news articles 13 July

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Short-lived fairytale
July 13, 2004

IT WAS a fairytale start for Paulini Curuenavuli – but sadly it was short-lived.


No. 2 . . . Paulini Curuenavuli's debut single hit the top spot fleetingly before a recount yesterday.

For a few hours yesterday, the Bankstown girl – who was signed by music giant Sony after Australian Idol's partner BMG passed – held the top spot on the Australian singles charts.

But after recount of sales by the Australian Record Industry Association, her debut single Angel Eyes stumbled to No. 2 and her fellow Australian Idol contestant Shannon Noll took the top spot.


"Unfortunately, due to the inadvertent inclusion of some ineligible sales . . . we have had to recalculate and reissue the ARIA Singles Chart for the week of July 12," was the official word from ARIA.


ARIA charts manager Ian Wallace said there were "certain rules that dictate what sales are eligible". A bulk purchase at one store was why the association retracted her No. 1, he said.


"A club DJ bought 100 copies," Wallace said.


"He may have had orders from fans or he may have been giving them out. These sorts of sales are not eligible."


Despite the crushing news, Paulini was remaining positive.


"It's a little upsetting but it's all good," she told Confidential.


"It gives me something to look forward to next week and I will just have to work harder at it."


Pauline had been getting ready to go out to a Chinese restaurant "down the road" with her family for a big celebration, until she heard the bad news after the recount.


"We've had to cancel that now but maybe next week," she said.


"I guess everything happens for a reason."


Her representatives at Sony said that they were extremely disappointed with the news and had been kept in the dark about ARIA's claims.


Paulini, 21, developed a huge fan base as she progressed to the final four of the reality TV talent quest before she was bundled out.



dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1266&storyid=1614436

[Sunflower]

Sorry Paulini, but well done Shannon!

[Inside Australian Idol]

Scream test
July 13, 2004


Open arms: Andrew G welcomes viewers.


It's audition time for Australian Idol's future, writes Michael Idato.

Lightning rarely strikes twice, particularly in TV. The experience of Nine's The Block, down about a million viewers from last year, taught producers a harsh lesson and it's weighing heavily on the mind of Australian Idol executive producer Stephen Tate.

"We had a huge hit last year but that doesn't automatically mean we'll get the same response this year," he admits.

An audience of 3.3 million watched last year's Idol finale, making it the second most-watched program of the year. Reaching those heights again is a big ask, particularly in a TV market that is more fragmented and where Nine has regained custodianship of Ten's preferred 16-39 demographic. "I am not taking anything for granted," Tate says.

There are signs, however, that Australian Idol II will be as successful as the original. There was an unprecedented turnout for the auditions - more than 50,000 people passed through the show's turnstiles - and the buzz, that famously intangible industry hum on which fortunes rise and fall, is mostly positive.

It's going to be a delicate balancing act, Tate says, between giving the audience what it knows, without selling it the same old show. But Idol, like Big Brother, is in a good position to strike that balance. "The great thing about Idol is that it is as different as the people we find," Tate says. "Last year was a huge learning curve for us; this year we know the types of people that will resonate with an audience."

The key to the early success of Idol - as with Popstars, widely regarded as the progenitor of the modern talent/reality genre - is the audition process. Viewers find a perverse delight in watching the truly talentless drown in their own creative juices. But Tate cautions against overplaying the audition card, believing it contradicts the essence of the format: the search for new, extraordinary talent.

"Yes, there are a lot of really funny moments, and we've found some other precious voices around the country that will certainly make the water cooler, but you can't only present that because that says we're not finding talent. You have to intersperse that with the magnificent voices and the wonderful characters we've also found."

On the consistency front, Idol's producers have retained hosts Andrew G and James Mathison and the three judges - producer (and now Idol consultant) Ian "Dicko" Dickson, singer Marcia Hines and songwriter Mark Holden. Tate believes the judging panel is one of Idol's great strengths.

"Individually, all three of them have their own agendas," he says. "They are looking for very specific but different things in the artist. Dicko is quite prepared to go for the lowest common denominator - he knows what will sell records. Mark is really looking for voices that are recordable, while Marcia is looking at the artist, the person's ability to interpret lyrics and the kind of stamina they are going to have for the long run. Together, they have a kind of holistic approach that has delivered genuine talent."

