| Module1: |
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| Network: | Network Ten |
| 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.
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]
The Auditions were held in the following cities:
| Town/City | State | Arena/Area | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle | New South Wales | Broadmeadow Racecourse | 6 April | |
| Darwin | Northern Territory | Crowne Plaza | 13 April | |
| Cairns | Queensland | 15 April | ||
| London, England | The Cumberland Hotel | 19 April | ||
| Albury | New South Wales | 20 April | ||
| Hobart | Tasmania | Hobart Function & Conference Centre | 23 April | |
| Queensland | 24 & 25 April | |||
| Albany | Western Australia | Albany Town Hall | 1 May | |
| Perth | 4 May | |||
| Melbourne | Victoria | Melbourne Park Function Centre | 10 & 11 May | |
| Adelaide | South Australia | Adelaide Entertainment Centre (first tier); Barossa Valley (second tier) | 18 May | |
| Sydney | New South Wales | Australian Technology Park Performance Centre | 1 & 2 June | |
^ These auditions were not filmed, with successful contestants going to the 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.
From 1 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 | 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.
| 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 |
See 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.
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. Luke has gone on to release 3 albums (Underdog (2010), Devil in the Wind (2011) & After The Rain (2019)). After The Rain topped the ARIA Australian Country Artist Album Chart and also hit No. 5 on the ARIA Country Album Chart and Top 50 all genres.
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 cords. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Thanh Bùi 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.
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 Māori and West African 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.
See main article: Tom Jay Williams.
Thomas Jay Williams (born 14 May 1992) is a 25-year-old from Melbourne, Victoria. At 15-months-old, Williams had a heart condition. Before the auditions, he attended high school. Williams was eliminated during the top 10 results night. He joined a band from Melbourne named At Sunset (later Lynk) in March 2014, but he left to focus on solo music in June 2016.
See main article: Owl Eyes.
Brooke Addamo is a 25-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 her moniker, Owl Eyes, which is in stores now.
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.
| Females | Males | Top 24 | Top 12 | Wild Card | Winner |
| Did Not Perform | Safe | Safe First | Safe Last | Eliminated |
| Stage: | width=6% style="background:#fbf373;" | Finals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Week: | width=6% | 1/9 | width=6% | 2/9 | width=6% | 3/9 | width=6% | 4/9 | width=6% | 7/9 | width=6% | 14/9 | width=6% | 21/9 | width=6% | 28/9 | width=6% | 5/10 | width=6% | 12/10 | width=6% | 19/10 | width=6% | 26/10 | width=6% | 2/11 | width=6% | 9/11 | width=6% | 16/11 | width=6% | 23/11 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Contestant | Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Top 12 | Bottom 2 | Winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Luke Dickens | Wild Card | Top 12 | Bottom 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Mark Spano | Top 12 | Bottom 2 | Bottom 2 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Top 12 | Bottom 2 | Bottom 2 | Bottom 2 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Top 12 | Bottom 3 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Roshani Priddis | Wild Card | Top 12 | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Sophie Paterson | Wild Card | Top 12 | Bottom 2 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Thanh Bui | Top 12 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Madam Parker | Top 12 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Tom Williams | Top 12 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Brooke Addamo | Top 12 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Jonny Taylor | Wild Card | Top 12 | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wild Card | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Savannah Rakz | Wild Card | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| James Spargo | Wild Card | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charley Yates | Wild Card | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Semi-final 4 | Irae Schwenke | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cat Badasio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Semi-final 3 | Andy Davis | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Semi-final 2 | Madison Peter | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brooke Kcleve | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Semi-final 1 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Andy Davis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olly Corpe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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" |
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.
