news articles 30 december

[Inside Australian Idol]

World Idol excites 2m fans who aren't officially there
By David Dale
December 30, 2003


Guy Sebastian, right, with Aussie judge Ian Dickson

Channel Ten has learnt a lesson about the silly season which ought to tell the other networks something: viewers don't disappear in summer; they wait for a program they can give a damn about.

Until last Friday, television's "non-ratings period" followed a predictable pattern: the commercial networks put on a bunch of sitcoms that failed in America, Australian viewers didn't watch them, and the ABC finally got a few shows in the top 10.

The networks were able to rationalise their low audience figures for December by assuming that Australians were too busy surfing or queueing at the multiplex to have time for the box. Then came World Idol, which Ten was forced to show on Boxing Day because the northern hemisphere needed it now.

The winner of Australian Idol, Guy Sebastian, competed against the winners of the equivalent Idol shows from 10 other countries, and viewers around the world had 24 hours to phone in their votes - with the proviso that no nation could vote for its own candidate.

Last Friday's program, which closely resembled the Eurovision Song Contest, averaged 2.4 million viewers in the mainland capitals. This would have put it in the year's 10 most watched shows if it hadn't been after the official ratings period. Other most watched shows of the week fell far behind: Nine's Saturday news attracted 1.7 million, Ten's sitcom Two Guys and a Girl (1.4 million) and the ABC's Saturday news (1.3 million).

Ten will show the results of the voting live at 6.30am on Friday, and again at 7.30pm.

If it tops 2 million, the silly season will never be the same again.

www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/29/1072546476127.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Norway could steal Idol title
By Sophie Tedmanson
December 30, 2003


GUY Sebastian may have won over the judges, but he faces tough competition among the voters as a new dark horse has emerged in the betting stakes to take out the World Idol crown - Norway's Kurt Nilsen, 24.



Kurt was the dark-horse of the Norwegian Idol contest

The former plumber from Bergen has taken second place in internet betting agencies running odds on World Idol, behind Kelly Clarkson from the US and just ahead of Britain's Will Young, followed by Sebastian.

Sebastian received unanimous praise from the judges on the international version of the reality TV singing competition that aired on Friday.

He even managed to score the best compliment from the harshest judge of them all, Idol creator Simon Cowell.

After watching the Australian sing his remixed version of Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World, Cowell said Sebastian's voice was "without a question the best voice we have heard so far".

But Nilsen's version of U2's hit Beautiful Day at the end of the show left some more impressed -- with his voice but not his looks.

Australian Idol judge Ian Dickson said of Nilsen: "You have the voice of an angel and the face of a hobbit. If they had a Middle Earth Idol you'd be it."

Cowell was more forward: "We have allowed a lot of ugly people to become recording artists. If this was on radio rather than television, you would walk it." Clarkson, Nilsen and Sebastian are also the favourites to win among World Idol fan sites.

Many critics, and some of the judges, have described the show as a glorified karaoke competition with relatively flat performances from the 11 contestants.

World Idol screened to an estimated worldwide audience of 100 million viewers.

The Australian

entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,8282998%255E10431%255E%255Enbv,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Delta tops 2003 album chart
December 31, 2003


Delta Goodrem.

Delta Goodrem's Innocent Eyes was the number one selling record in Australia for 2003.

That should come as no surprise considering the album spent the best part of the year at number one.

Innocent Eyes is about to clock up the magic million mark in sales. It is the first Australian album to do so since John Farnham's 'Whispering Jack'.

Of the Top 10 album of 2003, it is interesting to note that six were released in 2002. Albums by Norah Jones, Avril Lavigne, Eminem, 8 Mile, Robbie Williams and Coldplay all came out last year.

Eminem managed two albums in the Top 10 with The Eminem Show and 8 Mile soundtrack. John Farnham had two albums in the Top 20 with One Voice and The Last Time.

There were five Australian albums in the top 20, nine in the top 40, ten in the top 50 and 21 in the top 100.

The ARIA Top 10 albums for 2003 are:

1. Delta Goodrem 'Innocent Eyes'
2. Norah Jones 'Come Away With Me'
3. Avril Lavigne 'Let Go'
4. Powderfiner 'Vulture Street'
5. Guy Sebastian ' Just As I Am'
6. Eminem 'The Eminem Show'
7. Soundtrack '8 Mile'
8. Matchbox Twenty 'More Than You Think You Are'
9. Robbie Williams 'Escapology'
10. Coldplay ' A Rush of Blood to the Head'.


