News Article, 24th March

[Monkey]

Got this from the Ipswich Advertiser, 23/03/04

Ipswich's idol moment

By Vanessa Horstman

The mostly female crowd roared to life when Australian idol star Shannon Noll took the stage to open with his second single Drive.
There were girls in cowbuy hats, I love Shannon shirts and the obligatory groups of screaming girls.
But that's not all. There were pairs of knickers thrown on to the stage along with love letters suggesting meetings backstage.
But fans aside, while performing to a sold out audience of 900 people at the Ipswich Civic Centre on Sunday night, Noll showed local fans that he was indeed a force to be reckon with in the Aussie music industry.
Fans and Advertiser staff member Corey Thompson attended the concert and said that Noll's concert was worth the time, effort and money.
"Shannon was great and his band was awesome," Mr Thompson said.
"From not being a fan while he was on the show, I would pay to see him again".
"He's better live then he was on the show."
But one of the highlights of the Noll concert was seeing the music talent present in the Noll family. Shannon's brother doubles as his drummer but also sings and plays acoustic guitar alongside his more famous sibling.
"The band was great but Shannon's brother surprised a lot of people," Mr Thompson said.
Thompson noted Noll has learnt to dance a little better than when he appeared on Australian idol, and explained the meanings behind the songs and lyrics.
However, the night was marred for Mr Thompson and many other fans by what he called organisational failings.
Mr Thompson said doors opened to the Civic Centre at 6:30pm and the doors to the concert at 7pm for a 7:30 start. He said the number of people squashed into each area was phenomenal.
However, organisers billed the night as a success.
Health, Community and Cultural Services Committee Chairperson Charlie Pisasale said the concert was a fitting finale to Shannon's Queensland tour which featured 13 shows in 11 days.
"He is certainly in a jubilant mood and put on an energetic show that was a great early highlight of the Ipswich Civic Halls Festival of Theatre, "Cr Pisasale said.
"We have fans lining up outside the Civic Hall early in the afternoon yesterday and for the first time I am aware of, we had a capacity standing room only section which rocked the lower level of the Civic Hall".

[Ava]

thanks for that monkey

this was typed up by Helen:

Guy Sebastian Talks HAIR'
Barbie Magazine April 2004 No.91

Your known as `The Fro. Did you ever think your hair would be your trademark?
GUY: "No I didn't think it would. I was just lazy and didn't cut my hair and it just got bigger. Now it's kind of my thing. I think I'm sending hairdressers a bit broke because all these kids who used to get haircuts aren't getting them now apparently! No I never thought it would be this big."

Are you surprised when people turn up in wigs to your performances?
GUY: "Absolutely! The first time that sort of thing started happening I actually was so proud. I was like, `That's so cool!' It was really cool. Just that people took a trait of mine and made it something. It's just weird….. and fun!"

When did you decide to grow The Fro?
GUY:" I don't know… I had a year where I was just working at a warehouse and I'd just quit uni. I was doing medical radiation at uni and it was just like my veg-out year. I thought, well I'm not going to cut my hair. I'll let it grow and see what it does!"

How long did it take?
GUY:"Only a few months."

What was your hair like at school?
GUY:"Short and really smooth. Short round the sides with spiky bits on top. It was really square!"

Do you ever want to just cut it all off?
GUY:(Nods) "Mmm-hmm. I like it so I'll keep it for a while. I don't know.

What's the best hairstyle you've ever had?
GUY:"The best was having my head shaved. I razored it".

Did you like the end result or the actual razoring?
GUY:"Not having hair. It was awesome! Not having to do your hair. Waking up and not having to shampoo your head in the shower. Just the feeling of having a shaved head is so cool".

What's the worst hairstyle you've ever had?
GUY:I had big, fat buck teeth when I was young and in high school I had this big mullet. It was spiky on top and then I had a mullet. Now they're cool again so it's weird. It was really uncool then".

