The brand new season of Australian Idol returns on Monday, January 29 on Channel 7 and 7plus, with judges Kyle Sandilands, Amy Shark and Marcia Hines searching for the next generation of singing sensation.
Touted as the toughest season of Idol ever by Seven’s head of entertainment, Majella Hay, the new season will feature a tighter format, having only a top 30 rather than a top 50 as seen with last season.
Hay explains that even though there will be more episodes in the new season, getting a golden ticket into the top 30 will be harder.
“The 30 who make it into that group have got to work harder to get there, and have to impress our judges to get that golden ticket,” she said.
Meet the Judges:
Kyle Sandilands
Sandilands is one of Australia’s most high-profile broadcasters, with experience as a personality across both radio and TV. Since 2000, Kyle has hosted the Kyle & Jackie O Show, winning a record-breaking 52 Australian Commercial Radio Awards. Kyle was a judge on Australian Idol from 2004 to 2009, The X-Factor Australia from 2010 to 2011, and Australia’s Got Talent from 2010 to 2013.
Marcia Hines
Marcia Hines’ music career spans five decades, with 22 albums released and 2.6 million copies sold. She was a judge on the original Australian Idol panel from 2003 to 2009, Marcia was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007. She received the Order of Australia Medal in 2009 for her services to the Australian entertainment industry as a performer, judge and mentor.
Amy Shark
Shark burst onto the global music scene in 2016, with her six-time platinum single Adore putting her on the map. This was followed by APRA Song of the Year-winning, seven-time platinum and #1 Australian Airplay Chat hit, I Said Hi, and 2019 three-time platinum single Mess Her Up.
Recently, she took home her very first TV WEEK Logie Award receiving the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Popular New Talent for her role on Australian Idol. Today, Amy has amassed close to one billion combined global streams.
The winner of Australian Idol will receive a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment Australia and $100,000 in prize money.
This year’s iteration is also hosted by Ricki-Lee – who was discovered on Australian Idol in 2004 – and entertainment presenter and former E! host Scott Tweedie.
Australian Idol is produced for the Seven Network by Eureka Productions.
Australian Idol premieres Monday, January 29 on Channel 7 and 7plus.