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Australian Idol...
Aug. 21st, 2004 10:43 amIt's that time of year again - Aussie Idol. And, as much as I hate to admit it (being all patriotic to NZ as I am), their Idol shows just are in a league above everyone else's. Just about anyone in their final 30 would have blown away the top 10 contestants in the most recent NZ or American idol shows. How do these kids get to be so talented? They're just so damn good.
This year I have a soft spot for Chanel, the slightly off-her-trolley girl who wears huge fake flowers in her hair and those little kilt-skirts with the big safety pin in them. In Group One, while the others were trotting out standards like Sarah McLachlan and George Michael, she sang Portishead. The judges LOOOOOVE her. Had she not made it in by votes, they would have put her in the wildcard for sure.
But this week something happened that really touched me. There's a guy - Daniel - classically trained. At his first audition the judges told him to act his age, not be so serious. For the Group Two elimination show he sang "Rock DJ" by Robbie Williams and it was farcical. I was cringing. The guy is uber-talented and this just made him look stupid. And the judges said "what the hell were you thinking" and he looked so shattered, and replied "trying to do what you told me." They felt awful, he felt awful, and obviously Australia felt terrible too, because on the back of the worst performance of the night, he got through to the top ten. And deservedly so, based on his other auditions. At the show where they decided who went through to the finals, it was down to him and one other girl. He looked like he was going to throw up. And when he was told he was in, he asked not to have to sing Rock DJ again, he was so embarrassed. But they made him sing it, and he did a really good job, and the judges were dancing and singing backing vocals. It was cool.
So, yeah, I'm glued to this. It's one type of reality TV I really enjoy.
This year I have a soft spot for Chanel, the slightly off-her-trolley girl who wears huge fake flowers in her hair and those little kilt-skirts with the big safety pin in them. In Group One, while the others were trotting out standards like Sarah McLachlan and George Michael, she sang Portishead. The judges LOOOOOVE her. Had she not made it in by votes, they would have put her in the wildcard for sure.
But this week something happened that really touched me. There's a guy - Daniel - classically trained. At his first audition the judges told him to act his age, not be so serious. For the Group Two elimination show he sang "Rock DJ" by Robbie Williams and it was farcical. I was cringing. The guy is uber-talented and this just made him look stupid. And the judges said "what the hell were you thinking" and he looked so shattered, and replied "trying to do what you told me." They felt awful, he felt awful, and obviously Australia felt terrible too, because on the back of the worst performance of the night, he got through to the top ten. And deservedly so, based on his other auditions. At the show where they decided who went through to the finals, it was down to him and one other girl. He looked like he was going to throw up. And when he was told he was in, he asked not to have to sing Rock DJ again, he was so embarrassed. But they made him sing it, and he did a really good job, and the judges were dancing and singing backing vocals. It was cool.
So, yeah, I'm glued to this. It's one type of reality TV I really enjoy.
