Read our recap below!
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Tonight we said goodbye to another two Australian Idol contestants, and welcomed an iconic American Idol alum to the stage. Having performed songs chosen by the judges, Grammy® award-winning artist Harry Connick Jr.; Grammy® award-winning singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor; beloved eight-time ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter Amy Shark and top-rating broadcaster Kyle Sandilands, last night, our top ten came together as a group to perform Imagine Dragon's Make Me A Believer.
As the judges gear up for another jam-packed evening, Shark shares"Harry's already said 'Amy watch your language tonight'" and host Ricki-Lee likened them to an old married couple. It's nice to see the relationships forming amongst the panel. But back to the competition at hand, last night, Noora H scored the judges fast pass through to the top eight, leaving Amali Dimond, Angelina Curtis, Anya Hynninen, Ben Sheehy, Harry Hayden, Josh Hannan, Phoebe Stewart, Royston Sagigi-Baira and Sash Seabourne in the hot seat. Remember, two contestants will go home this week, and their Idol journey will come to an end. Having been in the bottom four last week, Noora tells her fellow contestants to give it their all should they end up in the bottom four.
Hosts Ricki-Lee and Scott Tweedie call each contestant forward to reveal their fate, and first up is Dimond who is joining Noora in the top eight. "I just really hope Australia got behind me this week," says Sheehy as he joins the hosts, and I'm so disappointed they didn't. He's in the bottom four again this week, with Trainor remarking, "I had a bad feeling they would do this to you again... I would've voted for you extra!" Sandilands said the viewers got it right, adding "they don't often get it wrong," prompting a "umm hello?" response from Ricki-Lee. We all know the former Idol contestant was a favourite to win the competition back in 2004, but was shockingly voted out early on in the competition. Connick Jr. and Shark stand up to applaud her, and we love to see it.
As Sagigi-Baira, Stewart and Hannan progress, Hayden has found himself in the bottom four again this week and Hynninen is also revealed to be in the bottom four. It's down to Curtis and Seabourne, which I'm quite shocked about. I've not been keeping up with how each contestant is rating online and following the growth of their audience, but they're both solid artists. Ultimately, Curtis makes it through and Seabourne will perform later in the show alongside Sheehy, Hayden and Hynninen.
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First to perform is Hynninen, who sings Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly with His Song. We got no chance to hear Hynninen's vocals shine, with the song cut drastically short. So there's not much to take in there, but there seemed to be no drive in her performance. Unfortunately, the same can be said for Seabourne taking on Tom Petty's Free Falling. Hayden performs Jazmine Sullivan's Bust Your Windows and it's great to see this direction, with each performance we're seeing his ability grow. I think the problem is they only get to sing a brief verse and chorus and there wasn't enough time for the artists to really lean into the songs. Plus, there's the anxiety of being in the bottom four. Sheehy gives the most spirited performance, singing The Rolling Stones' Gimmie Shelter. He's taken on Connick Jr.'s advice to stand still, and has also used the brief moment on stage to show off his range, tone and texture. For a country that has delivered some of the most famous rock 'n' roll artists, why aren't you all getting around Sheehy? We need to have words Australia. Sandilands again says rock is dead, but rock music leaves behind a legacy. Think of some of the most iconic songs in history -Bohemian Rhapsody, It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock 'n' Roll), Whole Lotta Love, Smells Like Teen Spirit, I Love Rock 'N Roll, Hey Jude, Zombie, November Rain to name a few... all rock songs. Sure, maybe it's not circulated much on radio, but when you look at those streaming numbers, rock music is well and truly alive.
It's time for an Idol to hit the stage. But first, I noticed Shark has ditched her signature half-up-half-down bun for a half-up-half-down ponytail. It's a subtle switcheroo, but I noticed Amy! American singer and songwriter Adam Lambert is here to perform his cover of Bonnie Tyler's Holding Out For A Hero, taken from his freshly released album, High Drama. The album sees the musician rework a number of his favourite songs and classic hits. Lambert knows the highs of the Idol journey all too well, having placed second in the eighth season of American Idol. Obviously he slayed. It's such an iconic song, and Lambert's vocals never fault. He's given the song a glam-rock makeover, which I would love to see Sheehy take a similar influence in his forthcoming performances. Staying in his rock realm, but revamping songs of other genres. Lambert's performance is also a great glimpse into the trajectory your career can go following the competition, with the musician also serving as the frontman of the legendary band, pQueen. The superstar offers the contestants some advice, sharing "Have fun! That's my number one thing. You know, this business is hard, it's a lot of work, and you know, I know that it takes a lot of like focus and dedication and, and passion to do what you do and do what you love. But, if you're not having fun with it, what's the point? So make sure you're enjoying yourself because the audience at home loves that."
We've arrived at the final verdict and I have no clue which way this could go. I think each contestant has more to give in the competition, but the votes are in. Tonight, we say goodbye to Sash Seabourne and Harry Hayden. It's hard farewelling any contestant at this stage, they've all grown so much throughout the competition and are delving more and more into their artistry. But as we know, only one will be crowned this years Australian Idol.
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Watch Australian Idol on Channel 7 Sunday night at 7:00pm AEDT. Stream it on 7 Plus and stay tuned for our interviews with Sash Seabourne and Harry Hayden.