news articles 19 january

[Inside Australian Idol]

Guy's got all he needs
From Sydney Confidential
January 19, 2004


HE'S hands down the nation's most popular artist, and for Guy Sebastian life couldn't possibly get any better than mucking about with three sexy chicks on the set of his new video.


Guy looks chuffed on set.

When Confidential took this exclusive sneak peek last week, we found one very happy chap.

The 22-year-old even gets his first on-screen kiss in the video, which is destined to turn young girls and grown women alike green with envy.

"There's a special love interest. There's this girl I kiss at the end," Sebastian said.

"She's the director's brother's girlfriend, and she's just beautiful. She looks like Salma Hayek. I love Salma Hayek."

Sebastian promises the All I Need Is You clip is no boy-meets-girl and ends in a kiss scenario.

"It's not cheesy. It's far from cheesy," he laughed.

During the shoot, around a run-down farmhouse at Freemans Reach, near Windsor, Sebastian's days began about 4.30am and ended late at night.

"It's draining because it's creative and a lot of waiting around, but it's so much fun," he said.

The video was apparently a combination of Sebastian's and the director's ideas.

Its theme was beautiful things and simple pleasures, Sebastian explained.

"It's simple. It's almost like a welcome home for me, like I've been living somewhere and coming back to what I really need.

"It's basically just capturing all the beautiful things in life. It shows that you don't need the full-on things to enjoy life, and that really the most beautiful things and what you need are right before your eyes."

In what could be no better advertisement for the song, Sebastian said that after hearing it non-stop throughout the week, he still wasn't sick of it.

Sebastian said his fans hadn't yet calmed down, greeting him as enthusiastically as just after he was crowned.

"It's not really slowing down; it's still crazy. I love it, though."

This week, Sebastian heads to Newcastle, where he'll be reunited with the 12 Idol finalists for rehearsals for the national tour.

The Australian Idol tour arrives in Sydney on Australia Day, with a second show scheduled for January 27.

The Daily Telegraph

entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,8429678%255E10431%255E%255Enbv,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Delta's Diamond tie
January 19, 2004


DELTA Goodrem has clocked up another week at No. 1 on the ARIA chart giving her a total of 29 weeks on top and this week and tying her with Neil Diamond's Hot August Night as the second longest charting number one album in Australian history.


Delta Goodrem in Sydney last week.

As expected, Guy Sebastian's Just As I Am tumbled further down the chart after a total run of four weeks at number one leaving Delta as the only pop star to truly be able to claim the term 'Australian Idol'.

Delta's run this week was a double bonus.

Her Innocent Eyes album passed the one million mark in actual sales, a feat not accomplished since John Farnham's mammoth run with Whispering Jack.

So what is next for Delta? Well, one more week and she will own the number two spot outright for all time longest charting number one album.

She is now chasing Dire Straits Brothers In Arms for the record at 35 weeks.

Dire Straits achieved their run when the release of Brothers In Arms coincided with the introduction of CDs in the early 80s.

The title was used a benchmark to measure the quality of CD.

Red Hot Chili Peppers stayed in the number two spot this week. Evanescence was number three with Fallen.

Guy Sebastian's Just As I Am dropped to seventh place overall.

The great thing for Australian music this week is that five Australian titles are in the top 10.

As well as Delta and Guy, Powderfinger's Vulture Street is at No. 6, Jet Get Born is at No. 8 and Pete Murray Feeler is No. 10.

AAP

entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,8430721%255E10431%255E%255Enbv,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

We love her so much right now
January 20, 2004

Whipping up a storm in the charts this week is Kelis who debuts at number two with her sultry single Milkshake, four years since she beat up a cheating boyfriend and led an angry pack of screaming women down a street in the video for her debut, Caught Out There.

Meanwhile, Outkast's Hey Ya takes top spot, knocking off last week's number one, Black Eyed Peas, whose Shut Up slips to third spot.

In the albums chart, Australia's Pete Murray jumps 10 spots from 20 with Feeler.

The top two positions remain unchanged, with Delta Goodrem's Innocent Eyes staying at number one and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Greatest Hits at two.

