Australian Idol (season 6)

Main article: Australian Idol

Australian Idol
Season 6
Broadcast from	24 August 2008–23 November 2008
Judges	Ian Dickson Marcia Hines Kyle Sandilands
Host(s)	Andrew G James Mathison Ricki-Lee Coulter
Broadcaster	Network Ten
Finals venue	Fox Studios, Sydney Sydney Opera House (Grand Final)
Winner: Wes Carr
Origin	Adelaide, Australia
Song	"You"
Genre(s)	Rock, Pop rock, Soft rock, Blue-eyed soul
Runner-up
Luke Dickens
Chronology
◄ 2008 ►

Finalists (in alphabetical order and elimination date)
Wes Carr	Winner
Luke Dickens	23 November
Mark Spano	17 November
Teale Jakubenko	10 November
Chrislyn Hamilton	3 November
Roshani Priddis	27 October
Sophie Paterson	20 October
Thanh Bui	13 October
Madam Parker	6 October
Tom Williams	29 September
Brooke Addamo	22 September
Jonny Taylor	15 September

The sixth season of Australian Idol premiered on Sunday, 24 August 2008, on Network Ten. The season finale aired live on Sunday, 23 November 2008. The winner was Wes Carr with Luke Dickens as runner-up.

Changes to Format

Kyle Sandilands, Ian Dickson, and Marcia Hines returned as judges, however long term judge Mark Holden left to pursue other interests.^[1] Andrew G was temporarily absent while he prepared for his wedding and Ricki-Lee Coulter is acting as a new back-stage host.^[2] The London auditions featured guest judges Tina Arena and Darren Hayes.

Also for the second time on an Idol contest, the format for eliminations in the Top 12 round will be different. In the new result nights, the bottom 3 of the week will be announced first and the voting line will be opened again for viewers to vote for their favourite in the bottom 3. Music Idol, the Bulgarian version of Idol, were the first to use this new format in their second season. New Zealand Idol season 3 used a similar format for the second week of the finals, but dropped it afterwards.^[3]

Process

Regional auditions phase

Locations

The Auditions were held in the following cities:

• Newcastle, New South Wales: Broadmeadow Racecourse - 6 April
• Darwin, Northern Territory: Crowne Plaza - 13 April
• Cairns, Queensland: Shangri-La Hotel - 15 April
• London, United Kingdom: The Cumberland Hotel - 19 April
• Albury, New South Wales: The Albury Convention Centre - 20 April
• Hobart, Tasmania: Hobart Function & Conference Centre - 23 April
• Brisbane, Queensland: Suncorp Piazza - 24 April and 25 April
• Albany, Western Australia: Albany Town Hall - 1 May
• Perth, Western Australia: Ascot Racecourse - 4 May
• Melbourne, Victoria: Melbourne Park Function Centre - 10 May and 11 May
• Adelaide, South Australia: Adelaide Entertainment Centre - 18 May with second tier auditions held in the Barossa Valley.
• Sydney, New South Wales: Australian Technology Park - 1 June and 2 June

^ These auditions were not filmed, with successful contestants going to capital city of the respective state for their second tier audition. Auditioning contestants are required to be between the ages 16 and 30 on 1 July 2008 (born between 2 July 1978 and 2 July 1992).

Registrations were also conducted online,^[4] although not mandatory, allowed users to enter a draw of $2,000.

Semi-Finals

From 1 September to 4 September the Semi-final rounds aired on television, allowing viewers to vote. The Wildcard Performance Show was held on Sunday, 7 September, with results on 8 September.

List of the semi-finalists below.

Females	Males
Brooke Addamo	Thanh Bui
Nicole Banks	Wes Carr
Natalie Colavito	Olly Corpe
Jaden Dowd	Luke Dickens
Amanda Grafanakis*	Teale Jakubenko
Chrislyn Hamilton	Matthew Parsons
Madam Parker	Irae Schwenke
Sophie Paterson	Mark Spano
Roshani Priddis	James Spargo
Brooke Schubert	Mitchell Steele
Kayla Vanzetta	Jonny Taylor
Brooke Wilkie	Tom Williams

• Grafanakis later auditioned for the second series of The X Factor (Australia), where she finished in 9th place.

