news articles 5 novemeber

[Inside Australian Idol]

Fans demand Idol answers over Cosima's exit
Mandi Zonneveldt and Luke Dennehy
05nov03

AUSTRALIAN Idol has been labelled a farce by furious fans after the late withdrawal of a favourite and refusal by Channel 10 to reveal viewers' votes.


Furious fans: Angry Idol followers yesterday demanded to know the result of Monday night's vote after Cosima De Vito's shock withdrawal from the competition.

Angry Idol followers yesterday demanded to know the result of Monday night's vote after Cosima De Vito's shock withdrawal from the competition.
Just 0.08 per cent separated De Vito and country boy Shannon Noll, but Channel 10 refuses to say who was voted out by the public.

If Noll had been ousted by voters among the estimated 2.2 million TV viewing audience, Ten would have been forced to crown 21-year-old South Australian Guy Sebastian the Idol by default.

The early result would have been a disaster for Ten. Two weeks of the competition are still to run and hundreds of thousands of promotional dollars at stake.

It was unclear yesterday how early Idol's producers knew about De Vito's concerns and whether the judges other contestants were told about her withdrawal before the show aired on Monday.

It was claimed De Vito told Australian Idol chiefs of her plan to quit about 30 minutes before the show went to air.

Channel 10 refused to respond to Herald Sun questions on the controversy and would not allow anyone to speak to De Vito.

But Ten last night said it would try to refund money to fans who voted after 7pm on Monday.

The 95 per cent of an estimated 1.4 million votes logged before 7pm are not included in the refund offer. At 55 cents a call, audience votes are said to be worth at least $400,000 a week.

Idol producers said the network would make a $20,000 donation to Ronald McDonald House.

Fans due refunds will be asked to send a copy of their phone or mobile bill to a Freepost address in Sydney, which will be promoted on air.

But it is unclear whether the network will pocket the proceeds from those who do not repspond.

De Vito announced she was quitting the competition after a specialist diagnosed nodules on her vocal cords, a condition that can require surgery.

She is said to have been concerned about her voice for some time but only consulted a specialist after a mediocre performance on Sunday night.

Noll and Sebastian will battle for the Idol title at the Sydney Opera House on November 19.

Angry fans yesterday questioned the timing of De Vito's exit, saying she had cost other finalists a shot at fame.

But Australian Idol reject Robert Mills said there were no hard feelings. "I think she did the right thing. I don't want her doing any more damage than she's already done," he said.

According to Gerry Gannon, Cosima's former boss at the Gannon Media Services, the condition might have been exacerbated because she had not fully recovered from other infections.

"She suffered two bouts of flu and a bout of laryngitis," he said.

www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,7772223%255E662,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Watchdog steps in for reality check
By Jason Dowling
November 5, 2003


Cosima De Vito left for medical reasons.


Australia's consumer watchdog has contacted Channel Ten about its smash hit reality show Australian Idol, after the shock departure on Monday night of WA entrant Cosima De Vito, in front of a record audience.

Disgruntled viewers complained to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission about the cost of phoning and texting their votes after Monday night's show, where De Vito quit - ensuring the remaining two contestants automatically progressed to the final.

Lin Enright, from the ACCC, said yesterday the commission had discussed the show with Channel Ten and was satisfied with the remedy the station put forward.

Channel Ten said yesterday afternoon that it would offer refunds to fans who voted after 7pm and donate $20,000 to Ronald McDonald House.

But some viewers said they were still disillusioned.

"I don't feel confident in voting, I don't feel confident my votes will count anymore - I just feel sick," Emmy Burns, 25, of Malvern, said yesterday.

De Vito, one of three finalists who viewers chose from an initial 40 hopefuls, announced towards the end of Monday's show that she was leaving for medical reasons.

Her withdrawal meant Shannon Noll, of NSW, and South Australia's Guy Sebastian automatically advanced to the final.

The controversial result in the "live verdict" episode, was made in front of record audiences, with 2.3 million viewers nationally and 635,925 in Melbourne tuning in for the penultimate round.

A Channel Ten spokeswoman said the audience was one of the year's highest results, was up with the AFL Grand Final that attracted a national audience of 3 million and a Melbourne audience of 1.3 million.

On Monday, De Vito told the producers she would be visiting a specialist about a medical problem, a station spokeswoman said. It was then left to De Vito to decide if or when she would withdraw from the show.

When De Vito still had not decided at 7pm, the producers and the station decided to close the voting, which took until around 7.30pm.