Album sales were down 28% this week with a very humble total of 60,478 units making up those top positions.

Although Delta Goodrem came in at number one she only sold 8,390 copies, or units. The week before Christmas she was at number two with sales of 60,019 units.

The good news is that those 8,390 units were enough to officially push Innocent Eyes past the one million sold mark, a benchmark in Australian music.

Guy Sebastian sold 5,479 copies as Just As I Am; a 48% drop-off in sales for him from last week.

The album slid to number seven. Likewise, his single Angels Brought Me Here dropped out of the Top 20 after eight weeks and sold just 1,714 units.

Kylie's Body Language album fell out of the Top 40 this week, selling only 1,392 units.

In Australia this week, you could have had the Number 100 album if you sold 513 units and a number 100 single on national sales of 116 units.

Australian singles chart

1(2) Hey Ya - Outkast (ARI/BMG)
2(-) Milkshake - Kelis (VIR/EMI)
3(1) Shut Up - Black Eyed Peas (UMA)
4(-) My Immortal - Evanescence (EPI/SONY)
5(4) Behind Blue Eyes - Limp Bizkit (INR/UMA)
6(3) Predictable - Delta Goodrem (EPI/SONY)
7(5) Be Faithful - Fatman Scoop (MUK/UMA)
8(8) Baby Boy - Big Brovaz (EPI/SONY)
9(7) It's My Life - No Doubt (INR/UMA)
10(13) Numb - Linkin Park (WARNER)

Australian albums chart

1(1) Innocent Eyes - Delta Goodrem (EPI/SONY)
2(2) Greatest Hits - Red Hot Chili Peppers (WARNER)
3(6) Fallen - Evanescence (EPI/SONY)
4(4) Life For Rent - Dido (CHE/BMG)
5(8) Elephunk - Black Eyed Peas (A&M/UMA)
6(5) Vulture Street - Powderfinger (UMA)
7(3) Just As I Am - Guy Sebastian (BMG)
8(10) Get Born - Jet (CAP/EMI)
9(13) Love Actually - Soundtrack (ISL/UMA)
10(20) Feeler - Pete Murray (COL/SONY)

Undercovermedia/AAP

www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/19/1074360681467.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Big welcome for Shannon Noll
Monday, 19 January 2004

By CARMEN SWADLING

PUT more than 800 teenagers in an auditorium, add one likeable Australian Idol runner-up and what do you get?
A deafening welcome for Shannon Noll, the special guest at Friday's Hothouse Party at Port Panthers.

With less than a month to the release of his debut album That's What I'm Talking About, the Condobolin entertainer is making the most of his time, mixing it with the people who supported him throughout the nationwide singing contest.

But the down-to-earth Aussie still has to pinch himself occasionally to realise what he has achieved to date.

"Definitely mate its been amazing," he said.

"It's something I've dreamt about since I was a whipper snapper, like the little ones out there," he said, referring to the kids at the hothouse party.

He said being part of the Australian Idol experience was a huge learning curve, and although he missed out on winning, he conceded second place was not too bad.

"No, not at all. I'm stoked. I'm pretty happy.

"I would have liked to have won for the sake of winning but I'm definitely not losing any sleep over it," he said.
During the competition Shannon copped some flack for his dancing skills or lack thereof, but on Friday night the 27-year-old got into the groove of the hothouse party, dancing on stage and handing out prizes to participants in dancing competitions.

"Yeah I got a bit of stick from that, mate.

"I can dance. But singing and dancing is a bit...

"If I come out with a 10-dance step move to some of the songs I sing in some of the areas I've played at, someone would hit you in the head with a stubby."
Both sessions of the hothouse party were sold out, Shannon proving a drawcard for local young people.
Jeannie Gorrie, 14, said Shannon was a "great Australian bloke".


"I think he should have won," she said.

Her friend Sarah Lievore agreed he was a great Australian.

"He is a good singer and he's hot. He has a charm about him," she said.

Shannon will feature in a forthcoming edition of Pulse in the Port Macquarie News.

portmacquarie.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=279891&y=2004&m=1