Weekly Song Themes

Week	Theme	Mentor/guest judge
Top 12	Idols' Idols	None
Top 11	'80s Music	Cyndi Lauper
Top 10	Aussie Hits	Darren Hayes
Top 9	ABBA	None
Top 8	Rock	Tim Farriss and Kirk Pengilly
Top 7	Motown	Guy Sebastian
Top 6	Rolling Stones	None
Top 5	Michael Jackson	Jermaine Jackson
Top 4	American Hits	Chris Isaak
Top 3	Idols' Choice	Tina Arena

Top 12 Finalists

Wesley Carr

Main article: Wes Carr

Wes Carr is a 26 year old from Bondi, New South Wales. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Wes Carr moved to Bondi as a 15-year-old. Before he auditioned for Australian Idol, Wes Carr performed and had regular resident gigs around Sydney. On 23 November 2008, Wes Carr was announced the winner of Australian Idol 2008.

1. "Times Like These" by Foo Fighters - (Top 24)
2. "Beautiful Day" by U2 - (Top 12)
3. "Dancing In The Dark" by Bruce Springsteen - (Top 11)
4. "Friday on My Mind" by The Easybeats - (Top 10)
5. "Fernando" by ABBA - (Top 9)
6. "Desire" by U2 - (Top 8)
7. "If I Were A Carpenter" by The Four Tops - (Top 7)
8. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6)
9. "Black or White" by Michael Jackson TOUCHDOWN! (from Marcia Hines and Jermaine Jackson) - (Top 5)
10. "When You Were Young" by The Killers - (Top 4)
11. "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong - (Top 4) Bottom 2
12. "Easy" by Faith No More - (Top 3)
13. "Get Back" by The Beatles TOUCHDOWN! (from Dicko) and TV Throw (from Kyle Sandilands) - (Top 3)
14. "White Noise" by The Living End - (Top 2)
15. "You" by Wes Carr - (Top 2)

Preceded by Natalie Gauci

Australian Idol winner 2008

Succeeded by Stan Walker

Luke Dickens

Luke Dickens (born 7 June 1982) is from Young, New South Wales. Before he auditioned, Luke Dickens was a sheep shearer and had taught himself how to play the guitar. He was announced runner-up to Wes Carr on 23 November 2008.

1. "Mustang Sally" by Mack Rice - (Top 24)
2. "Angels" by Robbie Williams - (Wildcard)
3. "Feelin' Alright" by Joe Cocker - (Top 12)
4. "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp - (Top 11)
5. "Flame Trees" by Cold Chisel - (Top 10)
6. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" by ABBA - (Top 9)
7. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz - (Top 8)
8. "My Girl" by Temptations - (Top 7)
9. "Honky Tonk Woman" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6) Bottom 2
10. "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson - (Top 5)
11. "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed - (Top 4)
12. "One of These Nights" by The Eagles - (Top 4)
13. "Stuck in the Middle" by Stealer's Wheel - (Top 3)
14. "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" by Elton John - (Top 3)
15. "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger - (Top 2)
16. "When We Hear Hallelujah" - by Luke Dickens - (Top 2)

Mark Spano

Mark Spano is a 26-year-old from Brighton, Victoria.He is of Italian Heritage. Mark Spano fronted band The Need for seven years, but had to stop after losing his voice due to polyp in his vocal chords. During his 2 year recovery, Mark Spano worked as a labourer until he auditioned for Australian Idol. Spano was eliminated during the Top 3 results night.

1. "Come Said The Boy" by Mondo Rock - (Top 24)
2. "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS - (Top 12)
3. "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner - (Top 11)
4. "Age of Reason" by John Farnham - (Top 10)
5. "Waterloo" by ABBA - (Top 9)
6. "Sex on Fire" by The Kings of Leon - (Top 8)
7. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by The Supremes - (Top 7) Bottom 2
8. "Angie" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6) TOUCHDOWN! (from Dicko)
9. "Bad" by Michael Jackson - (Top 5) Bottom 2
10. "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" by Chris Isaak - (Top 4)
11. "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. - (Top 4)
12. "Bad Day" by Fuel - (Top 3)
13. "Smooth" by Carlos Santana & Rob Thomas - (Top 3) Eliminated 17 November 2008

Teale Jakubenko

Teale Jakubenko is a 22-year-old from Yatala, Queensland. Born in Gold Coast, Queensland, Teale Jakubenko recently toured with renowned Australian singer Wendy Matthews. Jakubenko was eliminated during the Top 4 results night. Teale was placed in the Bottom 3 six times including elimination and therefore has been placed there the most times out of any contestant in the history of Australian Idol.