What's your best haircare tip?
GUY:"Best hair care tip would be I wash my hair heaps, like every day, and apparently that's not good for it. So my best hair care tip would be do the opposite of me and don't wash it every day and let the natural nutrients nourish your hair".

What about the best tip for people who want The Fro?
GUY:I would say let it grow long and then use a lot of hairspray. Sebastian hairspray! Or Goldwell. They're the best."

Which celebrities do you think have the best hair?
GUY:I love Lenny Kravitz's hair obviously. David Beckham always has awesome hair. Mr T (laughs) and Bert Newton!"

[Raspberry]

Thanks Ava (and Monkey)

GUY:I had big, fat buck teeth when I was young and in high school I had this big mullet. It was spiky on top and then I had a mullet. Now they're cool again so it's weird. It was really uncool then".

Aww I would have loved him anyways.

I wonder...does this mean Guy had braces when he was younger? How cute would that be?

[MaybeNext]

Dicko ready to be bad guy again

24mar04

IAN "Dicko" Dickson is bracing himself for the next wave of Australian Idol hysteria.

The outspoken judge, who was shocked at how famous he became, told The Eye yesterday he was excited by the return of the show.
In April Dicko, along with fellow judges Marcia Hines and Mark Holden, will begin their trek around the country auditioning for Australian Idol 2.

Over the past few months Dicko's image has softened as he guides the careers of Idols Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll, Rob Mills and Courtney Act.

But he promises the cutting but honest comments we grew to love will be back.

So what will the judges be expecting this year?

"I'm looking for magic," Dicko said. "And what I really hope we don't get is people cloning what we got last time, and assuming they know what we're looking for."

[MaybeNext]

NZ Idol finalist began singing at Mass


A Catholic teenager who first sang in public when he was a pre-schooler is in the finals of the New Zealand version of the international "idol" music contest.

NZ Catholic reprots that the father of 17 year old Michael Murphy says he first sang solo in public at midnight Mass when he was four years old.

He believes it was the parish priest of St Patrick's Parish, Taupo, Fr Richard Pipe, who encouraged him to sing Away in a Manger, and Little Baby Jesus.

"I always said he learned to read so he could sing at Mass," Mr Murphy recalled. "He was a very good reader at 6 and 7, so he could sing the songs."

Later, at school, Michael's love of singing was expressed in musicals.

Several years ago he became involved in rock bands. One of Michael's friends, and fellow parishioner, 18-year-old John McCaffrey, said they both became part of a band, Punch Baby, about four years ago.

Today the pair are part of a four-piece band called Deadset. Michael is the vocalist, while John plays bass guitar and sings back-up vocals.

Australian Idol winner, Adelaide Christian Guy Sebastian, is on the NZ Idol judging panel.

He told Michael Murphy: "You bring the competition such a different vibe, like such a - we had a rock chick back home but you're the rock brother, so keep rocking!"

The winner of NZ Idol will be known later next month.

[Monkey]

Thanks Ava and MaybeNext for the articles.

And Raspberry I think he would have been cute even with the mullet

[MaybeNext]

Link here to article and see the winners and their entries:
dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1266&storyid=1084999

Ten win tickets, by a nose


March 24, 2004

AFTER working our way through thousands of entries for the Name a Celebrity Horse Competition there's no doubting readers of Confidential are a bunch of clever – and very funny – cookies.


And it must be said, some of you have a nasty streak too, particularly when it comes to hotel heir-head Paris Hilton. Her passion for partying and her funniest home video appearance hasn't passed any of you by.

But after much debate at Confidential HQ, 10 lucky readers have been declared the winners and for their efforts are coming to our exclusive party, the Sydney Confidential Golden Slipper Soiree.


This year's event, held in conjunction with our good mates at the Sydney Turf Club, will be staged at the Sydney Film and TV Studios and attended by Sydney's famous and finest.

The theme of the night will pay tribute to the golden years of Hollywood and we've even managed to secure the very busy Guy Sebastian to belt out a couple of tunes with James Morrison and his band.