Who can argue? The first Australian Idol landed record deals not just for its winner, Guy Sebastian, but also for runners-up Shannon Noll, Courtney Act and Paulini Curuenavuli. Even Robert Mills, an early cast-off who found infamy as an occasional guest of the Hilton hotel chain, has released a record.

Dicko, says Tate, is a real find, a natural talent, who "astounds us, because every time we throw a challenge at him, he rises to it and exceeds our expectations". Conceived, on paper at least, as a clone of the British Pop Idol's nasty Simon Cowell, Dickson's candour earned him respect with Australian audiences. "He delivers blistering honesty with wit," Tate says.

That honesty is what gives Idol its edge, particularly when compared with Seven's disastrous resurrection of the Popstars format earlier this year. That show's most significant failure (there were many) was its poor judgement of performances - at first embarrassingly kind, then deliberately harsh.

Tate chooses his words carefully about Popstars, attributing its failure to its attempt to reinvent the wheel. "I think they would have enjoyed far more success if they had gone back to basics, and the original format which produced [girl band] Bardot," he says.

The big question, however, whether you are Sebastian or Bardot, is if winning a record contract on what cynics would dismiss as a reality-TV stunt really amounts to anything, let alone a career of substance. Reality TV might be able to produce the next Britney Spears but the next Madonna or John Lennon has proved too tall an order.

Tate believes Idol is essentially a TV show. "We have to constantly remind ourselves that we are making a TV program, because we get caught up in the excitement of finding talent," he says. But, he adds, Ten has invested significantly in delivering "on the promise beyond the program". It has supported the launch of Curuenavuli's debut album and will soon do the same for De Vito. Noll is the star of a coming variety special for Ten, produced by Dickson's new production company.

It's a smart strategy, synergising Idol with Ten's broader assets, including Good Morning Australia, Rove [Live] and Video Hits, and, it is hoped, delivering Ten the 16-39 demographic. This audience is the real prize of the TV business and one that Ten has chased, mostly with success, for the past decade.

Tate concedes, however, that it is a notoriously difficult demographic to reach. This audience has very specific tastes and they don't fall for TV's old marketing tricks.

"They're not looking for pretence. They're looking for entertainment; they're looking for escapism; and they're looking for appointment viewing," Tate says. "At that age, you are very social and if you're choosing something to watch, you are choosing something you know your peers are watching, too. They're looking for the social side of TV, the type of programs people are talking about the next day."

Australian Idol begins on Ten on Tuesday at 7.30pm. Australian Idol Extra airs on Channel [V] on weekends at 4pm.


www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/12/1089484298428.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Paulini's No.1 hit a mirage
July 13, 2004


IT WAS a fairytale start for Paulini Curuenavuli - but sadly it was short-lived.

For a few hours yesterday, the Bankstown girl - who was signed by music giant Sony after Australian Idol's partner BMG passed - held the top spot on the Australian singles charts.

But after recount of sales by the Australian Record Industry Association, her debut single Angel Eyes stumbled to No.2 and her fellow Australian Idol contestant Shannon Noll took the top spot.

"Unfortunately, due to the inadvertent inclusion of some ineligible sales ... we have had to recalculate and reissue the ARIA Singles Chart for the week of July 12," was the official word from ARIA.

ARIA charts manager Ian Wallace said there were "certain rules that dictate what sales are eligible". A bulk purchase at one store was why the association retracted her No.1, he said.

"A club DJ bought 100 copies," Wallace said.

"He may have had orders from fans or he may have been giving them out. These sorts of sales are not eligible."

Despite the crushing news, Paulini was remaining positive.

"It's a little upsetting but it's all good," she told Confidential.

"It gives me something to look forward to next week and I will just have to work harder at it."

Pauline had been getting ready to go out to a Chinese restaurant "down the road" with her family for a big celebration, until she heard the bad news after the recount.

"We've had to cancel that now but maybe next week," she said.

"I guess everything happens for a reason."

Her representatives at Sony said that they were extremely disappointed with the news and had been kept in the dark about ARIA's claims.