1. "Running" by Evermore - (Top 24)
2. "Walk Away Renée" by Rick Price - (Top 12) Bottom 2
3. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2 - (Top 11)
4. "Black Fingernails, Red Wine" by Eskimo Joe - (Top 10) Bottom 2
5. "Thank You For The Music" by ABBA - (Top 9)
6. "Slide" by Goo Goo Dolls - (Top 8) Bottom 3
7. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - (Top 7) Bottom 3
8. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6) Bottom 3
9. "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson - (Top 5)
10. "No Such Thing" by John Mayer - (Top 4)
11. "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake - (Top 4) Eliminated 10 November 2008

Chrislyn Hamilton

Chrislyn Hamilton is a 17-year-old from Scarborough, Queensland. Before her audition, Chrislyn Hamilton was in high school and was the lead singer in her school band, picked up a leading role in her school musical and performed in a gospel rock choir group every week. Hamilton was eliminated during the Top 5 results night, and for the first time, the contest was left with four male finalists.

1. "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner - (Top 24)
2. "Think" by Aretha Franklin - (Top 12) TOUCHDOWN! (from Kyle Sandilands)
3. "True Colours" by Cyndi Lauper - (Top 11)
4. "Chains" by Tina Arena - (Top 10)
5. "Mamma Mia" by ABBA - (Top 9) Bottom 2
6. "Don't Speak" by No Doubt - (Top 8)
7. "Get Ready" by Temptations - (Top 7) TOUCHDOWN! (from Guy Sebastian)
8. "Get off of My Cloud" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6)
9. "Thriller" by Michael Jackson - (Top 5) Eliminated 3 November 2008

Roshani Priddis

Roshani Priddis (born August 1987) is a 21-year-old from Ashfield, New South Wales, although she grew up in Tamworth, New South Wales. Born in Sri Lanka, Priddis moved to Australia as a 6-week-old when she was adopted by an Australian family. Priddis was eliminated during the Top 6 results night. In April 2010, it was announced Roshani will be part of the new Young Divas group. She will be replacing former member, Paulini Curuenavuli.

1. "Knock on Wood" by Eddie Floyd - (Top 24)
2. "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys - (Wildcard)
3. "Tell Me 'bout It" by Joss Stone - (Top 12)
4. "What's Love Got To Do With It" by Tina Turner - (Top 11)
5. "Heading In The Right Direction" by Renée Geyer - (Top 10)
6. "Money, Money, Money" by ABBA - (Top 9) Bottom 3
7. "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters - (Top 8)
8. "Reflections" by Diana Ross & The Supremes - (Top 7)
9. "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 6) Eliminated 27 October 2008

Sophie Paterson

Sophie Paterson is a 23-year-old from London, United Kingdom. Originally from Maryknoll, Victoria, Paterson moved to England to pursue a music career. Before she auditioned, Sophie Paterson worked as a bar manager and performed regularly. She was eliminated during the Top 7 results night.

1. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones - (Top 24)
2. "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz - (Wildcard)
3. "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows - (Top 12) Bottom 3
4. "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics - (Top 11) Bottom 2
5. "Don't Hold Back" by The Potbelleez - (Top 10)
6. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" by ABBA - (Top 9)
7. "Ana's Song (Open Fire)" by Silverchair - (Top 8) Bottom 2
8. "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" by Temptations - (Top 7) Eliminated 20 October 2008

Thanh Bui

Thanh Bui is a 25-year-old from Abbotsford, Victoria. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Vietnamese parents, he moved to Melbourne as a 7-year-old. He was educated at Melbourne High School, graduating in 2000. Thanh Bui was part of the boy-band North who toured around Malaysia and split up in 2006. Aside of Australian Idol he is the director and vocal coach at International Artist Academy. Bui was eliminated during the Top 8 Results Night.

1. "One" by U2 - (Top 24)
2. "This Love" by Maroon 5 - (Top 12)
3. "Every Breath You Take" by The Police - (Top 11) Bottom 3
4. "You're the Voice" by John Farnham - (Top 10)
5. "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA - (Top 9) TOUCHDOWN! (from Marcia Hines)
6. "Shadow of the Day" by Linkin Park - (Top 8) - Eliminated 13 October 2008

Madam Parker

Madam Parker is a 23-year-old who lives with her family in Beverly Hills, New South Wales. Originally from New Zealand, Parker moved to Australia in order to make a better future for her son and pursue her musical dreams. Parker is of Mulatto descent. Parker was eliminated during the Top 9 Results Night. In April 2010, it was announced that Madam will be a new member of the Young Divas group, replacing former member, Emily Williams.

