news articles 19 november

[Inside Australian Idol]

Sebastian and Noll go head to head
November 19, 2003


Australian Idol finalists Guy Sebastian & Shannon Noll.


Regardless of who secures the crown, Australian Idol finalists Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll have both already made it.

The Ten Network's reality television program has elevated the pair, and others, to national pop stardom in just a few months.

The Australian public will find out today which of the pair will win a recording contract with record label BMG before flying to London for the World Idol series.

Sebastian, 22, and Noll, 26, will tread the boards and belt out the final tunes of the competition at the iconic Sydney Opera House tonight.

Noll will sing Creed's Arms Wide Open, while Sebastian has chosen Change the World by Eric Clapton for the final show.

"Australian Idol has been a great success for Network Ten and tomorrow night's grand final at the Sydney Opera House will be the culmination of all we have worked towards," a Ten Network spokeswoman said.

Viewers will decide which of the two takes out the national title via phone and SMS voting. The voting poll closes at 8.30pm (AEDT) tonight.

Up to Sunday night, the difference in polling between the pair was only four per cent.

Around 10,000 hopefuls auditioned to be part of the show in July, with judges Marcia Hines, Ian Dickson and Mark Holden initially narrowing the talent down to a top 100.

The group was then culled to 40 before a final 12 was selected.

Australian Idol has been a ratings winner for the Ten Network since its first show went to air.

After a slow start, the show has attracted more than two million viewers for each episode as the finalists battled to be top of the pops.

And not only was the show a hit among Ten's favourite demographic, 16-39 year olds, its appeal spread to older age groups, too.

The two finalists have also attracted political attention with South Australia's Sebastian winning official state government backing last week.

Premier Mike Rann described Sebastian as one of the best ambassadors South Australia could hope for.

"Ten thousand performers started the Australian Idol competition and no matter what the outcome, Guy has done us proud," Mr Rann said in Adelaide last week.

In NSW, Country Labor MP for Murray-Darling Peter Black yesterday urged the public to get behind Noll.

"Country NSW has recently lost its greatest ambassador in Slim Dusty," Mr Black said.

"Shannon Noll, from Condobolin, might well be Slim's replacement."

The winner can also look forward to the World Idol competition.

British program-makers FremantleMedia and 19TV said the international show would include British winner Will Young, American Idol Kelly Clarkson and other Idol series winners from Australia, South Africa, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, the Middle East, Belgium and Canada.

The two-part special will be staged in London and broadcast around the world, the first part to be aired late in December. Viewers in each country will choose the winner by voting over the phone, with the results broadcast during the New Year period.

AAP

www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/18/1069027112204.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

The concert's tonight - so they'd better get a move on
By Tony Davis
November 19, 2003


Last men standing . . . Shannon Noll and Guy Sebastian take a break during rehearsals for the final Australian Idol concert at the Opera House. Photo: Edwina Pickles

Shannon Noll is walking on his hands, Guy Sebastian is playing soccer with a water bottle, booting it across the rehearsal room floor.

A shoeless Robert Mills - who is no quieter or restrained than you'd expect of someone who talks about himself in the third person - is lurking around trying to land a cheap shot in Guy's groin. Or Shannon's, if that's easier.

Cle is gyrating around Rehearsal Room 63, in the bowels of the Opera House.

The other members of the Australian Idol Top 11 (it would have been a Top 12 if Cosima De Vito had not pulled out) are singing and moving too - each in a different key and direction.

The man charged with turning this mad reunion into a slick visual presentation for a live audience of 2000, and a television audience of millions, is Gavin Robins. And on the form of this session, it's a big task.

"This bit is about you," he says, in his best motivating voice, "The songs you've done so well during the competition."

As the team works through a medley, there's no doubting the power of the voices. But 22 heels are still being dragged.

"It is hard to motivate them," Robins later admits.

"These guys tend to muck around until they have to perform. It gets easier once we get into the Concert Hall and we've got the orchestra and they feel the heat of the camera."

