he is delighted to be part of the Australian Idol judging panel, alongside singer Marcia Hines and record company executive Ian Dickson, as seeing new Australian talent "inspires me and is something you really enjoy when you're an old turk".
Happily, Idol's contestants are not all Mariah Carey-wannabes, Holden says, and he is delighted by the range of styles attempted at the auditions – from pop and rock to opera and cabaret.
"One young kid from Adelaide came out and did a Meatloaf song really well and I can't wait to see if he can do something other than that," he says. "There's some Tom Jones types and there's a few Craig Davids and some country music types. It hasn't been one-dimensional."
Knowing what the contestants are going through from his own experience, Holden says he tries to be honest and constructive in his criticism. He admits he is keen to break the illusions of those who think they are more talented than they are, but maintains he is not Australian Idol's harshest critic. Dickson, he says, fills that role.
"Dicko is really brutal and funny," he says. "He's really terrible. He has that sly wit and he just can't help himself. I think he will be the Simon Cowell (the English judge known for his acerbic appraisals) of this series."
Being a music writer and producer, Holden says he already is eyeing off some of the show's newly discovered talent with a view to record their music if they do not win.
The person who does win the series will claim a record deal with BMG and an artist management and sponsorship contract.
But is Australia ready for another television-created pop star? Series three Popstars winner Scott Cain scored a number-one hit with his first single released off the back of the show, but interest waned by his second song and his album, Controlled Folly, spent just one week in the top 50.
Australia's other Popstars creations Scandal'us and Bardot have both disbanded, though Sophie Monk and Katie Underwood from Bardot have continued to forge careers in the music industry.
And barely known Star Struck winners Tommy Ryan and Sophie Coe have yet to make a substantial impact on the music industry.
Time will tell if the Australian public is ready to embrace another TV-manufactured singer and whether the first Australian Idol winner is able to deviate from the formula of other shows and achieve long-term idolatry.
Australian Idol, Ten, Sunday, 7.30pm
www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6835943%5E3042,00.html