But some viewers remain concerned about Monday night's voting.

"We think it is not good enough that they donate money after 7pm," Ms Burns said. "If there are three people in the competition and one quits, all the votes are redundant because two people were going to get through anyway."

Ms Burns, who holds "Idol parties" each week with her friends, said it was also important that the results of Monday's vote be made public.

But a Channel Ten spokeswoman said it was "irrelevant now" how many votes each contestant had received and the results would not be released.

Ms Burns said she was still likely to tune in next Sunday.

"Of course we're going to watch, we love Guy," she said .

www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/04/1067708209949.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Loyal fans lose a star but win a payback

By MICHELLE CAZZULINO and MARCUS CASEY

November 5, 2003

CHANNEL 10 was counting the cost of Cosima yesterday by announcing some fans who voted for the Australian Idol finalist would have call costs refunded.



Cosima De Vito, Australian Idol finalist quits the show.

The decision came after finalist Cosima De Vito pulled out of the reality television series citing a throat condition.

It left the show's two remaining finalists – Condobolin-born Shannon Noll and hot favorite Guy Sebastian from South Australia – to move into the final at the Sydney Opera House in a fortnight.


Angry fans bombarded talkback radio programs, internet sites and letters pages yesterday expressing anger with the way Cosima's departure was handled.


Ten said Cosima only announced she was pulling out 30 minutes before Monday's live 7.30pm episode.


The format was quickly restructured so none of the three would sing as usual on the Monday show – but viewers weren't told about Cosima's announcement until the end.


Viewers felt they'd wasted 55c per call on votes for Cosima which were ultimately worth nothing.


Ten said it tried to stop the number airing during the show, but it "inadvertently" appeared on screen once.


By yesterday afternoon Channel 10 and Grundy Television said fans would be refunded if they provided telephone bills proving they voted after 7pm.


The 95 per cent of an estimated 1.4 million votes who logged before 7pm were not included in the refund offer.



"Notwithstanding the refund of the gross proceeds from voting after 7pm, we will honour our commitment to make a donation to charity, in the form of $20,000 to Ronald McDonald House."


The network defended the on-air handling despite keeping 2.2 million viewers tuned in by not informing them until the end.


"After tallying all the votes, the margin between Cosima and Shannon was extremely small," it said.


"We felt that it was important for fans to know that Guy Sebastian had received the most votes, given his ranking among the bottom two contestants the week earlier.


"Once Cosima's decision became final, it was irrelevant where she or Shannon ranked in the final tally."


The statement did not provide a full explanation of Cosima's exact throat condition, although she was widely reported to be suffering from voice-box nodules – common among singers.



Ten said the "bulk" of call charges went to processors Legion Interactive and Telstra, with the rest going into Australian Idol's budget.


Meanwhile, Noll's brother Adam told Channel Seven Sebastian should not have been announced as a finalist unless Ten intended to disclose the second finalist.


"It's just been handled appallingly," he told Channel Seven.



Seven said the family was seeking legal advice.


 Anyone who voted from 7pm onwards on Monday and would like a full refund of the charges incurred in doing so may send their details, with a copy of their phone or mobile phone bill to the following Freepost address: Australian Idol Voting, Reply Paid 2687, Sydney NSW 2001

[Inside Australian Idol]

10 reasons why Idol's eyes are smiling

By Sydney Confidential's FIONA CONNOLLY

November 5, 2003

THIS is a scene Channel 7 executives were not looking forward to seeing trackside yesterday – hotel heiress Paris Hilton with her new best friend, ousted Australian Idol contestant Robert Mills.


Couple . . . Robert Mills and Paris Hilton at the Melbourne Cup yesterday. Picture: BRETT HARTWIG

Mills, 21, and Hilton, 22, seemed a most unlikely couple – a wannabe pop star reject from Channel 10 and the $400 million dollar party princess who was a guest of Channel 7.

Together they became the talk of the Melbourne Cup, clearly with eyes only for each other.


They met at The Matrix premiere in Sydney on Sunday night and spent the night together in a Sydney hotel – being caught kissing on the hotel balcony the next morning by The Daily Telegraph photographer.


Yesterday, Paris refused to talk about the premiere night, during which the couple was accused of overflowing a hotel spa until it dripped through to the suite below.


"I think he's just a nice, charming guy," Paris told Confidential.


When asked about his relationship with Paris, Millsy's trademark cheeky grin disappeared for a second before replying: "Who's that?" Pressed again, he gave a polite: "No comment."


