New Zealand Idol season 1

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New Zealand Idol
Season 1
Hosted by Dominic Bowden
Judges Paul Ellis
Fiona McDonald
Frankie Stevens
Winner Ben Lummis
Runner-up Michael Murphy
Release
Original network TVNZ
Original release1 February (2004-02-01) –
10 May 2004 (2004-05-10)
Season chronology
Next →
Season 2

The first season of New Zealand Idol was produced by Fremantle Media subsidiary Grundy Television in association with UK company 19TV, and was broadcast on TVNZ in the early half of 2004. The judges were Paul Ellis, Fiona McDonald and Frankie Stevens.

Auditions

The auditions were held at the following locations:

Those who were successful would proceed to the "Top 60" theatre rounds held at the Maidment Theatre in Auckland.

Theatre Week

The successful contestants who made it through to the "Top 60" rounds would spend a gruelling three days at the theatre.

Eliminated: Faith, Petia, Darryl, Kasanita, Ria, George, Dominic, Naomi, Charli, Hiwi, Ruth, Matthew
Eliminated: Jazmine, Conrad, Pairama, Wiremu, James, Krista, Rebekah, Daniel, Chantel, Jessica, Katherine, Clarke
Eliminated: TJ, Liam, Courtenay, Ian, Maisey, Rochelle, Akina, Toni, Rusila, Pania, Sacha, Paranihia

The decision of the final cut to the "Top 24" was delivered to three groups of twelve, with one group being sent home.

Top 24

Group 1

Advancing to the Top 10: Camillia Temple, Ben Lummis and Filipo Saipani
Wildcard Contender: Nigel Withington

Group 2

Advancing to the Top 10: Luke Whaanga, Dave Houma and Michael Murphy
Wildcard Contender: Jessie Cassin

Group 3

Advancing to the Top 10: Robin Johnson, Sela Mahe and Eddie Gaiger
Wildcard Contender: Amanda Boyce

Wildcards

Advancing to the Top 10: Jessie Cassin

Weekly Song Themes

DateWeekThemeGuest Judge
14 MarchTop 10Contestant's Choice Guy Sebastian
21 MarchTop 9Homegrown Annie Crummer
28 MarchTop 8Disconone
4 AprilTop 7Ballads Nathan King
11 AprilTop 6British Invasion Ian "Dicko" Dickson
18 AprilTop 5Soul Peter Urlich
25 AprilTop 4Rock Karyn Hay
3 MayTop 3The '80's Lucy Lawless

The Top 10 Contestants

Ben Lummis

Ben Lummis (born 1 June 1978 in Wellington) was the winner of the first series of New Zealand Idol.

Audition: "Back at One" by Brian McKnight
Theatre Week (Round 1): "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly
Theatre Week (Round 3): "The Day" by Babyface
Top 24: "Back at One" by Brian McKnight
Top 10: "Never Too Much" by Luther Vandross
Top 9: "Oughta Be in Love" by Dave Dobbyn
Top 8: "Hang On in There Baby" by Johnny Bristol
Top 7: "I Can Love You Like That" by All-4-One
Top 6: "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal
Top 5: "Treat Her Like a Lady" by The Temptations
Top 4: "American Woman" by Lenny Kravitz, "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi
Top 3: "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News, "Rhythm of the Night" by DeBarge
Top 2: "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal, "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi, "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly, "They Can't Take That Away" (Winner's single)

Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy (born 4 September 1986 in Taupō), was runner-up to winner Ben Lummis.

Audition: "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House
Theatre Week (Round 1): "Drive" by Incubus
Theatre Week (Round 3): "Better Be Home Soon" by Crowded House
Top 24: "Drive" by Incubus
Top 10: "Here Without You" by 3 Doors Down
Top 9: "Better Be Home Soon" by Crowded House
Top 8: "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry
Top 7: "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton
Top 6: "Let Me Entertain You" by Robbie Williams
Top 5: "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding
Top 4: "Rock and Roll" by Led Zeppelin, "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling
Top 3: "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash, "Angel of Harlem" by U2
Top 2: "Let Me Entertain You" by Robbie Williams, "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton, "One" by U2, "They Can't Take That Away" (Winner's single)

Camillia Temple

Camillia Temple (aged 28, from Hamilton), was the last contestant sent home.

Audition: "My Love Is Your Love" by Whitney Houston
Theatre Week (Round 1): "How Come You Don't Call Me?" by Alicia Keys
Theatre Week (Round 3): "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
Top 24: "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" by Whitney Houston
Top 10: "Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin
Top 9: "Escaping" by Margaret Urlich
Top 8: "Lady Marmalade" by Labelle
Top 7: "Purple Rain" by Prince
Top 6: "Superstar" by Jamelia
Top 5: "Piece of My Heart" by Janis Joplin
Top 4: "Alone" by Heart, "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles
Top 3: "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner, "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston

Luke Whaanga

Luke Whaanga, (aged 20, from Lower Hutt), was the seventh contestant sent home.

