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.
Pauline Curuenavuli, known professionally as Paulini, is a Fijian-Australian singer and songwriter. Born in Suva, Paulini moved to Sydney with her family at the age of four. She rose to fame in 2003 as a contestant on the first season of Australian Idol and placed fourth in the competition. Paulini subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony BMG Australia and released her debut studio album One Determined Heart (2004), which debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum. The album included the platinum single "Angel Eyes", which spent three consecutive weeks at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart. Paulini received two ARIA No. 1 Chart Awards for both the album and single.
Ricki-Lee Dawn Coulter, also known mononymously as Ricki-Lee, is a New Zealand-born Australian singer, songwriter, television, and radio presenter. She was born in Auckland, New Zealand, grew up on the Gold Coast, Queensland and began performing at the age of 15. Coulter rose to fame in 2004 on the second season of Australian Idol and placed seventh in the competition. She subsequently signed with Australian independent label Shock Records, and released her self-titled debut album Ricki-Lee (2005), which produced the top-ten hits "Hell No!" and "Sunshine". Both singles were certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The following year, Coulter became a member of Australian pop girl group Young Divas, before leaving in early 2007 to resume her solo career.
Laura Simone Gissara is an Australian pop singer-songwriter. She was a final 10 contestant on the 2005 season of TV talent show, Australian Idol, and was eliminated on 26 September. In June 2006 she issued her debut single, "Ti amo", which peaked in the top 50 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It is a cover version of Laura Branigan's 1984 rendition of the Umberto Tozzi 1977 original.
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 singer, songwriter and actress. 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.
A Place I've Never Been is the first studio album by Australian Idol series three winner Kate DeAraugo, released in Australia by Sony/BMG Australia as well as 19 Recordings on 12 December 2005. DeAraugo chose the album title from album track "The Most Beautiful Place" which is her favourite song from the album. The album has a mixture of genre between pop rock and ballad songs – some written by Brooke McClymont, Jewel Kilcher and The Veronicas. A cover version of the Bryan Adams song "Heaven" was featured on the album. The singles released from the album "Maybe Tonight" and "Faded" became top ten hits on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.
"Faded" is a song written by Matthew Gerrard, Jessica Origliasso, Lisa Origliasso, and Robbie Nevil, produced by Gerrard and Bryon Jones for Australian singer Kate DeAraugo's first album A Place I've Never Been (2005). It was released as the album's second single in Australia on 20 February 2006 as a CD single. Two of the song's co-writers—Jessica and Lisa Origliasso of the Veronicas—recorded a demo of "Faded" prior to DeAraugo's release. They have been known to perform the song live.
Superwoman is the second studio album by Australian recording artist Paulini, released through Sony BMG Australia on 5 August 2006. It is the follow-up to her 2004 debut album, One Determined Heart. Paulini recorded Superwoman in Sydney, London, Los Angeles and Barcelona, and worked with several songwriters and producers, including Matthew Gerrard, Fingaz, Ray Hedges, Colin Emmanuel, Steve Kipner and Jarrad Rogers, among others. The album failed to achieve the commercial success of its predecessor, debuting at number 72 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Its first two singles, "Rough Day" and "So Over You" both performed moderately on the ARIA Singles Chart.
"Don't Give Up" is a song written by English musician Peter Gabriel and recorded as a duet with Kate Bush for Gabriel's fifth solo studio album So (1986). The single version was released as the second single from the album in the UK in 1986 and as the fifth single in the US in 1987.
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).
"Need You Tonight" is a song by the Australian rock band INXS, released as the first single from their 1987 album, Kick, as well as the fourth song on the album. It is the only INXS single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also achieved their highest charting position in the United Kingdom, where the song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart; however, this peak was only reached after a re-release of the single in November 1988. On its first run on the UK charts in October 1987, it stalled at No. 58. It was one of the last songs recorded for the album, yet it would arguably become the band's signature song.
"This Time I Know It's for Real" is a song by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on February 13, 1989, as the first single from her 14th studio album, Another Place and Time (1989), by Atlantic Records and Warner Bros. Records. Like the rest of the album, the song was written and produced by the British Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) team, though Summer also had a hand in writing this song.
Australian Idol was a televised talent contest, screened on Channel Ten for seven seasons between 2003 and 2009. Several contestants were signed to record labels, while others released their music independently. Since 2003 Australian Idol acts have placed well on the Australian music charts, with 35 number ones and 158 platinum and 41 gold certifications. Eight Idol releases appeared in the 2000 – 2009 ARIA End of Decade Charts, and 24 releases have been nominated for Highest Selling ARIA Music Awards. Idol contestants have also been nominated for 33 ARIA Awards in public vote categories, where the nominees are most commonly selected from the highest selling acts of the year. There have also been 48 industry judged ARIA Award nominations. To date there have been 11 wins in sales and public vote categories, and in 2013 season one winner Guy Sebastian and season four runner up Jessica Mauboy became the first Idol contestants to win industry voted ARIA Awards.
"Night of My Life" is the title of the debut single of 2006 Australian Idol winner Damien Leith. This single 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.
Where We Land is the first studio album by Australian Idol 2006 winner Damien Leith. It was released by Sony BMG in Australia on 18 August 2007, and in Ireland on 28 September 2007. Leith produced the album for seven months and created the album entirely with acoustic songs. He wrote or co-wrote nine of the twelve songs, collaborating with Alex Lloyd and his music director Paul Gray in a few songs. All of his original songs were inspired by his friends and family. Leith included two cover songs in the album, Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird" from the album Rumours and the traditional Irish song "Danny Boy". Where We Land received mostly average reviews from critics. It debuted in the Australian Albums Chart at number-one and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The album spawned the singles "22 Steps", "All I Want Is You" and "Not Just for the Weekend". Leith embarked on a national tour across Australia to promote the album in November 2007.
The third season of Australian Idol debuted on 26 July 2005. The first of three semi-finals was held on 16 August 2005 with three of the Top 12 contenders announced the following night on 17 August 2005. 2Day FM radio host Kyle Sandilands replaced former judge Ian Dickson.
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.
Fijian-born Australian singer and songwriter Paulini has released four studio albums, one extended play, nineteen singles, and twelve music videos. Paulini placed fourth on the first season of Australian Idol in 2003, and subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony BMG Australia. Her debut studio album, One Determined Heart (2004), debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, where it remained for two consecutive weeks, and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 70,000 copies. Its lead single "Angel Eyes" remained at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart for three consecutive weeks and was also certified platinum, while the second single "We Can Try" peaked at number 30. Paulini followed with the release of her debut EP, Amazing Grace: Songs for Christmas (2004), which peaked at number 70.
The discography of Young Divas, an Australian pop girl group, consists of two studio albums, one compilation album, four singles, two album appearances and four music videos. The group was formed in 2006 by Sony BMG Australia which included previous Australian Idol contestants Ricki-Lee Coulter, Paulini, Kate DeAraugo and Emily Williams. Young Divas released their self-titled debut album in November 2006, which debuted at number four on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for shipments of 140,000 copies. A cover of Donna Summer's "This Time I Know It's for Real" was released as the album's lead single and peaked at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart. The song was certified platinum by the ARIA, for shipments of 70,000 copies. The second single was a cover of Lonnie Gordon's "Happenin' All Over Again", which peaked at number nine and was certified gold for shipments of 35,000 copies. A cover of Hazell Dean's "Searchin'" was released as the third and final single from the album, and peaked at number 40.