1. "No One" by Alicia Keys - (Top 24)
2. "Closer" by Ne-Yo - (Top 12)
3. "Upside Down" by Diana Ross - (Top 11)
4. "Hook Me Up" by The Veronicas - (Top 10) Bottom 3
5. "Dancing Queen" by ABBA - (Top 9) - Eliminated 6 October 2008

Tom Williams

Main article: Tom J Williams

Tom Williams (born 14 May 1992) is a 17-year-old from Adelaide, South Australia. At 15-months-old, Tom Williams was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Before the auditions, he attended high school . Williams was eliminated during the Top 10 Results Night.

1. "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban - (Top 24)
2. "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith - (Top 12)
3. "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel - (Top 11)
4. "Light Surrounding You" by Evermore - (Top 10) - Eliminated 29 September 2008

Brooke Addamo

Brooke Addamo is a 17-year-old from Werribee, Victoria. Addamo takes professional vocal coaching and won Teen Idol in 2007. She was eliminated during the Top 11 Results Night. She has now released an E.P. with Wunderkind (Warner Music) under the moniker "Owl Eyes" which is in stores now.

1. "Foolish Games" by Jewel - (Top 24)
2. "These Words" by Natasha Bedingfield - (Top 12)
3. "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes - (Top 11) - Eliminated 22 September 2008

Jonny Taylor

Jonny Taylor is a 22-year-old from Perth, Western Australia. Since 2006, Taylor has been determined to make his life count after a serious motorcycle accident almost took his life. He was eliminated during the Top 12 Results Night.

1. "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley - (Top 24)
2. "Let Her Cry" by Hootie & the Blowfish - (Wildcard)
3. "Better Man" by Pearl Jam - (Top 12) - Eliminated 15 September 2008

Eliminations (Summary)

Contestants are ordered alphabetically by last name, then by order of elimination.

Legend

Did Not Perform

Top 32

Wild Card

Top 12

Stage:		Semi-Finals				WC	Finals
Week:		1/9	2/9	3/9	4/9	7/9	14/9	21/9	28/9	5/10	12/10	19/10	26/10	2/11	9/11	16/11	23/11
Place	Contestant	Result
1	Wes Carr	Top 12													Btm 2		Winner
2	Luke Dickens		Elim			Top 12							Btm 2			Btm2	Runner-Up
3	Mark Spano			Top 12								Btm 2		Btm 2		Elim
4	Teale Jakubenko			Top 12			Btm 2		Btm 2		Btm 2	Btm 3	Btm 3	Btm 3	Elim
5	Chrislyn Hamilton	Top 12								Btm 2				Elim
6	Roshani Priddis			Elim		Top 12				Btm 3			Elim
7	Sophie Paterson			Elim		Top 12	Btm 3	Btm 2			Btm 3	Elim
8	Thanh Bui		Top 12					Btm 3			Elim
9	Madam Parker				Top 12				Btm 3	Elim
10	Tom Williams		Top 12						Elim
11	Brooke Addamo				Top 12			Elim
12	Jonny Taylor				Elim	Top 12	Elim
Wild Card	Amanda Grafanakis		Elim			Elim
	Savannah Rakz	Elim
	Scott Genuis			Elim
	Charley Yates				Elim
Semi- Final 4	Irae Schwenke				Elim
	Cat Badasio
Semi- Final 3	Matthew Parsons			Elim
Semi- Final 2	Madison Peter		Elim
	Brooke Kcleve
Semi- Final 1	Jaden Dowd	Elim
	Mitchell Steele
	Olly Corpe

Result Night Performances

Guest Performances

Week	Performer(s)	Title
Top 24	Axle Whitehead	"I Don't Do Surprises"
Top 12	Jordin Sparks	"No Air"
Top 11	Cyndi Lauper	"Time After Time"
Top 10	Vanessa Amorosi	"The Simple Things (Something Emotional)"
Top 9	Metro Station	"Shake It"
Top 8	Jessica Mauboy	"Running Back"
Top 7	Gabriella Cilmi	"Save the Lies"
Top 6	Chris Brown	"Forever"
Top 5	Pink	"Sober"
Top 4	Chris Isaak	"Wicked Game"

Grand Finale

The Grand Finale occurred on 23 November at the Sydney Opera House. The 2008 finale unlike previous finales was held outside the Sydney Opera House rather than inside the building.

