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Post by Inside Australian Idol on Jun 2, 2004 0:53:00 GMT 10
Idol winner shows what a good Guy he is June 1, 2004 GUY Sebastian yesterday returned to the place it all began for him – the Australian Idol auditions. The original Idol popped into Sydney's auditions to check out the next wave of hopefuls – his presence reducing some girls to tears. With security guards ensuring no one got too close to the talent, Sebastian charmed the crowd with a quick version of R. Kelly's I Believe I Can Fly. "This is amazing. I was really dying to get back home after six or seven weeks overseas," Sebastian said. Dallas Nolte, 22, of Surry Hills, was brought on stage to sing Sebastian's Angels Brought Me Here, the song he was going to audition with. With the audience and Sebastian looking on, Nolte struggled to get through it, forgetting some of the words. "I'm still shaking. Guy's someone that I've always wanted to be," Nolte said afterwards. dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1266&storyid=1409603 |
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Post by Inside Australian Idol on Jun 2, 2004 0:54:14 GMT 10
Murmurs... June 1, 2004 CONFIDENTIAL reader Barbara says she either hasn't got a life – or she's got frr-eaky powers. Watching the credits roll on American Idol on Sunday night, she noticed the final two production companies appear, one called Nineteen and the other called Freemantle. It was an omen she says, to turn to the My Restaurant Rules final episode with a "weird feeling" that young Ash and Amanda from Room Nineteen in Fremantle would take home the top prize. dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1266&storyid=1409604 |
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Post by Inside Australian Idol on Jun 2, 2004 0:55:12 GMT 10
Lethbridge Defy The Odds and Beat The Majors Queensland band Lethbridge has defied all odds this week beating the power marketing ploys of the major labels and scoring a number one single in Queensland with their song 'In My Room' on their own terms.  The highest profile member of the group is Levi Kereama, an Australian Idol contestant who made it through to the final ten. Despite his profile as the Number 6 place getter, he held back from major label offers to stay with Lethbridge, his family band. "The main reason I went in there was for some recognition and some exposure" he tells Undercover News. "I just wanted to get my name out there so I could push the group". They took the Indie route after Darren McVean, a radio executive from Bundaberg, Queensland started F8 Records and included Lethbridge as shareholders in the new company. "In a way we are control freaks" Darren tells Undercover News. "Levi wanted to be a group, not an individual so we formed a company around them." F8 produced 35,000 units of the 'In My Room' single and started work distributing them into stores. "All of Sanity and HMV have it now as of last week" Darren says. "It was released on May 16 and we got it into Sanity stores in Queensland and South Australia. It has now had about 60 adds on radio and is receiving airplay through Austereo, Nova and RG Capital". That is a success story any major label would love to have. 'In My Room' sold 3524 units last week in Australia but sales came mostly from Queensland. In Queensland, the single outsold Spiderbait's 'Black Betty by almost two to one. Nationally, it is at number 12. As a top 10 contestant in Australian Idol, Levi was offered deals from major labels but knocked them all back. "We got a few offers but they weren't that great for us" he says. "The deal with the Independent is better. There is a lot of hard work but the rewards at the end will be better. The percentages didn't work out for me". 'In My Room' is an original, new recording. "We recorded that about three months ago in Sydney" he says. "It has been a lot of hard work because we aren't on a major but it is out there now. We had problems getting it into Melbourne and Sydney. We have just released the single there this week". McVean gave Lethbridge a career path few majors would consider. "They've hung on to their publishing and they are shareholders in the label" he says. F8 also did some smart marketing by dropping 250,000 posters into Queensland homes to create awareness of the single and it has paid off. Lethbridge have already recorded their second single and plan to release an album later this year. By Paul Cashmere June 1 , 2004 www.undercover.com.au/news/2004/june04/20040601_lethbridge.html |
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