A big thanks to everyone who took part. Next year, we're going to need a bigger boat.

[MaybeNext]

Pop wannabes

By JASON CHEAH
Pop reality TV hits our screens in a big way, with the third season of talent search series American Idol. JASON CHEAH gets caught up with the shenanigans and dry comments from the judges. Not to mention some really bad singing.

IT has taken three years for the whole Pop Idol phenomenon to finally arrive on our shores, be it on TV or at our doorsteps.

Yes, we’ve had Akademi Fantasia, and that was a good start. We’ve also had Pop Stars, which spawned the pop group, ByU. But everybody now seems to be talking about American Idol, on both 8TV and Astro’s StarWorld.

The search for a new American talent is only half-way through and here is a recap.

Since the end of January this year, we’ve been following the trail of pop star wannabes on the third instalment of American Idol.


The 12 finalists in the FOX network reality television series American Idol with judge Paula Abdul (kneeling, left).
Of course, it would have been great to have seen in previous years how Will Young, Gareth Gates and Darius from Pop Idol 1, Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini from American Idol 1, Ruben Stoddard and Clay Aiken from American Idol 2, Michelle McManus from Pop Idol 2, or even Guy Sebastian from Australian Idol and Kurt Nilson from Norwegian Idol fare, got their dues, their criticisms and finally their votes, while they fought to get to the top.

But since we didn’t, American Idol 3 seems to be the one for us to whet our appetites.

It was a rather wet start to the season, meaning that genuine talents were few and far between, and British Pop Idol original judge and A&R Director Simon Cowell, American pop icon Paula Abdul, and veteran American producer and A&R man Randy Jackson, agreed on that.

We got to see that beginning late in January, with audition programmes broadcast over five or six consecutive days.

Apparently, during auditions, the three judges had their patience tested to the limits and beyond with the appalling state of budding American vocal talent.

It was sad, cruel, yet cynically fun to see poor candidates being shredded to pieces and reduced to tears after an audition, interspersed with a few gems in vocal talents.

It got worse before it got better, but by the time it came to the call back shows, 112 were finally selected to be ensconced at a hotel complex for four days of intensive rehearsals and auditions to whittle down the potentials further, via spots of solo singing, spot songwriting and even group efforts.

By the end of the second day, 25 tearfully left the arena, some graciously and some with hard felt misgivings, complete with catty and foul mouthed comments.

By the end of the third day, it was down to 50, with even more misgivings and comments, and finally by the end of the fourth day, 32 semi-finalists were selected.

Rivalries were intense. There were two brothers who were prepared to cut each other’s throat. Both made it to the semi-finals before being eliminated in the same show.

Again, talent was still not up to scratch, and once again, that was according to the judges. But proceedings heated up and finally by the semi-finals, the contestants began to show a little class.

Four initial semi-final shows were held and it was here that the audience vote kicked in, with two contestants from each semi-final selected by SMS and call in votes to proceed to the final 12.

The three judges took a back seat here, only making their personal comments about how they felt the contestants fared.

The dust barely settled at the end of the fourth semi-final when the final two finalists were announced.

Those who didn’t make it through to the finals had a second chance when the judges stepped back into the fray and selected 12 to participate in the wild card semi-final.

For this fifth semi-final, four more contestants were chosen to join the eight already selected by the public in the finals – one by the public and one each by the three judges.

To date, the first of the weekly showdowns, featuring 12 finalists has already been screened, and already we’ve had one eliminated.

For those watching StarWorld, be warned that the StarWorld showings are delayed by about two weeks, while 8TV is only two and a half days late.

Other than the public voting element, what is the difference between this and past local talent competitions such as Juara Lagu, Bintang RTM and Bakat TV?

Well, it’s the fact that contestants do not merely face the judges vote, they also face their ire and criticism, all played out for the masses to gleefully enjoy or to sympathise with.