Grand Finale performances

1. Top 12 - "Can You Feel It", originally by The Jacksons
2. Wes Carr and Luke Dickens - "Times Like These", originally by Foo Fighters
3. Mark Spano - "Sex on Fire", originally by Kings of Leon
4. Special Performance - "Burn" by Jessica Mauboy
5. Top 12 Male Finalists - "Higher Ground", originally by Stevie Wonder
6. Top 12 Female Finalists - "I'm Every Woman", originally by Chaka Khan
7. Special Performance - "Rattlin' Bones" by Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson
8. Top 12 - "Viva la Vida", originally by Coldplay
9. Wes Carr - "Black or White", originally by Michael Jackson
10. Luke Dickens - "Feelin' Alright", originally by Traffic
11. Wes Carr - "You"

Ratings

Episode No.	Title	Airdate	Ratings	Nightly Rank	Weekly Rank
1	Audition 1	24 August 2008	1,400,000	4th	15th
2	Audition 2	25 August 2008	1,257,000	8th	26th
3	Audition 3	26 August 2008	1,098,000	13th	37th
4	Audition 4	27 August 2008	1,240,000	10th	28th
5	Audition 5	28 August 2008	1,148,000	8th	34th
6	Audition 6	29 August 2008	1,033,000	7th	45th
7	Top 100	31 August 2008	1,310,000	7th	22nd
8	Semi Final 1	1 September 2008	1,204,000	9th	32nd
9	Semi Final 2	2 September 2008	1,257,000	9th	28th
10	Semi Final 3	3 September 2008	1,231,000	10th	29th
11	Semi Final 4	4 September 2008	1,150,000	7th	36th
12	Wildcard Performances	7 September 2008	1,193,000	8th	28th
13	Wildcard Results	8 September 2008	1,100,000	13th	41st
14	Top 12 Performances	14 September 2008	1,224,000	7th	24th
15	Top 12 Results	15 September 2008	1,027,000	12th	47th
16	Top 11 Performances	21 September 2008	1,342,000	2nd	18th
17	Top 11 Results	22 September 2008	1,140,000	10th	38th
18	Top 10 Performances	28 September 2008	1,202,000	5th	22nd
19	Top 10 Results	29 September 2008	897,000	15th	58th
20	Top 9 Performances	5 October 2008	1,215,000	7th	25th
21	Top 9 Results	6 October 2008	971,000	13th	41st
22	Top 8 Performances	12 October 2008	1,194,000	8th	28th
23	Top 8 Results	13 October 2008	789,000	22nd	80th
24	Top 7 Performances	19 October 2008	1,138,000	6th	29th
25	Top 7 Results	20 October 2008	909,000	16th	57th
26	Top 6 Performances	26 October 2008	1,168,000	6th	24th
27	Top 6 Results	27 October 2008	903,000	17th	52nd
28	Top 5 Performances	2 November 2008	1,230,000	3rd	18th
29	Top 5 Results	3 November 2008	982,000	12th	42nd
30	Top 4 Performances	9 November 2008	1,127,000	6th	26th
31	Top 4 Results	10 November 2008	882,000	16th	59th
32	Top 3 Performances	16 November 2008	1,270,000	4th	15th
33	Top 3 Results	17 November 2008	1,079,000	12th	33rd
34	Finale	23 November 2008	1,600,000	1st	2nd

References

1. ^ "Holden leaves Idol". http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/04/2179833.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-15. 
2. ^ "Andrew G's Idol honeymoon". The Daily Telegraph. 12 May 2008. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23680732-5006014,00.html. Retrieved 2008-06-01. 
3. ^ "Australian Idol determined not to fail". The Age (Melbourne). 22 August 2008. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/08/22/1219262469503.html?page=2. Retrieved 2008-08-29. 
4. ^ Welcome to Australianidol.com.au! - Australian IDOL

External links

• Official website
• Official FaceBook
• Inside Australian Idol
• Australian Idol 2008 Blog
• Australian Idol 2008 Feature from news.com.au
• Australian Idol 2008 at the Internet Movie Database
• Australian Idol 2008 at TV.com

Preceded by Season 5 (2007)

Australian Idol Season 6 (2008)

Succeeded by Season 7 (2009)