The couple spent most of the day in the L'Oreal tent, where they smooched for the cameras and were later seen leaving the track together about 4.30pm.


Privately, Seven executives are said to be angered that the star attraction of their Melbourne Cup sponsorship was affectively ambused by Channel 10, gaining front page coverage around the country.


Seven paid for Paris and her sister NIcky Hilton to come to Australia for the Melbourne Cup.


Village Roadshow paid for the sisters' excursion to Sydney for The Matrix premiere.

[Inside Australian Idol]

Paris and Rob Mills "just good friends" - yeah right
Luke Dennehy
05nov03


Sure bet: Paris Hilton and Rob Mills look like very close friends at the Melbourne Cup.
Picture: Manuela Cifra


PUBLICLY, they are sticking with the "we're just good friends" line. But all eyes were on hotel heiress Paris Hilton and former Australian Idol contender Rob Mills yesterday as they met up again in the Birdcage at the Cup.
Idol fans demand answers

Hilton, 22, and Mills, 21, were photographed kissing on her hotel balcony on Monday, the morning after the Matrix Revolutions premiere in Sydney.
And they were not hiding their mutual affection at Flemington, chatting closely and gazing into each other's eyes.

"We're really good mates, we get along real well," Mills said. "She makes me laugh, I make her laugh. We're just good mates."

Mills arrived about 20 minutes before Paris and her sister Nicky, 20, and went straight to the L'Oreal marquee, where he was a guest.

When the sisters arrived at the Channel 7 marquee, they were mobbed by photographers and fans.

Within five minutes, Mills went to the Seven marquee asking to be let in, but was told by the Hiltons' management to come back after they had finished their official duties for Seven.

"No comment. There is nothing in it – we are just good friends," Mills said before he entered the marquee.

Paris, wearing a skimpy outfit she had designed herself, holds Mills in high regard but would not say if they were more than just friends.

"He's a nice guy," she said with a coy smile.

The girls have both said they love Australian men. "They are sweet and are so much nicer than the Americans," Paris said.

When the two finally did get together in the Seven marquee, they smiled as they huddled together to talk.

Mills took Paris for a walk around the Nursery carpark before she went back to the Seven marquee and he partied with his friends in the Nursery.

The couple, accompanied by Paris's entourage, took a stroll through the nursery car park just before 5pm.

As they walked, Mills kept stopping to take photos of himself and Paris with his mobile phone camera.


www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,7772266%255E662,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Idol promise: Money back
By Tony Davis
November 5, 2003


Not ideal . . . De Vito quits, leaving Noll and Sebastian to battle it out.

Network Ten will refund money to those who voted for contestants in the lead-up to this week's controversial episode of Australian Idol.

But there is a catch. Only those who voted after 7pm will see their money again, and they will need to send a copy of their phone bill to a reply-paid address.

Refunds will be made to anyone who voted, not just those who backed Cosima De Vito, who pulled out at the end of the show, citing a voice problem.

In a statement issued after talks with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission yesterday, Ten announced the refund, and said it would also donate $20,000 to charity. Lin Enright, the commission's public relations director, said it was "satisfied with that".

However, the channel will not reveal how much money is involved or how many people were expected to seek a refund.

De Vito's departure - which lit up talkback radio and generated huge web traffic yesterday - left the show's two remaining males, Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll, with a clear run to the final.

But the refund offer is not good enough for some fans, including Catherine Kerstjens, 23, from Melbourne. With her friends Bridget Coath and Emmy Burns, all of whom had voted repeatedly for Guy, she lobbied the commission and Ten, demanding the entire voting windfall be donated to charity.

"I'm disappointed," Ms Kerstjens said. "The voting went on until the last minute. [The network] shouldn't see any of the money."

Ten's statement said De Vito had prepared her announcement withdrawing from the competition before the show started, but was free to change her mind until the end. Voting lines had been closed at 7.30 instead of 7.40.

Ms Kerstjens cited evidence suggesting the decision was made well before - including promises of "special background information" in the next Inside Idol special. She is angry those who voted will not be told the final figures, beyond Guy receiving top score.

The executive producer, Stephen Peters, said he and three colleagues at Ten and the production house Grundy knew the final numbers but had no intention of releasing them.

He was very sorry if fans felt ripped off "but they shouldn't be angry at us. It was an illness; the show had to adapt."