Paulini, 21, developed a huge fan base as she progressed to the final four of the reality TV talent quest before she was bundled out.

The Daily Telegraph


entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,10122554%255E10431%255E%255Enbv,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Legion wins Idol gig despite Big Brother blunder

Staff writers, ZDNet Australia
July 13, 2004
URL: www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/0,39023166,39153155,00.htm

Legion Interactive, the interactive communications specialist responsible for the Big Brother eviction blunder, has won the contract to manage the voting count for Australian Idol for the second year running.

Legion has described the reappointment to the Channel Ten series as "acknowledgement" of the company's capabilities, despite the "human error" that the wrong housemate evicted from another of Ten's reality television shows, Big Brother.

The 2003 series of Australian Idol saw contestant Guy Sebastian rise to international fame and reportedly attracted more than 3.3 million viewers to the final showdown.

"The interactive voting element is what connects Australian Idol with the audience as they use it to decide who will become the next Australian Idol," said Jon Penn, licensing director at FremantleMedia (the International production company that owns the shows format).

"For something as critical as voting is to the show, we need to partner with who we think are the best...and that's Legion," he said.

In a statement released yesterday Legion said that it expects "immense volumes of information" to be produced through the interactive voting element of the show, as network executives expect Australian Idol 2 to be even bigger than last year.

"Legion is excited to be on board again for Australian Idol and will be responsible for managing the voting process, incorporating a short code SMS number and 190 mass calling numbers on behalf of Network Ten and Grundy," said Legion chief executive officer David Burden.

"Our recent acquisition of additional phone lines will certainly be utilised to their full capacity as the voting process heats up," he said.

Burden said the company has installed a new mass calling interactive voice recognition platform to "cope with the demand".

"As Australian Idol approaches, Legion is preparing for an interactive television event that could potentially generate the largest viewer response rates in Australian television history," stated the release.

The first show in the series premieres tonight at 7.30pm AEST on Channel Ten.


www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/0,39023166,39153155,00.htm

[Inside Australian Idol]

Legion gets Idol vote

Legion Interactive announced yesterday that it would run the SMS and telephone voting systems for Network Ten's latest Australian Idol series. Last week a problem with Legion's voting systems for Ten's Big Brother led to a recount.

Rachael Osman-Chin

afr.com/articles/2004/07/12/1089484299015.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

ARIA Chart Farce With Paulini Downgrade
By Paul Cashmere
July 13 2004

Former Australian Idol finalist Paulini was at number one on the singles chart for less than a Britney Spears marriage yesterday but the downgrading of her single makes a farce of the ARIA system.



ARIA have demonstrated a complete double standard in the downgrading of the Paulini single by turning a blind eye to the Hillsong Church debut this same week on the album chart.

When the chart was published yesterday Paulini's 'Angel Eyes' was 1119 units ahead of the number two song, Shannon Noll's 'Learn To Fly'.

By the end of the day, ARIA claims they had a recount and Paulini finished up 109 units behind.

ARIA claim the downgrade was because one store was disqualified from reporting after a bulk purchase was discovered but this doesn't explain the 1228 units Paulini had taken off.

ARIA's policy is that a bulk purchase at one store is never eligible for reporting but they did allow the Hillsong Church album to debut at number one even though nearly all CDs were sold by the Church themselves at their conference at the Sydney Superdome and pre-release.

The official release date for Hillsong Church's 'For All You've Done' was yesterday (June 12) yet ARIA appears to have broken a number of its own rules to allow the title to chart before it was released.

According to one retailer, if the release date was June 12 then the album isn't eligible to chart until next week at the earliest. Pre-release sales are meant to be included in first week sales. The ARIA chart, which is published Sunday night, is based on sales ending at close of business on the Saturday.

ARIA also seems to have also turned a blind eye to the fact that the Hillsong Church only sold three copies outside New South Wales. That is right, the number 3. The album was not available at retail and therefore only available at the conference for sale in advance of the official release date. Again, according to the bulk purchase from one store rule, why wasn't the title disqualified?

Also, Hillsong Church, while distributed through Sony runs its own label. ARIAnet have registered Hillsong Church as its own reporting store.