Robins, who worked on the Olympics opening ceremony, was engaged as a "movement coach" to a group made up first and foremost of singers.

"[Movement] is something not actually looked at by a lot of performers until too late," he says, adding that Noll at first performed with a "lot of fist clenching, standing and delivering", in spite of moving off-stage with "great fluidity and athleticism".

By contrast, Guy Sebastian - the clear favourite for tonight [see right] - "has a natural rhythm, he's very musical, he's got an incredible ear for music and that transfers into his body".

Show judge Ian "Dicko" Dickson, who engaged Robins, says movement is becoming increasingly important in selling records. "It's such a visual industry these days. The eye plays such a big part of conveying how we perceive pop music. Gavin is doing an excellent job. And he's not even gay, imagine that."

The final Australian Idol concert, during which the results of 10 days' - and several million dollars' worth of - phone and SMS voting are announced, will be broadcast on Network Ten tonight from 7.30.

www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/18/1069027118702.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Among viewers who voted, most girls agree: Guy's the guy
By Tony Davis
November 19, 2003


Australia's decision is clear: 45 per cent of Australians have an opinion on who should be named Australian Idol - and most of those opt for Guy Sebastian.

A weekend poll by ACNielsen Omnibus reported 29 per cent believed Guy should win, compared with 16 per cent who foresaw a Shannon Noll victory.

When only the opinions of those who voted during the series were tabulated, the gulf was even greater, with 64 per cent saying "Guy should win" and 25 per cent backing Shannon.

The survey, which claimed to cover all demographic and age groups, said 12 per cent of Australians had voted during the series - and that 72 per cent of those voters were female.

www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/18/1069027114571.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Readers eye Guy for Idol


November 19, 2003

THERE'S just one burning hot question doing the rounds today: Shannon or Guy?


Guy Sebastian with Shannon Noll at Sydney Opera House at rehearsals for Australian Idol final.

Confidential has a soft spot for both the boys, but our readers have clearly chosen Mr Guy Sebastian as their Idol.

In the biggest response to a Sydney Confidential poll, Australia has voted for Guy with a convincing 71 per cent of votes going for the fro.


The shock results showed Shannon clocked up just 29 per cent of more than 3000 votes as of close of business yesterday.


But, of course, these votes won't determine who will be crowned Australian Idol.


Tonight's verdict will be determined by the hundreds of thousands of phone votes received over the past 10 days up until 8.30pm.


Going through the final rehearsals at the Opera House yesterday, neither Guy nor Shannon seemed phased by the looming decision.


Now firm friends, the pair goofed about backstage showing no signs of nerves about tonight's spectacular.


"I'm not nervous, mate," Shannon told Confidential. "It's almost all over and I'm really looking forward to it."


Their friendship has clearly helped eliminate most of the rivalry between the two.


"We both want the best for each other and we'll all be pleased no matter which way it goes," Guy said.


"It's been a great vehicle for both of us to launch our musical careers. Whatever happens it's going to be a great moment.


"The trend overseas has been for the runner-up to do better than the winner so that's taken all the pressure off."

dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1266&storyid=509444

[Inside Australian Idol]

Lauren and Peter are on the Idol road show


November 19, 2003

AFTER being left out of the line-up for the Australian Idol national tour, Central Coast teenager Lauren Buckley and NSW pig farmer Peter Ryan have now been included in the touring party.


When the tour was announced last week, neither Lauren nor Peter featured in the press release or the advertisements.

Confidential's story on Monday caused Lauren's mum Charmaine a bit of distress. She told us her daughter was always included – but that's not quite what concert promoters Michael Chugg Entertainment are saying.


A spokeswoman, who was apparently too busy to explain the kerfuffle properly, said the pair "weren't confirmed last week and now they are".


"The contract has now been worked out," she said.