Refund address: Australian Idol Voting, Reply Paid 2687, Sydney NSW 2001.

www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/04/1067708215496.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Hiltons' Cup exposure
By Emma-Kate Symons
November 5, 2003

UNFAZED by a Roy and HG roasting, or her exposure as the latest love of Australian Idol's "Millsy", US hotel heiress Paris Hilton fronted the Melbourne Cup yesterday with her bleary-eyed boy toy ready to simper, smoke and drink her way into oblivion.


Barely clothed in a skimpy, self-designed, soft-porn style ensemble, Hilton, and younger sister Nicky, highlighted how fashion standards had fallen since mini-skirted Jean Shrimpton shocked the 1965 Cup crowd.

Rumours swept the marquees at Flemington that the sisters were snubbing the big event - despite being paid a handsome appearance fee by the Seven Network to be the face of the Cup.

Their ire was raised after Roy Slaven and HG Nelson attempted to skewer them as vapid blonde bimbos, and insult their relative by marriage, Elizabeth Taylor, on Seven's Rugby World Cup program The Cream.

During the Cup eve interview, Paris wore a plastered-on smile, while Nicky Hilton scowled as Roy and HG prodded.

Did they really have jobs? Did they know anything about the Melbourne Cup or Rugby World Cup? And what were they looking for in a man?

A walkout seemed on the cards when the perplexed sisters received as a parting gift a pair of Rugby World Cup shorts with a symbolic "stain" on the crotch.

But the peroxided pair, modern-day descendants of the super-rich set satirised in Evelyn Waugh's novel Vile Bodies, arrived late at Flemington yesterday with Idol hunk Robert Mills - who was at first stopped from entering the Seven tent - and proceeded to do laps of the birdcage.

The sisters had not lodged a formal complaint about Roy and HG's questioning, or threatened to pull out, said Seven. "They just didn't really understand some of it," a Seven spokesman said.

Rumours of a $500,000 appearance fee were dismissed by the spokesman as "ridiculous".

Paris Hilton is a star of rich-kid reality TV show The Simple Life. In the Fox show, children of the super wealthy are subjected to the harshness of remote farm life.

Hilton's friend and co-star Nicole Richie, daughter of singer Lionel, was recently admitted to rehab after an arrest for heroin possession.

The elder Hilton's table-dancing, boy-crazy antics are constantly chronicled in US gossip columns.

Her notoriety is such that the latest fashion item in New York is a designer T-shirt emblazoned with "I f...ed Paris Hilton".

Designer Ken Courtney, who wants to send up name-dropping and the cult of celebrity, also makes shirts featuring the names of Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and supermodel Gisele (Bundchen).

The Australian


www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7775319%255E28477,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Cosima gone, but may return
By eBroadcast staff and agencies.
Nov 5, 2003, 10:55

Australian Idol once again topped itself in the controversy stakes with the shock departure of Cosima De Vito.

The diva withdrew from the competition of her own volition because she had a "temporary condition" which was affecting her voice and it had forced her to make the decision to leave the comp.

Cosima’s departure leaves Shannon and Guy to advance to the Sydney Opera House for the Australian Idol Grand Final.

Cosima’s depature speech follows:

I would dearly like to thank all my beautiful fans and the Australian public, who have encouraged me to fulfill my lifelong goal, but, unfortunately, I have a temporary condition that is interfering with my voice, which has forced me to make the decision to leave the competition.

This is without a doubt the most difficult decision in my life.

The next few weeks are going to be intense for the winner, with tours and recording sessions, and I am not one hundred percent sure that my voice would have held up.

These two great guys [Guy and Shannon] are ready to take on the final challenge.
From the bottom of my heart, I wish them both the best of luck and cherish their friendship, love and support.

With the right care, I know my voice will be back to normal in a few weeks, so the journey won’t end here.

Thanks again to all my fans, who have given me the strength to get to the wonderful position I am in.

Your votes and support haven’t been wasted, and they will drive me towards a successful singing career.

Also, a huge thanks to Dicko, Marcia and Mark for their support and belief.
I’ll be knocking down your door, Dicko.

Also, Erana [Leef] and John Foreman, who have been there every step of this show.
All I can say is, watch this space, Australia.

- Cosima De Vito.

Judge Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson later appeared on Rove Live, expressing his wish that Cosima is well enough to make a big comeback on the final episode to air on Wednesday 19th November.

www.ebroadcast.com.au/entertainment/news/publish/Cosima_gone_but_may_return.shtml