For the record, Paulini also appeared at the Hillsong Conference in Sydney and held a signing and selling session for copies of her single.


www.undercover.com.au/news/2004/july2004/20040713_paulini.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Just one day at top for Paulini
Celebrations were under way for Paulini, but the supposed No.1 was not to be . . . this week, anyway
13jul04

FOR almost 24 hours, Australian Idol star Paulini Curuenavuli was riding high with her first No. 1 single.


Relegated: Former Australian Idol contestant Paulini Curuenevuli.
Picture: Craig Wood



But a glitch with the ARIA chart saw her cruelly stripped of her title yesterday afternoon.
ARIA changed its singles chart, relegating Paulini's debut Angel Eyes to No.2 and giving fellow Idol finalist Shannon Noll his second No. 1 single with Learn To Fly.

A statement from ARIA yesterday said the only change made to the chart was swapping the top two singles.

"Unfortunately, due to the inadvertent inclusion of some ineligible sales in last night's calculation, we have had to recalculate and reissue the ARIA Singles Chart for the week of July 12th," the statement said.

An amazingly calm Paulini said she was disappointed, but it would only spur her on to take the top spot next week. "I was a little upset, but it's all good," she told The Eye last night.

"It gives me something to look forward to next week."

Paulini said she was told she had the No. 1 about 7pm on Sunday and went out to dinner to celebrate with friends. She was planning a similar celebration with family last night -- until told the bad news about 3pm.

The 21-year-old singer, who was famously slagged off by Idol judge Ian "Dicko" Dickson for wearing that gold dress, was remarkably calm about the drama yesterday. "Everyone makes mistakes," she said.

"I was kind of thinking I was going to come second anyway. (Shannon) deserves it."

The Shannon-Paulini chart quinella comes as Channel 10 launches its second series of Australian Idol tonight.

While the show has produced chart successes such as Paulini, Shannon Noll and Guy Sebastian, it hasn't been all rosy for the Idol folk.

Courtney Act's single wasn't a huge success and the debut album from Robert "Millsy" Mills fell out of the ARIA charts after just three weeks.

We'll be keeping our Eye on Cosima De Vito's solo effort.


www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10118068%255E28957,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Kristy chases fame on new 'Idol' series
By Michael Stevens
Tuesday, 13 July 2004

NOT everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame on television, but it could soon be a reality for Orange's Kristy Wilson.


HERE’S LOOKING AT ME: Orange’s Kristy Wilson hopes she will make it onto television in Australian Idol’s second series, beginning tonight. Photo: BETHANY HALL

The first episode of Australian Idol's much-anticipated second series airs tonight. Kristy could make a cameo appearance after she was filmed in a song competition at the Canberra auditions.

"We had to sing 'I Am Australian.' I was petrified, the camera was really close to my face," she laughed.

Kristy won a mobile phone for belting out one of the day's best renditions.

"James Matheson [the Australian Idol host] told me I was awesome, which was great," she said.

Kristy also auditioned in the main event, singing Stevie Wonder's ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered'.

She did not make it past the first round, but she said the experience was worth a trip to Canberra.

"I auditioned last year, but I went down by myself and got too nervous. So I went along with my mum this time," she said.

"It's really good for your singing, to do it in front of so many people."

Kristy has just begun singing at pub gigs in Orange and Bathurst and will soon join popular local act ‘Speckle.'

She also played twinkie-binging Jan in the Orange Theatre Company's recent production of ‘Grease'.

Kristy said she hoped more focus would be on the people who did not make the final rounds in this Australian Idol series.

"I hope they show more of the audition process because it's too much fun for people not to see," she said.

Orange's Adrian Lofaro also auditioned in Australian Idol and could also make an appearance on television.


orange.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=320437&y=2004&m=7

[Inside Australian Idol]

Ideal site for Idol fans

July 13 2004
Shepparton News


Website: www.australianidol.com.au
Reviewer: Laura Luvara

Rating: « « « <br>


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



With the new Australian Idol starting on Channel Ten this week there is sure to be increased interest in this redesigned and newly updated website.

