Read our recap of episode one below!
Image: Supplied.
Day two of Australian Idol auditions is upon us! After finding out last night that there’s no clear path into the bootcamp due to the newly implemented ‘waiting room, judges ARIA Award winning singer-songwriter Amy Shark and top-rating broadcaster Kyle Sandilands and beloved singer Marcia Hines are on the look-out for more budding singers to join Dylan, Ivana, Ripley and Billy.
First up we have Amy Reeves from Broome who hopes to strike a chord with Hines due to the fact her late father was on the lighting and stage production crew for a production of Hair that starred Hines. She met the music icon at a reunion for the production and was told by Hines “you have to sing for me one day.” And now here we are, with Amy walking in to the audition room and keeping her promise. She’s taking on Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin, which is no easy feat. It was a flawless audition. “F**king amazing,” as Sandilands puts it, before predicting Amy will make it to the top five at the very least. Her tone and control was incredible, with those smooth vocals filling the room in a natural and authentic way.“The only problem is she’s got the same name as me and she actually sings better than me, says Shark as Amy takes her place in the waiting room.
Amy Reeves. Image: Supplied.
Surfer Tyler Hammill dreams of being a full-time musician, and hopes that Idol is his ticket there. We get some shots of him and his friends cracking jokes about not getting a big head and it’s always nice to get these little personal insights into the contestants. He’s singing Lonely Boy by The Black Keys, delivering a mesmerising rendition with guitar in hand. The rasp in his lower register was so beautiful and his performance felt so natural with his emotions shone through. There’s no doubt he’ll go far, not only in the competition but also in the industry. So far night two is off to a cracking start.
Tyler Hammill. Image: Supplied.
Sandilands is looking for someone who can sing contemporary tracks and make a connection with modern popular music. Enter Natasha Rose who has built her brand around the colour red. We have Charli XCX playing over her package, so surely we’re in for a fun performance. Sandilands says she’s off to a good start because he finds her “Annoying” like most artists. I think he meant it as a compliment? We never know with Kyle. But Natasha gives him what he wants and performs Selena Gomez’s Hands To Myself, bringing that contemporary spice to the competition. It’s fun, she sounds great and there’s the beginning of that pop star presence we love to see on stage. Sandilands liked it with a yes, it seems like Hines didn’t as she votes no. But Shark comes through to save the day and sends Natasha to the waiting room. I think that’s the right choice, she’s a breath of fresh air within the competition. She didn’t have the big belting vocals, but she has that star quality. Hines wasn’t impressed with her over confidence and believed she needed to be “dropped down a few pegs.” I put it down to nerves, and hope to see Natasha prove her wrong.
Natasha Rose. Image: Supplied.
Up next is Trent Richardson who has aversions to the city life. He was born on a cattle farm and loves the country. Which I get. I mean I love the city, but the country is nice too. “How youse going?” he asks the judges and we already love him. Sandilands shares a fun fact that outside of the Middle East Australia has the most wild camels on earth. I did a fact check and it seems like we actually have the largest wild population of Arabian camels. You learn something new everyday. Both Trent and Shark have been chased by camels and I’ve never been exposed to as much camel talk as I have been tonight. He’s about to sing Bless The Broken Road by Rascal Flatts and I LOVE this song. Does everyone remember their cameo in Hannah Montana: The Movie where they were sitting on Miley’s grandmothers porch singing it? Take me back to 2009. Man oh man, night two is delivering! Trent graces us with a moving audition that was full of emotion and a captivating quality. He was a bit nasally at times but I think that’s due to the influence of Rascal Flatts’ frontman Gary LeVox’s thick American accent. Sandilands is surprised at how good he is, Shark isn’t sure if he’ll stack up to the competitions other country artists. She votes no but Hines votes yes. It’s all down to Sandilands who is questioning if Trent sounded good because this was his one-trick song. He shares he chose it due to recent heartbreak - it seems as though his ex partner said his voice wasn’t good enough which stunted his confidence and delayed his musical journey. “Come on Kyle,” Hines says as she turns to Sandilands. And with that, send Trent to the waiting room!
Trent Richardson. Image: Supplied.
Sandilands receives a surprise when a friend of his child’s nanny waltzes into the audition room. Could this sway his vote? We shall see. She’s singing ABBA’s Dancing Queen and unfortunately joins a number of contestants who did not make it past the first audition. “I love the mosquito at the end,” Sandilands says of her final note and voted yes on the basis of the “health and safety of my child.” We’re then shown a string of unsuccessful auditions and a few of them just need some fine tuning before they hit the stage. Sandilands then heads outside to find someone “a little bit good looking.” Interesting basis for finding talent. Enter Connor Smith with his guitar. He thinks he has what it takes to be the next Australian Idol and performs MKTO’s Classic. Talk about a blast from the past! It wasn’t bad and it’s clear there is a good voice in there, but he was a bit out of tune. Shark thinks he’s a classic take of what they’re looking for and says he has some star quality. He makes it through to the waiting room on two yes votes, but hopes to get a third from Hines - and he does.
Connor Smith. Image: Supplied.
Cats! There’s cats on screen. Cynthia Negash is FaceTiming her two cats as she prepares for her audition and we love that for her. Her unique style sets her apart from the rest of the crowd with her effortless presence. “Go the fro, worked once before,” Sandilands says referencing season one winner Guy Sebastian. She’s tackling Something’s Got A Hold On Me by Etta James and she has such an interesting tone. There’s a quality to it can lean towards nasally in her lower register, but as she hits those higher notes she kills it. She makes it through and tells Hines that her mother loves her and Hines replies, “tell your mum I said hi.” Now yes, this is a random thing to mention in this recap. However, my sister always thought the first lyric of the chorus of Amy Shark’s classic hit I Said Hi was “tell your mum I said hi,” not “tell them all I said hi.” So instantly my brain went to that. Just another fun fact to follow up Sandilands’ information on camels.
Cynthia Negash. Image: Supplied.
It’s time for Amy Shark to hit the road! She’s surprising Saskia Doran at her home in Perth for an impromptu Idol audition. Saskia has been building a following online, sharing her covers to social media. They head to Optus Stadium so Shark can see if she “has the lungs to fill the space.” She recently supported Coldplay at their sold-out show at the stadium, so Saskia has big shoes to follow. She performs House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals. She was great and connected with Shark as she moved around the stadium, and with that she’s going straight to the waiting room.
It’s that time of the night where we find out who makes it through. The judges call in Amy and Natasha, who both score places in the top thirty at bootcamp. We’re off to a good start, but it’s going to be a hard one! Next to enter the room is Saskia and Cynthia, both of who have this jazz-meets-blues flair to their vocals. The former sings Stand By Me for the judges so they can get a feel of who she is as an artist and her vocals, whilst the latter takes the opportunity to show her range and sings Rihanna’s Diamonds. Ultimately it’s Cynthia who progresses to bootcamp. It’s time for the boys, as Tyler, Trent and Connor are called in to meet with the judges. Sandilands reveals it’s the end of the road for Connor almost immediately and starts waving one ticket around. And with that, Tyler is heading through to the top thirty. But wait, a twist! There’s one ticket left for Trent. Those judges, always pulling stunts on us. We finish off the episode with another story that relates to Hines, with Trent asking her if she recalls performing at Emerald Town Hall forty four years prior. She remembers receiving emeralds from a man there. Turns out, that cut sapphire was given to her by none other than Trent’s father. It’s so lovely and wholesome how many contestants can trace a personal memory to Hines, it really proves her generosity as a performer and as a person.
Watch Australian Idol on Channel 7 tomorrow night at 7:30pm AEDT. Stream it on 7 Plus.