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Australian Idol 2024

sav0001 said:
I don't think it has a chance against MAFS. I am kind of surprised they brought it back given its relatively low ratings for a big budget show.
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Problem is… what does?

I’ll be watching Australian Idol, but that’s no win for 7 as I don’t watch MAFS anyway. I’ll be watching American Idol at a similar time too. I think it launches early/mid Feb.
 
Marcia Hines is returning as a judge.
It's a good move, she's a national treasure and shouldn't have been dropped for the 2023 season.
 
Lightning McQueen said:
Marcia Hines is returning as a judge.
It's a good move, she's a national treasure and shouldn't have been dropped for the 2023 season.
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Still looks to me like this will be a bit too much style over substance. Like BB I think they could find a happy medium between producing the show for a modern audience and pulling back the strings a bit and being more authentic. Marsha coming back might be a welcome change but I think at the end of the day it’s lipstick on a pig as not much else will have changed.
 
Yes they are doing the live shows again (according to Ricki-Lee as mentioned on her radio show).

I know the ratings probably won’t be a smash hit, but I’m excited to have Marcia back and the idol format. Even if it’s just one more year!

They mostly did it right imo last year! Would have been nice to have an opera house finale.

I’m going to Guy Sebastian’s 20 year anniversary concert on the 10th December on the Opera House so that will have to scratch that itch for me haha.
 
bleachy_dude said:
Yes they are doing the live shows again (according to Ricki-Lee as mentioned on her radio show).

I know the ratings probably won’t be a smash hit, but I’m excited to have Marcia back and the idol format. Even if it’s just one more year!

They mostly did it right imo last year! Would have been nice to have an opera house finale.

I’m going to Guy Sebastian’s 20 year anniversary concert on the 10th December on the Opera House so that will have to scratch that itch for me haha.
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You also enjoy the Disney era seasons of American Idol so I’d say your opinion on whether last season was decent is kind of skewed.

Speaking of Guy Sebastian I caught the tail end of the first season of Australian Idol and Idolmania was inescapable. I understand that 20 years on the show probably wouldn’t draw as much attention but let’s be honest had little to no fanfare.

Of course not a direct comparison but looking at ITV’s relaunch of BBUK after a 5 year hiatus and the effort they put in to it clearly paid off. They marketed the shit out of it, had tons of media coverage, and were realistic about what they could deliver.

7 clearly just thought they could revive the show and everyone would come running back.

As for whether they got the format right I don’t think they did. They needed to give the show the full treatment or close to it. Idol in its prime was more than just a televised talent showcase and that’s all the shows going to be using a Disney style format.
 
Kingston said:
You also enjoy the Disney era seasons of American Idol so I’d say your opinion on whether last season was decent is kind of skewed.

Speaking of Guy Sebastian I caught the tail end of the first season of Australian Idol and Idolmania was inescapable. I understand that 20 years on the show probably wouldn’t draw as much attention but let’s be honest had little to no fanfare.
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lol yep. I’d say HEAVILY skewed 🤣

Oh man. The memories of the idol fever of that time. Go the fro! I went to fox studios for a free park concert with Guy and Shannon in the final week. Had a big party at a friends house for the finale and my best friend cried that Nollsy’s lost haha.

I agree that it had little fanfare, but I don’t think anything they do could really. I’m just happy to have what it is, even if just for one more year as I said.
 
bleachy_dude said:
The format is as close to original as we would get I think.
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I disagree. The Disney format is a mere shell of what Idol was in its prime.

IMO if 7 really wanted to capture even a fraction of what Idol once was they needed to do a few things… Promote the shit out of it, be authentic, and at least attempt to have the show be a search for a legitimate popstar. I’d also have at least the live shows play out at a regular pace.

I’ll be the first to admit that I think Idol was a product of its time but I would think after a such a long hiatus there would be a lot more atmosphere and excitement around the return of such an iconic show. Unlike Disney who are just beating a dead horse at this point.
 
bleachy_dude said:
Oh man. The memories of the idol fever of that time. Go the fro! I went to fox studios for a free park concert with Guy and Shannon in the final week. Had a big party at a friends house for the finale and my best friend cried that Nollsy’s lost haha.
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Yeah it was insane. I don’t think they’ll get the show to that level again but I do think thru could have at least tried to bring something. I think this is a great example of the result echoing the effort that was put in. They put in a mediocre effort and got a mediocre result.
 
There surely is a sensible compromise between such shows being milked out for months and being rushed out over a few weeks, but it always seems to be one or the other. Such an important part of Idol and X Factor is seeing the progress week to week, something that you don't really get over 4-6 weeks.
 
Brekkie said:
There surely is a sensible compromise between such shows being milked out for months and being rushed out over a few weeks, but it always seems to be one or the other. Such an important part of Idol and X Factor is seeing the progress week to week, something that you don't really get over 4-6 weeks.
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Compromise I think is something that could be applied to several elements of the show… The production values, critiques, the talent, and the spectacle etc. None of those things are going to be the same as they were when the show was in its prime but I think you can find a happy medium between what they were and what will work for a modern audience. I’m also not convinced that all modern audiences care about is style and that things like substance and authenticity don’t matter. I’m also not convinced that audiences can’t be invested in a show for more than a few weeks at a time. IMO If the show is quality the audience will make the investment.
 
Has this years winner been seen since? Anyone actually know who it was?
 
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Brekkie said:
Has this years winner been seen since? Anyone actually know who it was?
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Royston?
I've seen him on tv a couple of times, but I expect he'll fade back into obscurity or end up doing backing vocals for Guy Sebastian.
 
Brekkie said:
Has this years winner been seen since? Anyone actually know who it was?
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Meglos said:
Royston?
I've seen him on tv a couple of times, but I expect he'll fade back into obscurity or end up doing backing vocals for Guy Sebastian.
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Funny you should say that. I went to Guy Sebastian’s concert at the Opera House Forecourt on Sunday night (20 year anniversary of Guy winning Idol) and Royston was the support act 😅

More excitingly, Guy brought Ricki-Lee on to do Art of Love ❤️ it was like a 20 year dream come true for me


He also brought Shannon Noll on to sing What About Me.
 
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Carols in the Domain is coming up.
Expect them to wheel out the a bunch of ex Idol, X Factor & The Voice contestants for a week before they fade back off into the darkness, only to return when we need to find out next Eurovision Act in March.
 
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