The best thing about this site is the hundreds of photos of the soon-to-be-infamous Idol wannabes. Cruise through and see if there is anyone you know!

The photos were taken by the Idol hopefuls themselves using Telstra MMS technology on their mobile phones.

There is also video footage from the first series. These include auditions, the top 40 and the grand-final in which Guy Sebastian came out the winner.

Why not stop by the Idol chatroom and have your say? The Yahoo chatroom allows Idol fans to converse and debate the program and is sure to be a melting pot of topical discussion come top40 time for the new series.

Another interesting section of the site is the finalist profiles. Here you can find profiles of the first series' finalists. There is a brief career/personal history and a run-down of their success in the series.

Interestingly, each profile includes the ever important star sign of the finalist involved.

I can hear teenage girls everywhere crying "Oh! Millsy is a Gemini - that makes us a perfect match!".

There are also brief judge and host profiles, including interviews.

The highlight for me was Ian "Dicko" Dickson's response to the question, "If you weren't a record industry guru, what would you be?" to which he replied, "A professional soccer player."

In general, this site is fairly easy to navigate through and would definitely satisfy any Australian Idol fan desperate for a fix.

Also good to note, official Australian Idol merchandise is available for purchase from this site - just in case you haven't yet got your copy of Guy Sebastian's single Angels Brought Me Here.

One final note: any of you searching for a new ringtone for your mobile should search no further. This website allows you to download the previous top 10 contestants' hit Rise Up to your phone - should you dare.

news.mcmedia.com.au/story.asp?TakeNo=200407133817395

[Inside Australian Idol]

Protests over Malaysian Idol show
From correspondents in Kuala Lumpur
July 12, 2004

MALAYSIAN Idol is under attack by Islamic fundamentalist leaders, who have denounced the local version of the hit television show as an attempt to steer Muslim youths away from religious fidelity.

Thousands of young, aspiring pop stars - ranging from urban teenagers in Kuala Lumpur to struggling fishermen on Borneo island - have flocked to nationwide auditions for the singing competition, often belting out English-language ballads or gyrating to R&B tunes.

But the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party urged audiences today to boycott the program, which is attracting millions of viewers every week following its debut last month on this predominantly Muslim country's private 8TV network.

Organisers promise the winner a recording contract and "platinum-selling artist treatment".

Participants - none of them older than 26, due to the show's age restrictions - who bungle their performances are frequently shown tearful and devastated.

"We fear that such shows will create a culture where Malaysians become too emotional, spiritually weak and hungry for fame and glamour," said Mahfuz Omar, a senior Islamic party official.

Even the word idol in the show's title contradicts Islamic principles, by encouraging people to revere entertainers instead of God, Mr Mahfuz said.

Officials at 8TV said they could not immediately comment.

Politicians often express concern about Western culture encroaching on religious values. About two-thirds of Malaysia's 25 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims. Most of the rest are ethnic Chinese and Indians, whose faiths include Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.

The Islamic party, which is Malaysia's largest opposition group, has voiced concern about the show ever since it was launched shortly after the end of the latest season of American Idol, which has a huge following in this South-East Asian country.

Muslim youths have "forgotten their religious obligations, including prayers, because they are too busy practicing for show", the party's newspaper, Harakah, said in a recent commentary.

"The enemies of Islam have pricked the souls of young Muslims with the needle of their evil propaganda," the commentary added.

"Our first step should be to display our disgust by boycotting this program and explaining the truth about such evil propaganda to our children."


www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10117462%255E1702,00.html

[Inside Australian Idol]

Network in need of Olympic recovery
By Lara Sinclair and Sally Jackson
July 13, 2004

THE Seven Network is staring down the barrel of falling advertising revenue next year unless it can show an upward television ratings trend after the Olympic Games, which conclude at the end of next month.

Media buyers commenting on metropolitan TV ratings figures for the first half of 2004 said Seven would lose half a revenue share point - worth about $14million - next year even if it managed to maintain audiences for the remainder of this year as advertiser demand for space on the Nine and Ten networks rose.

Several buyers said there were few obvious highlights ahead for Seven outside of the high-rating Games telecast, which would be excluded as a ratings "aberration" when the annual television advertising rate negotiations for 2005 begin in September.