Audition: "I Love Every Little Thing About You" by Stevie Wonder
Theatre Week (Round 1): "A Whole New World" by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle
Theatre Week (Round 3): "If I Had No Loot" by Tony! Toni! Toné!
Top 24: "The Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston
Top 10: "Slippin' Away" by Max Merritt
Top 9: "Sitting Inside My Head" by Supergroove
Top 8: "You to Me Are Everything" by The Real Thing
Top 7: "When A Man Loves A Woman" by Percy Sledge
Top 6: "Come Together" by The Beatles
Top 5: "Shining Star" by The Manhattans
Top 4: "Behind Blue Eyes" by Limp Bizkit, "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC

Dave Houma

David "Dave" Houma (aged 28, from Auckland), was the sixth contestant sent home.

Audition: "Yesterday Once More" by The Carpenters
Theatre Week (Round 1): "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago
Theatre Week (Round 3): "Love X Love" by George Benson
Top 24: "Yesterday Once More" by The Carpenters
Top 10: "Hard to Find Her" by Zed
Top 9: "Better" by Brooke Fraser
Top 8: "Give Me the Night" by George Benson
Top 7: "Truly" by Lionel Richie
Top 6: "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)" by Elton John
Top 5: "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" by The Four Tops

Eddie Gaiger

Edward "Eddie" Gaiger (aged 25, from the Coromandel), was the fifth contestant sent home.

Audition: "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House
Theatre Week (Round 1): "Oughta Be in Love" by Dave Dobbyn
Theatre Week (Round 3): "Burn for You" by John Farnham
Top 24: "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray
Top 10: "One Last Breath" by Creed
Top 9: "Misty Frequencies" by Che Fu
Top 8: "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder
Top 7: "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins
Top 6: "Somebody To Love" by Queen

Robin Johnson

Robin Johnson (aged 18, from Upper Hutt), was the fourth contestant sent home.

Audition: "Man of the Hour" by John Farnham
Theatre Week (Round 1): "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by The Temptations
Theatre Week (Round 3): "Kiss" by Prince
Top 24: "Ribbon in the Sky" by Stevie Wonder
Top 10: "Cry Me A River" by Justin Timberlake
Top 9: "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House
Top 8: "Blame It on the Boogie" by The Jackson 5
Top 7: "I'll Be There" by Mariah Carey

Jessie Cassin

Jessica "Jessie" Cassin (aged 18, from Browns Bay, Auckland), was the third contestant sent home. Prior to Idol, Jessie was completing a Bachelor of Music, majoring in Performance Music – Classical.

Audition: "Drive" by Bic Runga
Theatre Week (Round 1): "Songbird" by Eva Cassidy
Theatre Week (Round 3): "The Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston
Top 24: "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan
Wildcards: "Something Good" by Bic Runga
Top 10: "Something Good" by Bic Runga
Top 9: "I Hope I Never" by Split Enz
Top 8: "Dancing Queen" by Abba

Sela Mahe

Sela Mahe (aged 17, from Māngere, Auckland), was the second contestant sent home. She is of Tongan descent.

Audition: "It's Only a Paper Moon" by Natalie Cole
Theatre Week (Round 1):
Theatre Week (Round 3): "It's Only a Paper Moon" by Natalie Cole
Top 24: "How Come You Don't Call Me?" by Alicia Keys
Top 10: "Gettin' In The Way" by Jill Scott
Top 9: "Time Makes A Wine" by Ardijah

Filipo Saipani

Filipo Saipani (aged 18, from Wellington), was the first contestant sent home.

Audition: "God Defend New Zealand"
Theatre Week (Round 1): "Whenever You Call" by Brian McKnight
Theatre Week (Round 3): "I'll Be There" by The Jackson 5
Top 24: "Still" by Brian McKnight
Top 10: "Whenever You Call" by Brian McKnight

The Grand Final

The final was held on 10 May, with the following performances:

Elimination chart

Legend
Did Not Perform Top 24 Wild Card Top 10
Stage:Semi-FinalsWCFinals
Week:23/21/38/313/315/322/329/35/412/419/426/43/510/5
Place Contestant Result
1Ben LummisTop 10Btm 3Btm 3Btm 3Winner
2Michael MurphyTop 10Runner-up
3Camillia TempleTop 10Btm 2Btm 2Elim
4Luke WhaangaTop 10Btm 2Elim
5Dave HoumaTop 10Btm 3Elim
6Eddie GaigerTop 10Btm 2Btm 2Btm 2Elim
7Robin JohnsonTop 10Btm 2Elim
8Jessie CassinElim Top 10Btm 3Elim
9Sela MaheTop 10Elim
10Filipo SaipaniTop 10Elim
Wild
Card		Nigel WorthingtonElim Elim
Amanda BoyceElim
Semi-
Final
3		Lee FidowElim
Lemuel Misa
Alana Plews
Ariana Roberts
Semi-
Final
2		Sam Cowley-LupoElim
Ngahekenga Growcott
Gemma Russell
Inangaro Tangianau
Semi-
Final
1		Faaose "Oz" AneruElim
Christine Hutt
Emily Kay
Karly Ryder

Commercial Releases

References

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