Once the public vote kicks in, it’s no longer the judges fault, except that it was they who chose the 32 semi-finalists in the first place and they’ve made their decisions, had their say, and critiqued the contestants to the hilt.

Mind you, while viewers get to vote, who knows how many are influenced by the judges comments. A handful of times so far, the viewers’ choice practically mirrored the judges own predictions. It’s not as if the judges were there for comic relief as much as the terrible audition attempts during earlier segments.

Well, as the season goes on, there are as many American pop idol wannabes who can’t take criticism as there are who accept it graciously.

Egos get bruised or pampered, but hey, the judges are there to make their comments, so make them they will.

As much as Cowell has probably had the most cat calls and boos from the audience with his dry, sarcastic, hard-hitting style, even Abdul had her say, while Jackson can be just as harsh.

All three have had their moments of applause and appreciation of some of the good talent showing up as well.

As for host Ryan Seacrest trying to steal the show (intentionally or not) by his own banter – friendly and not so friendly – with the judges, he’s probably the only one who is supporting all the contestants since he is not judging.

But even he had to give way to the brilliant and the diabolical talents that seem to pervade every music scene.

During the auditions, did you see the one who claimed she plays (expertly) three music instruments? Well, vocals don’t count, apparently, as she wails out of tune even more than the infamous William Hung.

Or how about the Cher sound-alike – or to be more sarcastic, she sounds like a tone deaf Cher – to which judge Jackson himself professed, “you’re making me scared. I’m scared.” And that was after Cowell had already skedaddled out of the room. Fortunately, Abdul was absent that day due to illness or she would have wilted as well.

Or how about the Hong Kong student who can’t sing or the male contestant who threw water at Cowell after Jackson left the room in disgust?

And then there was Hong Kong engineering student William Hung, and his now world famous rendition of Ricky Martin’s She Bangs. Latest reports stated that he now has a record contract. He doesn’t really need American Idol, he already is one, and he actually sang that song in tune, compared to many others who did not.

As for American Idol, well, the concept itself began as the television phenomenon Pop Idol in Britain in 2001, arrived on American shores in the summer of 2002 and became an overnight success.

With two shows each week, American Idol’s audience kept increasing, culminating in over 30 million for the finale. The second season of American Idol was even more successful, with 50,000 turning up for the auditions. This current season saw more than 70,000 applicants.

So, now we’re down to 11 finalists. Leah La Belle was the first to be dropped after an insipid performance of You Keep Me Hanging On last week. Who next?

Soul ballad power house, La Toya London, sounds strong, as does the funky, eccentric Fantasia “Bobo” Barrino. Sweet Hawaiian Jasmine Trias is giving power voice Diana De Garmo a run for her money. Dark horses George Huff and Jon Peter Lewis, who managed to sneak into the finals via the wild card semi-finals, are improving in leaps and bounds from – as Cowell could well have described it – “distinctly average” performances earlier in the competition.

There are still power soul voice Jennifer Hudson, ex-football player opera singer Matt Rogers, Frank Sinatra sound-alike John Stevens, Lauryn Hill sound-alike Camile Velasco and “Cabaret Idol” Amy Adams to look forward to this Friday.

Some will wax, some will wane, as each week sees one more fall, until the winner is decided on the last night of three remaining finalists.

For those frustrated at not being able to vote, hey man, don’t worry, you’ll get your chance when the second season of Akademi Fantasia (non-related) and then our very own Malaysian Idol hit the screens in a couple of months’ time.

But beware Malaysian Idol. As for the winner of this season’s American Idol and the next British Pop Idol, as well as the Australian Idol, and every other idol that is going to be churned out worldwide, you may well face them at World Idol at the end of this year. Food for thought indeed.

American Idol airs Fridays at 9.45pm on 8TV with the results show at 3pm the next day. If you missed it on 8TV, you can catch it on Astro’s StarWorld on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8pm, with repeats on Wednesday and Friday mornings.