| Singer/Group | Song | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 12 | "Can You Feel It", originally by The Jacksons | ||
| 1 | Wes Carr and Luke Dickens | "Times Like These", originally by Foo Fighters | |
| 2 | Mark Spano | "Sex on Fire", originally by Kings of Leon | |
| Special Performance | "Burn" by Jessica Mauboy | ||
| 3 | Top 12 Male Finalists | "Higher Ground", originally by Stevie Wonder | |
| 4 | Top 12 Female Finalists | "I'm Every Woman", originally by Chaka Khan | |
| Special Performance | "Rattlin' Bones" by Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson | ||
| Top 12 | "Viva la Vida", originally by Coldplay | ||
| 5 | Wes Carr | "Black or White", originally by Michael Jackson | |
| 6 | Luke Dickens | "Feelin' Alright", originally by Traffic | |
| 7 | Wes Carr | "You" | |
| Episode | Airdate | Viewers | Nightly Rank | Weekly Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Auditions" | 24 August 2008 | 1.400 |
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| 2 | 25 August 2008 | 1.257 |
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| 3 | 26 August 2008 | 1.098 | No. 13 | No. 37 | ||
| 4 | 27 August 2008 | 1.240 | No. 10 | No. 28 | ||
| 5 | 28 August 2008 | 1.148 | No. 8 | No. 34 | ||
| 6 | 29 August 2008 | 1.033 | No. 7 | No. 45 | ||
| 7 | "Top 100" | 31 August 2008 | 1.310 | No. 7 | No. 22 | |
| 8 | "Semi-finals" | 1 September 2008 | 1.204 | No. 9 | No. 32 | |
| 9 | 2 September 2008 | 1.257 | No. 9 | No. 28 | ||
| 10 | 3 September 2008 | 1.231 | No. 10 | No. 29 | ||
| 11 | 4 September 2008 | 1.150 | No. 7 | No. 36 | ||
| 12 | 7 September 2008 | 1.193 | No. 8 | No. 28 | ||
| 13 | "Wildcard Results" | 8 September 2008 | 1.100 | No. 13 | No. 41 | |
| 14 | 14 September 2008 | 1.224 | No. 7 | No. 24 | ||
| 15 | "Top 12 Results" | 15 September 2008 | 1.027 | No. 12 | No. 47 | |
| 16 | "Top 11 Performances" | 21 September 2008 | 1.342 | No. 2 | No. 18 | |
| 17 | "Top 11 Results" | 22 September 2008 | 1.140 | No. 10 | No. 38 | |
| 18 | 28 September 2008 | 1.202 | No. 5 | No. 22 | ||
| 19 | "Top 10 Results" | 29 September 2008 | 0.897 | No. 15 | No. 58 | |
| 20 | "Top 9 Performances" | 5 October 2008 | 1.215 | No. 7 | No. 25 | |
| 21 | "Top 9 Results" | 6 October 2008 | 0.971 | No. 13 | No. 41 | |
| 22 | "Top 8 Performances" | 12 October 2008 | 1.194 | No. 8 | No. 28 | |
| 23 | "Top 8 Results" | 13 October 2008 | 0.789 | No. 22 | No. 80 | |
| 24 | "Top 7 Performances" | 19 October 2008 | 1.138 | No. 6 | No. 29 | |
| 25 | "Top 7 Results" | 20 October 2008 | 0.909 | No. 16 | No. 57 | |
| 26 | "Top 6 Performances" | 26 October 2008 | 1.168 | No. 6 | No. 24 | |
| 27 | "Top 6 Results" | 27 October 2008 | 0.903 | No. 17 | No. 52 | |
| 28 | "Top 5 Performances" | 2 November 2008 | 1.230 | No. 3 | No. 18 | |
| 29 | "Top 5 Results" | 3 November 2008 | 0.982 | No. 12 | No. 42 | |
| 30 | "Top 4 Performances" | 9 November 2008 | 1.127 | No. 6 | No. 26 | |
| 31 | "Top 4 Results" | 10 November 2008 | 0.882 | No. 16 | No. 59 | |
| 32 | "Top 3 Performances" | 16 November 2008 | 1.270 | No. 4 | No. 15 | |
| 33 | "Top 3 Results" | 17 November 2008 | 1.079 | No. 12 | No. 33 | |
| 34 | "Grand Finale" | 23 November 2008 | 1.600 | No. 1 | No. 2 | |