Australian Idol season 6


Wes CarrWinner
Luke Dickens23 November
Mark Spano17 November
Teale Jakubenko10 November
Chrislyn Hamilton3 November
Roshani Priddis27 October
Sophie Paterson20 October
Thanh Bui13 October
Madam Parker6 October
Tom Williams29 September
Brooke Addamo22 September
Jonny Taylor15 September

The sixth season of Australian Idol premiered on Sunday, 24 August 2008, on Network Ten. The season finale aired live on Sunday, 23 November 2008. The winner was Wes Carr with Luke Dickens as runner-up.

Changes to Format

, Ian Dickson, and Marcia Hines returned as judges, however long term judge Mark Holden left to pursue other interests. Andrew G was temporarily absent while he prepared for his wedding and Ricki-Lee Coulter is acting as a new back-stage host. The London auditions featured guest judges Tina Arena and Darren Hayes.
Also for the second time on an Idol contest, the format for eliminations in the Top 12 round will be different. In the new result nights, the bottom 3 of the week will be announced first and the voting line will be opened again for viewers to vote for their favourite in the bottom 3. Music Idol, the Bulgarian version of Idol, were the first to use this new format in their second season. New Zealand Idol season 3 used a similar format for the second week of the finals, but dropped it afterwards.

Process

Auditions

Locations

Auditions were held in the following cities:
Registrations were also conducted online, although not mandatory, allowed users to enter a draw of $2,000.

Semi-finals

From 1 to 4 September the Semi-final rounds aired on television, allowing viewers to vote. The Wildcard Performance Show was held on Sunday, 7 September, with results on 8 September.
List of the semi-finalists below.
FemalesMales
Brooke AddamoThanh Bui
Nicole BanksWes Carr
Natalie Colavito Luke Dickens
Amanda Grafanakis*Teale Jakubenko
Chrislyn HamiltonMatthew Parsons
Madam ParkerIrae Schwenke
Sophie PatersonMark Spano
Roshani PriddisJames Spargo
Brooke SchubertMitchell Steele
Kayla VanzettaJonny Taylor
Brooke WilkieTom Williams

* Grafanakis later auditioned for the second series of The X Factor, where she finished in 9th place.

Weekly Song Themes

Top 12 Finalists

Wesley Carr

Wes Carr is a 26-year-old from Bondi, New South Wales. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Wes Carr moved to Bondi as a 15-year-old. Before he auditioned for Australian Idol, Wes Carr performed and had regular resident gigs around Sydney.
On 23 November 2008, Wes Carr was announced the winner of Australian Idol 2008.
  1. "Times Like These" by Foo Fighters – '
  2. "Beautiful Day" by U2 – '
  3. "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen – '
  4. "Friday on My Mind" by The Easybeats – '
  5. "Fernando" by ABBA – '
  6. "Desire" by U2 – '
  7. "If I Were A Carpenter" by The Four Tops – '
  8. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones – '
  9. "Black or White" by Michael Jackson TOUCHDOWN! – '
  10. "When You Were Young" by The Killers – '
  11. "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong – ' Bottom 2
  12. "Easy" by Faith No More – '
  13. "Get Back" by The Beatles TOUCHDOWN! and TV Throw – '
  14. "White Noise" by The Living End – '
  15. "You" by Wes Carr – ''''

    Luke Dickens

Luke Dickens is from Young, New South Wales. Before he auditioned, Luke Dickens was a sheep shearer and had taught himself how to play the guitar. He was announced runner-up to Wes Carr on 23 November 2008. Luke has gone on to release 3 albums, & ). After The Rain topped the ARIA Australian Country Artist Album Chart and also hit No. 5 on the ARIA Country Album Chart and Top 50 all genres.
  1. "Mustang Sally" by Mack Rice – '
  2. "Angels" by Robbie Williams – '
  3. "Feelin' Alright" by Joe Cocker – '
  4. "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp – '
  5. "Flame Trees" by Cold Chisel – '
  6. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" by ABBA – '
  7. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz – '
  8. "My Girl" by Temptations – '
  9. "Honky Tonk Woman" by The Rolling Stones – ' Bottom 2
  10. "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson – '
  11. "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed – '
  12. "One of These Nights" by The Eagles – '
  13. "Stuck in the Middle" by Stealers Wheel – '
  14. "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" by Elton John – '
  15. "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger –
  16. "When We Hear Hallelujah" – by Luke Dickens – ''''