[Ava]

thanks MN, heaps of great info

MaybeNext said:

But beware Malaysian Idol. As for the winner of this season’s American Idol and the next British Pop Idol, as well as the Australian Idol, and every other idol that is going to be churned out worldwide, you may well face them at World Idol at the end of this year. Food for thought indeed.

yeah the format of World Idol really needs to be changed...like not make it a competition! they've won already, what's a cruddy trophy gonna prove?

i wanna see HOW they won!!

[Inside Australian Idol]

Dicko gets bad again
March 24, 2004


IAN "Dicko" Dickson is bracing himself for the next wave of Australian Idol hysteria.


Dicko with fellow Idol judges Mark Holden and Marcia Hines.

The outspoken judge, who was shocked at how famous he became, told The Eye yesterday he was excited by the return of the show.

In April Dicko, along with fellow judges Marcia Hines and Mark Holden, will begin their trek around the country auditioning for Channel 10's Australian Idol 2.

Over the past few months Dicko's image has softened as he guides the careers of Idols Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll, Rob Mills and Courtney Act.

But he promises the cutting but honest comments we grew to love will be back.

So what will the judges be expecting this year?

"I'm looking for magic," Dicko said. "And what I really hope we don't get is people cloning what we got last time, and assuming they know what we're looking for."

Dicko missed out on a Logie nonmination this week despite his massive popularity during the show's first series last year.

However, Australian Idol host Andrew G did get a nod in the Most Popular TV Presenter category.

Herald Sun

entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,9060413%255E10229%255E%255Enbv,00.html

[PetShopBoy]

I just love that Marcia.
She's fabulous.

PSB

[Ava]

this is from the lovely yahoo group :

Trabscript for NZ interveiw !!!!
Guy Sebastian is just as famous for his afro as he is for the voice that made him the Australian Idol. Kate was one of the lucky few who got to spend some "couch time" with the star…<br>
Tell me five things everyone should know about Guy Sebastian
- I'm a huge cricket fan.
- I've in a team called Seven Honks and a Black Man and we have t-
shirts and everything.
- I'm hugely into fishing
- I used to be a really chubby little kid
- I got appendicitis when I was little and it burst. I almost died.
- My mum told me not to let the dog out and I let it out and it got
run over. I was all withdrawn for like two weeks and couldn't talk
and stuff. I felt really guilty and it taught me to listen to my mum.
- I've got a yellow Mazda RX8 which I love to drive (whispers) very fast!

What was the biggest thing you struggled with during Australian Idol?
The only thing I didn't like was the cameras in your face all the time. There was a separate show being filmed at the time called Inside Idol. They'd take us to a really loud pub and you'd be screaming to talk to the fans as you were doing signings. We'd go to sing the next day and no one had voices. Then they took us on a
harbour bridge climb on a freezing windy day and we all caught colds. It was just dumb. At one point they were following us to the toilets and I just went off. I screamed at them, "That's enough!" I'm a nice
guy, but it was getting to the point where if you locked yourself in your room they'd start bashing on the door.

How long does it take to get your afro looking sufficiently bouncy?
With a fork that I put into the power point. Nah, I've got an afro comb. The way I do it now is different to how I did it on the show. Now I just get up and go with it as it is. I'll spray it and pull it out with my fingers.

Have you always had an afro?
I used to have a shaved head, and after that I had a real crew-cut sort of thing. It's a bit different now, but I've had it like this for a few years.

What's the best piece of advice you've been given since Idol started?
Just to be myself and not to give away my whole life. At the start I was sharing everything, but then you end up with nothing left for yourself. I don't think people understand what this is like. You almost lose your identity because you become so public. You find
yourself trying to find something that is yours and you haven't got it any more. So that was good advice…not that I've stuck to it.

Have you had some time off yet?
No. I'm hanging for some though. Tomorrow I'm going fishing which I'm looking forward to because I haven't done that for a long time. But I'm working tomorrow as well. I'm coming into a bit of a holiday soon, but I really need time – two weeks or something and actually AWAY. I did have Christmas Day off. When you've only got one day off in such a long time all the people who haven't seen you want to see
you, and you've got to cram so much into one day. It's probably one of the most tiring days I've had. It's just life you know…it's better than being bored, and it's a job. Not everyone gets to do what they love.

