Australian Idol

Australian Idol is the Australian version of the British TV hit show Pop Idol. It is a talent contest to find a pop performer and is hosted by Andrew G and James Mathison. The first series started on July 27th, 2003, and finished on November 19. The winner was Guy Sebastian, with runners up Shannon Noll (2nd) and Cosima De Vito (3rd). The 2004 season saw Casey Donovan win ahead of Anthony Callea (2nd) and Courtney Murphy (3rd).

Third series (2005)

The third series of Australian Idol debuted on 26 July 2005. The first of three semi-finals was held on August 16, 2005 with three of the Final 12 contenders announced the following night on August 17, 2005.

Related Topics:
26 July - 2005 - August 16 - August 17

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The second semi-final of the series was held on August 21, 2005 and the third on August 28, 2005.

Related Topics:
August 21 - 2005 - August 28

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Ratings are down on the latest series though, with Australian Idol coming third in its timeslot. This is a serious situation for Ten, which airs three Australian Idol shows every week.

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Controversy also surrounds Australian Idol: Live Verdict show running fifteen minutes overtime.

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For the first time in Australian Idol history there were 13 finalists. This came about during the Wildcard Verdict show on 5 September 2005. The judges initally choose James Kannis and Emily Williams to go through to the final. This left one spot which was chosen by the Australian public. Out of the remaining contestants the two that received the highest votes were Dan Spillane and Roxane Lebrasse. With only 1% between them, Dan was announced as the final member of the Top 12. This meant Roxane had missed out yet again. The judges decided however that Roxane was too good to be left out of the Top 12 so they made it a Top 13. That catch was that two contestants were eliminated in the first round of the finals.

Related Topics:
5 September - 2005

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