    Mark Spano

Mark Spano is a 26-year-old from Brighton, Victoria. He is of Italian Heritage. Mark Spano fronted band The Need for seven years, but had to stop after losing his voice due to polyp in his vocal cords. During his 2-year recovery, Mark Spano worked as a labourer until he auditioned for Australian Idol. Spano was eliminated during the Top 3 results night.
  1. "Come Said The Boy" by Mondo Rock – '
  2. "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS – '
  3. "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner – '
  4. "Age of Reason" by John Farnham – '
  5. "Waterloo" by ABBA – '
  6. "Sex on Fire" by The Kings of Leon – '
  7. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by The Supremes – ' Bottom 2
  8. "Angie" by The Rolling Stones – ' 'TOUCHDOWN! '
  9. "Bad" by Michael Jackson – ' Bottom 2
  10. "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" by Chris Isaak – '
  11. "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. – '
  12. "Bad Day" by Fuel – '
  13. "Smooth" by Carlos Santana & Rob Thomas – Eliminated 17 November 2008''

    Teale Jakubenko

Teale Jakubenko is a 22-year-old from Yatala, Queensland. Born in Gold Coast, Queensland, Teale Jakubenko recently toured with renowned Australian singer Wendy Matthews. Jakubenko was eliminated during the Top 4 results night. Teale was placed in the Bottom 3 six times including elimination and therefore has been placed there the most times out of any contestant in the history of Australian Idol.
  1. "Running" by Evermore – '
  2. "Walk Away Renée" by Rick Price – ' 'Bottom 2
  3. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2 – '
  4. "Black Fingernails, Red Wine" by Eskimo Joe – ' Bottom 2
  5. "Thank You for the Music" by ABBA – '
  6. "Slide" by Goo Goo Dolls – ' Bottom 3
  7. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – ' 'Bottom 3
  8. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones – ' 'Bottom 3
  9. "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson – '
  10. "No Such Thing" by John Mayer – '
  11. "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake – ' Eliminated 10 November 2008''

    Chrislyn Hamilton

Chrislyn Hamilton is a 17-year-old from Scarborough, Queensland. Before her audition, Chrislyn Hamilton was in high school and was the lead singer in her school band, picked up a leading role in her school musical and performed in a gospel rock choir group every week. Hamilton was eliminated during the Top 5 results night, and for the first time, the contest was left with four male finalists.
  1. "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner – '
  2. "Think" by Aretha Franklin – ' 'TOUCHDOWN! '
  3. "True Colours" by Cyndi Lauper – '
  4. "Chains" by Tina Arena – '
  5. "Mamma Mia" by ABBA – ' Bottom 3
  6. "Don't Speak" by No Doubt – '
  7. "Get Ready" by Temptations – ' TOUCHDOWN! '
  8. "Get off of My Cloud" by The Rolling Stones – '
  9. "Thriller" by Michael Jackson – ' Eliminated 3 November 2008''

    Roshani Priddis

Roshani Priddis is a 21-year-old from Ashfield, New South Wales, although she grew up in Tamworth, New South Wales. Born in Sri Lanka, Priddis moved to Australia as a 6-week-old when she was adopted by an Australian family. Priddis was eliminated during the Top 6 results night.
  1. "Knock on Wood" by Eddie Floyd – '
  2. "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys – '
  3. "Tell Me 'bout It" by Joss Stone – '
  4. "What's Love Got To Do With It" by Tina Turner – '
  5. "Heading in the Right Direction" by Renée Geyer – '
  6. "Money, Money, Money" by ABBA – ' 'Bottom 2
  7. "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters – '
  8. "Reflections" by Diana Ross & The Supremes – '
  9. "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones – ' Eliminated 27 October 2008''

    Sophie Paterson

Sophie Paterson is a 23-year-old from London, United Kingdom. Originally from Maryknoll, Victoria, Paterson moved to England to pursue a music career. Before she auditioned, Sophie Paterson worked as a bar manager and performed regularly. She was eliminated during the Top 7 results night.
  1. " Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones – '
  2. "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz – '
  3. "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows – ' Bottom 3
  4. "Sweet Dreams " by Eurythmics – ' 'Bottom 2
  5. "Don't Hold Back" by The Potbelleez – '
  6. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" by ABBA – '
  7. "Ana's Song " by Silverchair – ' 'Bottom 2
  8. "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" by Temptations – ' ''Eliminated 20 October 2008''

    Thanh Bùi

Thanh Bùi is a 25-year-old from Abbotsford, Victoria. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Vietnamese parents, he moved to Melbourne as a 7-year-old. He was educated at Melbourne High School, graduating in 2000. Thanh Bui was part of the boy-band North who toured around Malaysia and split up in 2006. Aside of Australian Idol he is the director and vocal coach at International Artist Academy. Bui was eliminated during the Top 8 Results Night.
  1. "One" by U2 – '
  2. "This Love" by Maroon 5 – '
  3. "Every Breath You Take" by The Police – ' Bottom 3
  4. "You're the Voice" by John Farnham – '
  5. "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA – ' TOUCHDOWN! '
  6. "Shadow of the Day" by Linkin Park – – ''Eliminated 13 October 2008''