When we talked to Shannon (runner-up Shannon Noll) he talked about his new motorbike from Honda, what perks have you scored?
I got the Mazda, which is really cool. I don't know if I get to keep it or not, but I'm just having fun with it for now. I've been given clothes as well. At first I thought I was just being given stuff, but it's not really. I'm given it to endorse it, so I end up paying them
for it in the end! Fans give you stuff as well which is pretty nice.

If you could have 24 hours with one person – living or dead – who would it be and what would you do?
I'd spend it with Babyface or Stevie Wonder. Or Brian McKnight, and we'd work on some tracks together.

What's the most tragic item in your wardrobe?
My brothers have the most incredible wardrobes now because I've been giving them so many clothes. You'll wear clothes in photoshoots but then you can't really wear them again. I'd wear the same shirt for a week if I could, but when you're in the spotlight it's hard. I was
doing a gig a few weeks ago and I was wearing these white shoes that I wore in my video. This little kid came up to me and said, "Aren't they the shoes you wore in your video? Don't you have any other shoes?" I was just cracking up laughing, but that just shows how
perceptive people are. I could wear a top one day, pull it on again three weeks later and people would still pick it up.

What album is guaranteed to get you in a party mood?
Outkast at the moment. They're really kicking it for me. Silverchair
are cool too.

You recorded your album pretty quickly – 6 days – how was that for an intro to the music industry?
I think it was five and a half days actually. It was very full on, but now it's all I know. I met the record company people at their offices after the album had gone platinum – that's weird. Usually the office works hard for a few years before you get released.

Angel's Brought Me Here was the first single for whoever won. Would you have rather sung one of your own songs? If I hated the song it would have been really terrible, but it's such a beautiful song that sums up the way I felt. I was really worried and wondering what I'd do if I hated the song. But I think the first time you hear it you know it's something special.

What's do you look for in a woman?
I definitely like chicks that are down to earth – not girls who are stuck up or superficial. There are some chicks who walk around and think that just because they're pretty they can treat people badly. I like girls who are funny and deep – superficiality is a real turn
off. I'm after a girl who is humble and down to earth. Someone who wakes up in the morning and doesn't have to put make up on before she sees you, and is comfortable in who she is. My ex was totally comfortable in trackies, then when it was time to look beautiful it was like, wow!

You've got a boys weekend planned – what's on the agenda?
We'd just get away! We wouldn't take food, we'd hunt for it. I love roughing it. I don't care about comfort that much. I was driving this bomb around a little while ago. I'm never home, so I borrowed this car and was driving around. I loved the looks that people gave me.
They'd look at me like; why are you driving that? People expect you to drive some bling-bling car and I hate that.

What item can't you leave home without?
I can't leave home without my dictaphone. Sometimes you get songs come to you and you have to get them down. I also can't leave without my Bible, a little teddy that my friend bought me and my Christian Dior fragrances!

www.nzgirl.co.nz/articles/3617
***

sigh... Jules sounds so nice (going by what guy says he doesn't like in how girls act)...i can so tell she's everything Guy goes for. good luck to them!!

[Monkey]

Thanks Ava for the article
And yeah it does seem like he wants to go out with her again. He is such a nice guy, I really hope he gets his wish!

[HairBear]

Ava Thank you

A great article!

Guy certainly seems to be working to a punishing schedule still...

I do hope he gets some time off soon to recharge his batteries and catch up on some sleep as well as family and friends. We don't want him getting sick.

Di

[Monkey]

Diane said:

I do hope he gets some time off soon to recharge his batteries and catch up on some sleep as well as family and friends. We don't want him getting sick.

We definitely want him not to get sick! Especially if he gets sick before the Australian Gospel Music Festival and then can't come .