She refused to say why Lauren and Pete's contracts weren't finalised at the same time as the others.

dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1266&storyid=509328

[Inside Australian Idol]

Who wants to be an idol, anyway?
November 19, 2003


Guiding light ... Australian Idol's music director, John Foreman, has forged a diverse musical career since he was a teen. Photo: Quentin Jones


Behind the success of Australian Idol is a young talent who has no yearning for fame, writes Scott Bevan.

As the final two contestants from about 10,000 hopefuls, Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll have become the faces and voices of Australian Idol. But the hit TV talent show's musical director, John Foreman, is its heart - and skeleton.

Co-host James Mathison recently told the television audience that Foreman was the "backbone of the show".

"Oh, I don't know if I'm the backbone," says Foreman, when reminded of the comment. "Perhaps the tibia or a femur. Or the spleen. Actually, I shouldn't say that - I don't know what a spleen does."

There is nothing splenetic about Foreman. He has a boyish face, brilliant smile and an engaging personality that could make him an Australian idol. Except Foreman is more comfortable on the fringes of fame, far enough away from the screams of adulation directed at the stars, but close enough to hear the murmurs of respect for his musical ability.

He has been hearing those murmurs for almost all his 31 years.

Born in Newcastle, Foreman began learning the piano at six but his first teacher declared him "unteachable" because "I was always attempting to make things up instead of reading what's on the page".

"Even today I'm inclined to write jazz shorthand chord symbols on classical music so I can read it quickly."

Foreman did learn to read the dots, and became an accomplished classical pianist, but the urge to follow his own instincts and improvise was stronger. He played in jazz combos and youth orchestras, was invited to perform with names such as Ricky May and Tommy Tycho, and joined rock bands.

"At high school, I was asked to be in a ska band," he says. "I didn't know what ska meant. But I said yes.

"Back then the seeds were sown for a musical life that would be quite diverse. I admire people who are dedicated to a particular genre, but I don't mind what music I'm playing as long as it's good quality. All styles enhance each other in the musical mind."

The musical mind became, briefly, a public face, when Foreman, at 14, appeared as a special guest on Young Talent Time, the Australian Idol of a generation earlier. "That was a very exciting experience for me."

But Foreman was not seduced by the camera, instead pursuing his jazz studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and playing with leading musicians such as Roger Frampton, Mike Nock and Monica and the Moochers, as well as recording a solo album. Then Bert called.

The 19-year-old was asked to audition for a concert tour by Bert and Patti Newton. Despite his initial misgivings about having such a young musical director, Newton remembers after just three minutes of hearing Foreman play he thought, "this is the bloke I want". The teenager not only got the gig, he became musical director of Newton's new television program, The Morning Show (now Good Morning Australia).

"I think it's the best decision I've ever made with GMA," says Newton. "If you put an order in to God for a musical director, you'd get John. He's got the lot.

"When you look at the range of his work on the show, nothing seems to frighten him. It's like what [radio legend] Jack Davey taught me: 'Bite off more than you can chew, then chew like buggery,' and I think that's what John does."

Foreman estimates that in his 12 years on GMA he has arranged for, and accompanied, up to 3000 acts. Apart from learning about live television from his mentor - "Bert must have been a jazz musician in a past life, the way he can improvise" - Foreman says the most valuable lesson he has applied to Australian Idol is to never panic.

"The main skill I've got from working with Bert is the realisation that being stressed or anxious is not going to help or improve the quality of music," he says.

Foreman has maintained side projects, including being musical director of this year's Logies Awards and performing at jazz festivals in North America and Europe.

Peter "Chet" Clark, the former director of the Santa Barbara International Jazz Festival, says Foreman has "a tremendous gift of communication. He's able to get his music across to an audience and has that very personable thing about him.

"He's an excellent pianist, world class, no doubt about that ... There aren't too many who can cross that bridge, do jazz and pop, and do both equally well."