"If Seven's share of audience doesn't improve, then yes, [revenue] will go backwards," said John Sintras, chief operating officer at media buying agency Starcom.

Yesterday, Nine and Ten were bullish about their ratings and revenue performances for the ratings year to date based on OzTAM data.

Nine led with 30.8per cent of the audience in the five capital cities from 6pm to midnight, followed by Seven on 24per cent, down 1.5points compared with the same period last year, and Ten on 23.6per cent.

In the key demographic of 25-to-54 year-olds, Nine extended its lead on 33.1per cent, but Seven's 1.2point fall to 24.3per cent dropped it behind Ten's figure of 25.7per cent.

In the advertiser-friendly 16-to-39 demographic, Ten's 30.9per cent share just trailed Nine's figure of 31.7, with Seven on 25.7. Ten is expected to win that demographic this year helped by the launch of Australian Idol tonight.

Ten was thrilled with its 31per cent three-way commercial share of audience among 25-to-54 year-olds -- "subtantially" ahead of Seven's 29.1per cent but behind Nine's 39.9 per cent in the peak 6pm to 10.30pm timeslot.

It has been priming the market to expect first-half revenue figures from KPMG due out in the next few weeks to mimic this split.

Universal McCann investment director Leela Nair said Seven's figures for peak viewing from 6pm to 10.30pm in the past four years had been "horrific".

Seven's peak audience for the January to first week in July period fell 17.8per cent from 2001 to 2004, while Ten was up 9.7per cent and Nine rose 1.4per cent.

"Seven's coming off the back of three years of audience loss," Ms Nair said.

She said Seven had promised increases in the past but failed to deliver.

A Seven spokesman said the net work's revenue shares "reflect our audience shares" and would be boosted by the Olympics.

"Our objective is to build share in audiences and revenue share and create the platform for a stronger 2005 - building on our strengths in news and public affairs and Australian drama," he said.


www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10120103%255E7582,00.html

[Darin]

Sunflower said:

Sorry Paulini, but well done Shannon!

i think she is getting better.

[Sunflower]

Inside said:

ARIA's policy is that a bulk purchase at one store is never eligible for reporting but they did allow the Hillsong Church album to debut at number one even though nearly all CDs were sold by the Church themselves at their conference at the Sydney Superdome and pre-release.

The official release date for Hillsong Church's 'For All You've Done' was yesterday (June 12) yet ARIA appears to have broken a number of its own rules to allow the title to chart before it was released.

According to one retailer, if the release date was June 12 then the album isn't eligible to chart until next week at the earliest. Pre-release sales are meant to be included in first week sales. The ARIA chart, which is published Sunday night, is based on sales ending at close of business on the Saturday.

ARIA also seems to have also turned a blind eye to the fact that the Hillsong Church only sold three copies outside New South Wales. That is right, the number 3. The album was not available at retail and therefore only available at the conference for sale in advance of the official release date. Again, according to the bulk purchase from one store rule, why wasn't the title disqualified?

Also, Hillsong Church, while distributed through Sony runs its own label. ARIAnet have registered Hillsong Church as its own reporting store.

This is interesting, if people are noticing ARIA have broken the rules for Hillsong to be number 1 then maybe there will be pressure to disqualify or change the ranking like they did with Shannon and Paulini? It's not fair.

[PaulJ]

Sunflower said:

This is interesting, if people are noticing ARIA have broken the rules for Hillsong to be number 1 then maybe there will be pressure to disqualify or change the ranking like they did with Shannon and Paulini? It's not fair.

It is definitely not fair. It is, in fact, frightening, that a fundamentalist church can exercise so much pull that they literally control the Aria chart by getting enough of their congregation to buy their cd. Only three copies of this cd were sold outside NSW. All were sold directly by Hillsong, too, showing how limited its real appeal is.

No doubt to fill Hillsong's own coffers. This has about it the stench of every worst American religious nightmare. Talk about manipulation. Next we'll find one of their congregation appearing as a contestant in Idol and tell me they won't be voted right to the top by sheer force of numbers.

I hope Aria, at least, takes steps to change their policies so that this cannot happen again.