Canadian Idol is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show Pop Idol. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore was the "roving reporter" for the first three seasons. Elena Juatco assumed the role for season four, Dave Kerr had the role in season five and Jully Black in season six.
Australian Idol is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller. Australian Idol was televised on Network Ten for its first seven series and was broadcast on the Southern Cross Austereo Radio Network between 2005 and 2007. The series returned in 2023 after Seven Network announced they would be picking up the show.
New Zealand Idol, also known as NZ Idol, was the New Zealand version of the Idol series which originated in the United Kingdom as Pop Idol. New Zealand first saw the Idol format when TV2 aired American Idol 2, which garnered impressive ratings. After Australian Idol also received good ratings in New Zealand, TVNZ decided to order the first season of NZ Idol, which was broadcast on TV2. After the third season in 2006, TVNZ made a decision not to fund or broadcast a fourth season, thus placing New Zealand Idol on indefinite hiatus, with no plans to run a fourth season.
Richard Kalan Porter is a Canadian former singer-songwriter from Medicine Hat, Alberta, and the winner of the reality television series Canadian Idol in 2004. He started to sing at an early age and is classically trained, playing several instruments, most notably, the violin and viola. He writes and arranges violin solos for many of his songs. Porter's first single "Awake in a Dream" is the best selling debut single for a Canadian artist to date and has been certified 8× Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. He is also the highest selling solo Canadian Idol singer. In 2013, he was a graduate student in business at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Idols is a Finnish reality-television singing competition that airs on Nelonen. It debuted in the summer of 2003, and went on to become one of the most popular shows on Finnish television. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the reality program Pop Idol created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller, which was first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom.
Katherine Jenna DeAraugo is an Australian singer-songwriter who in 2005 was the third winner of Australian Idol. After Idol, DeAraugo signed to Sony BMG and released her debut single, "Maybe Tonight", in November 2005. The single debuted at Number 1 on the ARIA Charts and was certified platinum. Her debut album, A Place I've Never Been, was released in December 2005 and was also certified platinum. DeAraugo later became a member of the multi-platinum-selling girl group Young Divas, which disbanded in 2008.
Emily Williams is a New Zealand-born Australian singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in 2005 on the third season of Australian Idol and became the runner-up of the competition. After Idol, Williams signed with Sony BMG Australia and enjoyed commercial success as a member of the Australian girl group Young Divas. The group released two top-ten albums, Young Divas (2006) and New Attitude (2007), and achieved three top-fifteen singles, including the hugely successful "This Time I Know It's for Real". After the Young Divas disbanded in 2008 and Williams' contract with Sony BMG ended, she began releasing her solo music independently. Williams' debut solo single "Spellbound" was released in 2010, followed by the release of her debut solo album Uncovered in 2012.
Tobias Regner is a German singer and guitarist who has enjoyed success in the rock music genre. He made his debut under major label Sony BMG Domestic after he won the highly publicized third season of the television series Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German version of Pop Idol, in 2006.
"Angels Brought Me Here" is a pop song by Australian singer-songwriter Guy Sebastian. It was released in Australia on 24 November 2003 as the lead single from his debut album, Just as I Am (2003). The song was written by Jörgen Elofsson and John Reid for Network Ten's TV talent competition, Australian Idol's inaugural season. Recorded versions were made for both grand finalists, Sebastian and Shannon Noll, with only Sebastian's version officially released by BMG. On 22 November the promotional video had premiered on the same network's Video Hits – produced by Australian Idol's Stephen Tate and directed by its musical director, John Foreman.
One Road is the debut album by first-season New Zealand Idol winner Ben Lummis, released in New Zealand on 16 June 2004.
Young Divas was an Australian pop girl group formed in 2006 by Sony BMG Australia, initially for a one-off single and national tour to promote all members as solo artists. The original line-up consisted of former Australian Idol contestants, including season one finalist Paulini, season two finalist Ricki-Lee Coulter, season three winner Kate DeAraugo and season three runner-up Emily Williams. Young Divas released a cover version of Donna Summer's "This Time I Know It's for Real" to attract attention for the tour. The song peaked at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).
Damien Leo Leith is an Irish-Australian singer–songwriter. He was the winner of the Network Ten music contest Australian Idol in 2006. Since winning the title, Leith has released nine studio albums, four of which peaked in the top two of the ARIA Charts, including two number ones. He has been awarded seven platinum and one gold certification for albums and singles by ARIA, which equates to sales of just over half a million.
Idol is a Swedish reality-competition talent show broadcast on TV4. It first appeared in August 2004, and became one of the most popular shows on Swedish television. Part of the Idols franchise, it originated from the reality program Pop Idol created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller, which was first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom.
"Night of My Life" is the debut single of 2006 Australian Idol winner Damien Leith. The song was performed by the final two contestants - Leith and Jessica Mauboy - during the penultimate episode of Australian Idol 2006, and both contestants recorded and had their versions pressed by Sony BMG, ready for the winner's version to be released immediately after the competition.
Marie Picasso is a Swedish singer, host and model who first rose to fame as a housemate on the popular reality television show Big Brother, before going on to win the fourth series of the Swedish singing competition Idol.
Anna Eira Margarida Heiskari, known professionally as simply ABREU since 2017, is a Finnish singer and songwriter. Abreu first rose to fame in Finland after placing as the runner-up in the third series of the Finnish singing talent show Idols in 2007. Her music has been described as pop with influences from genres such as R&B, dance, and Latin. Since her participation in Idols, Abreu has become one of the best-selling former Idols contestants in Finland, and one of the most successful Finnish female singers. She has certified record sales surpassing 190,000 copies, which places her also among the 100 best-selling music artists of all time in Finland.
The fifth season of Australian Idol premiered on 5 August 2007 on Network Ten. It concluded on 25 November.
The first season of Australian Idol was produced by Fremantle Media subsidiary Grundy Television in association with UK company 19TV, and was broadcast on Network Ten for 19 weeks in the latter half of 2003. The judges were Mark Holden, Marcia Hines and Ian "Dicko" Dickson.
Stan Walker; born 23 October 1990) is an Australian New Zealand singer, actor, and television personality. In 2009, Walker was the winner of the seventh season of Australian Idol. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia. It was on December 2009, Walker released his debut studio album, Introducing Stan Walker, which included the hit single, "Black Box". The album debuted at number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It also appeared on the New Zealand Albums Chart at number two and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).
Hayley Warner is an Australian singer-songwriter. In 2009, she finished as runner-up in the seventh and final Australian Idol, and was noted for her high-energy performances and vast vocal range. In 2013, The Daily Telegraph named Warner one of Australia's most accomplished songwriters. Warner's songwriting credits total over 11 times platinum in worldwide sales. Hayley co-wrote Grammy nominated artist Tori Kelly's single "Hollow", which was released 3 November 2015. After moving to Los Angeles, Warner signed a worldwide publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in 2015.
