Australian Idol 2008 Auditions - Expanding the Search for Talent
Australian Idol have announced they will hold auditions in London and LA for expat Aussies to be the next Australian Idol in addition to its Australian auditions. Apparently the ratings have dropped and after five years of finding talent within Australia, the pool must be getting a bit low.
The audition process for this, and other shows like it, is the best bit of the show I think. Once the top 12 have been finalised it does tend to get a bit predictable especially if the song choice is not your cup of tea and especially if you haven’t connected with a particular singer in the hope that they will win.
Another part of the show that I liked was Mark Holden but unfortunately it was recently announced he won’t be doing the show this year. He added some kitsch value and humour with his Touchdowns and silly speak but in addition to this he was the only judge, apart from Marcia, to be a singer. Australian Idol is about about singers - not just potential record sellers. None of these contestants will sell records in the long term if they can’t sing and feedback about singing is needed.
The issue of judges aside, by searching for Aussies overseas to potentially give up their life for a few months to come back to Australia to be the next Australian Idol, it will add an extra dimension to the show. They are therefore pretty much guaranteeing an audience who will surely wonder whether this will work or not. If it does perhaps it will keep the show going for another year or two where it might have crashed earlier.
Do you think expat auditions are the answer to reinvigorate Australian Idol?
I agree that the auditions are quite fascinating. Some of the people who *think* they can sing???? Or maybe are just looking for 5 minutes of fame. Can’t say that I’m a HUGE Idol fan regardless but I guess I’ll poke my head in occasionally to see what all the fuss is about.
Honestly, not really. Expat’s won’t help to change the fact that most people are begining to grow sick of these reality TV shows. Initially it was a novelty, but more and more it has become so synthetic and gimmicky that most people have lost interest- it has lost its slap of reality = )
[…] Australian Idol’s losing its popularity and there’s only so many singers available in Australia to make it any good so they’re expanding their search for Australians in Los Angeles and London, which I wrote about over on the Aussie Bloggers blog. […]
Regarding the popularity of the show:
Why even show the clips (out-takes?) from those that cannot sing, are there to get their mug on TV and make themselves look like idiots. Those people needed ‘Red Faces’ .
If the ideas of the show is to find new local talent, no matter how raw, then allowing the fruit cakes and exhibitionists to audition - and then air the audits - cheapens the show, ‘tackifys it’ (like that word?) and keeps anyone half serious away from it.
um im confused did that just say we are getting ppl from other countries this yr to audtion , or australians that are living in other countries?
cos this is AUSTRALIAN idol!
Australians (expat Aussies) in other countries, ie London and LA to audition. So I guess they have to somehow prove they’re Australian.
I can’t honestly say that the addition of expats are going to make any changes to the quality of the performances (they never made it to LA, by the way). It should, however, add a new dimension to the show.
I never saw the attraction of Mark Holden. I understand what your saying about him being an artist, just a pity he had the personality of a prune.
Anyways, looking forward to the new season, and I’ve decided to keep an Australian Idol 2008 blog on the events as they unfold, should be interesting.
what are there names
Courtney, I don’t know what their names are. I guess you’ll find out once the show starts.
Here is a list of the Australian Idol 2008 Contestants