Australian Idol Guy Sebastian slipped two spots in the singles chart this week with Angels Brought Me Here.

But the World Idol contestant maintained a firm grip on the top spot in the albums' chart, keeping pop princess Delta Goodrem and her Innocent Eyes at bay.

Sebastian's Just As I Am album sold 70,539 units this week in Australia, ahead of Delta's Innocent Eyes at number two with 60,019 sales.

Disgraced pop god Michael Jackson jumped from seven to eight while R.E.M.'s In Time fell to the bottom of the chart.

Australian singles chart

1(2) Shut Up - Black Eyed Peas (UMA)
2(1) Predictable - Delta Goodrem (EPI/SONY)
3(4) Hey Ya - Outkast (ARI/BMG)
4(5) Behind Blue Eyes - Limp Bizkit (INR/UMA)
5(3) Angels Brought Me Here - Guy Sebastian (BMG)
6(7) Baby Boy - Beyonce feat Sean Paul (COL/SONY)
7(6) Me Against The Music - Britney Spears feat Madonna (JIVE/BMG)
8(8) P.i.m.p. - 50 Cent (INR/UMA)
9(9) It's My Life - No Doubt (INR/UMA)
10(14) Be Faithful - Fatman Scoop (MUK/UMA)

Australian albums chart

1(1) Just As I Am - Guy Sebastian (BMG)
2(2) Innocent Eyes - Delta Goodrem (EPI/SONY)
3(3) Greatest Hits - Red Hot Chili Peppers (WARNER)
4(5) Vulture Street - Powderfinger (UMA)
5(4) One Voice: The Greatest Hits - John Farnham (GOTH/BMG)
6(6) Life For Rent - Dido (CHE/BMG)
7(8) No 1's - Michael Jackson (EPI/SONY)
8(7) Live Summer - 2003 Robbie Williams (CAP/EMI)
9(10) Elephunk - Black Eyed Peas (A&M/UMA)
10(9) In Time: The Best Of R.E.M. 1988-2003 - R.E.M. - (WARNER)

Agencies

www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/30/1072546519018.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Angels deliver Guy single of the year
By CAMERON ADAMS
30dec03

AFTER only five weeks of release, Adelaide singer Guy Sebastian's Angels Brought Me Here is Australia's highest-selling single of 2003, with his rush-recorded Just As I Am the fifth highest-selling album after three weeks in stores.

However, the big story of the CD sales statistics for 2003 is Delta Goodrem's record-breaking domination of the charts.

Goodrem's debut album Innocent Eyes has sold over 970,000 copies since its release in March.

It is not only the highest-selling album of 2003, it is also the highest-selling album in Australia since Shania Twain's Come on Over in 1999.

Goodrem is expected to break the magic million sales mark next week, the first Australian act to do so since John Farnham's Whispering Jack.

Goodrem's success also spilled over into the singles chart.

Each of the five singles from Innocent Eyes (Born to Try, Lost Without You, Innocent Eyes, Not Me, Not I and Predictable) all reached No. 1 (a chart record) and are all placed in the year's Top 20 highest sellers.

Between them, Goodrem's singles alone sold over 600,000 copies, while her Delta DVD was the year's highest selling DVD.

Goodrem's main chart challenge came from Australian Idol winner Sebastian and his instant – and phenomenal – sales.

However, despite Goodrem and Sebastian's remarkable sales, it wasn't a great year for new music.

Seven albums in 2003's Top 10 (Norah Jones, Avril Lavigne, Eminem, the 8 Mile soundtrack, Matchbox Twenty, Robbie Williams and Coldplay) were released in 2002 but continued to outsell newer releases in 2003.

Powderfinger's Vulture Street was the highest-selling rock album of the year, while Kylie Minogue's under-performing Body Language scraped in as the year's 54th highest-seller – almost outsold by her previous record Fever, which landed at No. 57 (and was last year's fourth highest overall seller).

Robbie Williams has three albums in the Top 100 and three DVDs in the Top 20 DVDs of the year.

Several No. 1 singles from big name acts fare poorly in the harsh light of the year-end wrap up.

The Australian Idol final 12 single Rise Up was a No. 1 hit for several weeks, yet is only the 63rd highest selling single of the year.

Britney Spears and Madonna's Me Against the Music – also No. 1 for several weeks – is only No. 48 in the year-end poll, while Kylie Minogue's No. 1 Slow only manages 59th spot.

Sixteen Australian singles (five by Delta Goodrem) wound up in the Top 100 singles (there were 18 last year), while 20 Australian albums were in the Top 100 albums (compared with 22 last year).


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