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''Australian Idol'' is the Australia n 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 aired on the Ten Network . The first season started on July 27 , 2003 , and finished on November 19 . The winner was Guy Sebastian ahead of Shannon Noll . The 2004 season saw Casey Donovan win ahead of Anthony Callea . The 2005 season was won by Kate DeAraugo ahead of Emily Williams . ABOUT THE SHOW The panel of judges for the Australian show were Mark Holden , a former pop star and now music producer, Marcia Hines , a Soul singer, and Ian "Dicko" Dickson , marketing manager of BMG Australia, who left after the second season (for the competing Seven Network ), and has since been replaced by radio personality Kyle Sandilands . This show is a competition which gives people the chance to win a recording contract with Sony BMG. FIRST SEASON (2003) ''Australian Idol'' was produced by Fremantle Media subsidiary Grundy Television in association with UK company 19TV . The first season was broadcast on Network Ten for 19 weeks in the latter half of 2003. The judges included faded 70s popstar Mark Holden , icon Marcia Hines and former BMG Music representative Ian "Dicko" Dickson . ''Australian Idol'' quickly became one of the most popular shows on Australian television, the final between Guy Sebastian and Shannon Noll being the most popular show broadcast on Australian television in 2003. Network Ten paid $15 million for the season but this investment was repaid when the station that had perenially been the #3 network became the #2 network towards the end of 2003 and cemented the network as the #1 station in its target demographic, the under 40's. This success meant that the station could charge advertisers more for commercials broadcast on the network. The success of the season prompted the Seven Network to commission a rival series called '' Popstars Live '' in the first half of 2004. However, this series was not a success. The success of Australian Idol and the first season of '' The Block '' on the Nine Network prompted networks including the Ten Network to invest in new reality series that were not as successful, such as '' The Resort '' and '' The Hothouse '', which led to large losses by the relevant network. The eventual winner of the competition was Guy Sebastian . He beat Shannon Noll (2nd), Cosima De Vito (3rd), Paulini Curuenavuli (4th) & Rob Mills (5th). After Idol, it was these five, the Final 5, who were the most successful out of the Top 12. They scored record hits, but the two best-selling artists were the finalists, Guy & Shannon. Cosima De Vito made history herself when as an Independent artist, her debut single became the first independent single to debut at No.1 on the Australian charts. SECOND SEASON (2004) The second season of ''Australian Idol'' debuted on July 13 , 2004 . The level of success of the contestants in the first season has lured over 50,000 people throughout Australia to audition. As well as the five larger cities, the judges also visited Canberra , Hobart , Darwin and Tamworth this year. Of the twelve finalists, three were from Sydney , two were from Melbourne , and one each from Brisbane , the Gold Coast , Hobart , Perth , Canberra , Adelaide and Bega . The winner was Casey Donovan . She beat out Anthony Callea (2nd), Courtney Murphy (3rd), Hayley Jensen (4th) & Chanel Cole (5th). The final 2, as well as Ricki Lee, were the only contestants of the Top 12 to score hits, although Chanel Cole & Daniel Belle did team up under the label Spook, to release an album in mid to late 2005, with the two best-selling contestants being Casey & Anthony. Ngaiire Joseph (Top 30 contestant) and Marty have released a single each in late 2005. Hayley will be releasing an album in early 2006. On a darker note, Telstra , a major Sponsor of the series, made an embarrassing error when they issued a series of half-page advertisements in major newspapers congratulating Donovan on her victory, and linking to her Website . However, the address was incorrect, leading to a website about Gay Porn Star Casey Donovan , rather than the singer's. The company issued a prompt apology upon realising their mistake. {Link without Title} After this season, judge Dicko bowed out of the series, later to appear in the Seven Network reality TV shows '' My Restaurant Rules '' and most recently, '' Dancing With The Stars ''. The 2004 season was also notable for an Asian contestant named "Flynn", who sang the Freestylers song "Push Up" after being found from a terrible audition, in the same vein as William Hung . THIRD SEASON (2005) The third season of ''Australian Idol'' debuted on July 26 , 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 . The replacement judge to Dicko was 2Day FM radio host Kyle Sandilands . For the first time in ''Australian Idol'' history there were 13 finalists. This came about during the Wildcard Verdict show on September 5 , 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. Eventually, the winner was decided, and it was Kate DeAraugo . She beat Emily Williams (2nd), Lee Harding (3rd) & Dan England (4th). Lee Harding has been signed to Sony BMG and released his first single, "Wasabi", in mid December 2005, and an album in February 2006. Dan England has been announced to be touring with Shannon Noll. Emily Williams has also been signed to Sony BMG after much controversy from her fans complaining that Emily should have got a record contract before 3rd place Lee Harding did, she is expected to release her first single early 2006. There are also rumours that Sony BMG is being reluctant to signing Anne Robertson, because she is very similar to former Australian Idol contestant Paulini Curuenavuli. Although averaging around the 1.5 million viewer mark, ratings were down on the latest season compared to the first two, which regulary drew more than 2.5 million viewers during the latter half of the competition. This is a serious situation for Ten, which airs three Australian Idol shows every week, and has forced them to give away free commercial airtime to program sponsors expecting higher ratings. Commentators have theorise over the reasons why this has occurred, ranging from the viewing public being tired of the format to Sandilands replacing the popular Dickson. Controversy also surrounded Australian Idol: Live Verdict show running up to fifteen minutes overtime. COMMERCIAL SUCCESS The success of ''Australian Idol'' has been reflected on the Australian charts with three finalists albums and multiple contestant albums all enjoying considerable success so far. So far, the albums released:
In total, ''Australian Idol'' contestants have sold approximately a million albums in Australia since November 2003. BMG who signed up the two original finalists have presented Guy Sebastian with a royalty cheque for a million dollars in July 2004, with Shannon Noll also receiving a similar cheque later in the year. {Link without Title} As of April 2006, ''Australian Idol'' contestants have enjoyed over forty top 40 hits in Australia since November 2003:
The strength of the success of ''Australian Idol'' contestants in the charts was shown when Shannon Noll's single "Learn to Fly" debuted at #1 ahead of "Angel Eyes" by Paulini Curuenavuli at #2 on the Australian singles charts of 12 July , 2004 . Paulini's single even climbed up to #1 the week after this. SINGLES RELEASED ALBUMS RELEASED DVDS RELEASED SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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