Foreman has also composed songs for big sporting moments, "which is ironic for a person who can't catch a ball or run". His works were performed at the Goodwill Games in Brisbane in 2001, last year's Manchester Commonwealth Games, and Tina Arena sang his composition The Flame at the opening of the Sydney Olympics.

"That was a surreal experience," he says. "It was like grabbing the world's ear for 3 minutes and saying, 'This is how I think about things."'

For the past few months, Foreman has been helping Australian Idol grab the nation's ears. To prepare for an hour's television, he spends days arranging music and guiding the musicians, recording backing tracks and helping the finalists with their song selection and rehearsals. The last pair standing obviously appreciate his help. On a recent episode, Sebastian referred to Foreman as a bag of creative juice, while to Noll he is "a super, super talented man".

"I'd like to think I've played a part in their development," Foreman says. "But both have strong musical instincts, and I wouldn't want to stand in the way of that."

Foreman has noticed "the recognition factor has certainly increased a few percentage points" since starting Australian Idol. But he has no desire to step any further into the limelight, and experience what Sebastian and Noll have: "I don't know if I would cope with being anonymous three months ago, then suddenly having everyone know me."

As to which one Foreman thinks will become the Australian idol, to be announced tonight: "I have no idea."

When Australian Idol is over, and the winner goes on to a life he could never have imagined, Foreman will return to the one he knows so well: back on Good Morning Australia, more songwriting, and, he hopes, more music television.

"The myth among TV executives was music television wouldn't rate," he says. "Australian Idol has shown if it's done well, music television will rate."

www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/18/1069027112415.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Idol talk about one Guy
By Luke Dennehy
November 19, 2003


AUSTRALIAN Idol judge Mark Holden believes Guy Sebastian needs to win tonight's title more than Shannon Noll because Noll's future is already assured.
Holden, who throughout the series has polarised viewers with his comments to contestants, said Sebastian could struggle because of his musical style.

"They are both fantastic young men, and they are terrific blokes, and I have no problems with either of them," he said.

"In a sense I think Guy needs it more, because Shannon can go and tour Australia for the next 10 years, and follow in the footsteps of Slim Dusty and Lee Kernaghan.

"Shannon has already found his place, but it's going to be harder for Guy if he doesn't win, because the music that he is best at, it's not an easy market in Australia."

The two finalists spent yesterday rehearsing at the Opera House for

tonight's extravaganza. An announcement was expected at 9.20pm tonight, if all goes smoothly.

Both Noll and Sebastian have already recorded the same single, Angels Brought Me Here. Only the winner's version will be released.

Sebastian, 22, was favourite to take out tonight's crown, according to Centrebet.

But the appeal of Noll, 28, cannot be underestimated - since day one he has had a legion of female fans around the country.

Tonight's show, in Sydney, will feature performances from all 12 Australian Idol finalists.

Herald Sun

entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,7912561%255E10229%255E%255Enbv,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Australian Idol Finale
By Robin Oliver
November 19, 2003

Australian Idol Finale

Ten, 7.30pm

Even before it got within cooee of tonight's grand final at the Opera House, Ten had been attracting up to 2.3 million viewers to this souped-up talent quest, which in the nature of the network's astonishing ability to attract a throaty crowd and even a deafening roar or two (witness Big Brother) seems certain to pay dividends tonight.

Hopefully there'll be one last chorus of screams about 9.45, when the two finalists, Shannon Noll (Change the World) and Guy Sebastian (With Arms Wide Open), have sung their stuff though not for viewer voting, which closes at 8.30.

All 12 finalists and a "few memorable Idol characters" will also perform, plus series judge Marcia Hines.

Ten has wisely decided that after this raucous event its original choice of Law & Order might be somewhat unsuitable fare, so it has popped in Life After Baywatch, a salute to one of the most-watched (and ludicrous) shows on the planet. David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson will be on hand for what are termed "one-on-ones" in a program that promises to "dive to the bottom" to get at the truth.

Meanwhile, bottoms up to Shannon and Guy.

www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/18/1069027113298.html