Australian Idol season 9


The ninth season of Australian Idol premiered on 29 January 2024. It is the show's second season to air on Seven Network, after the network bought the rights to the series from Network 10. The grand final was won by Dylan Wright who released his winner's single, "Paper Heart", on 25th March 2024.

Production

In July 2023, it was officially revealed that the show had been renewed by Seven Network for a ninth season, set to premiere in 2024. It was later revealed that Ricki Lee Coulter and Scott Tweedie would return as hosts, and that Kyle Sandilands and Amy Shark would be returning to their judging positions. However, Harry Connick Jr and Meghan Trainor would not return, with Trainor leaving due to family reasons. Original judge Marcia Hines returned as a main judge. Seven officially confirmed the 2024 judges at their upfronts in October 2023.

Auditions

Auditions were held in various cities around Australia. In a few cases, a single judge visited a remote location to audition contestants by themselves. For the first time on any show with the Idol format, contestants were not guaranteed a "golden ticket" if they got two or three "yes" votes from the judges. Instead, they were sent to a holding area until the end of the day, when the judges would further narrow down the contestants they saw, potentially have some contestants sing again, and decide who made the Top 30, down from 50 in the previous season.

Auditions 1 (29 January)

SingerAgeHometownSong
Dylan Wright30Bangalow, New South Wales"Better Be Home Soon" by Crowded House
Ivana Ilic20Mill Park, Victoria"If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys
Ripley Alexander19Brisbane, Queensland"Mamma Mia" by ABBA
Billy Menhennet20Smythes Creek, Victoria"Something in the Orange" by Zach Bryan

Auditions 2 (30 January)

SingerAgeHometownSong
Amy Reeves24Broome, Western Australia"A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin
Trent Richardson22Emu Park, Queensland"Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts
Tyler Hammill21Alexandra Headland, Queensland"Lonely Boy" by The Black Keys
Natasha Rose19Burpengary, Queensland"Hands to Myself" by Selena Gomez
Cynthia Negash19Kurunjang, Victoria"Something's Got a Hold on Me" by Etta James

Auditions 3 (31 January)

SingerAgeHometownSong
Drea Onamade25Perth, Western Australia"American Boy" by Estelle
Jake Carlson20Mernda, Victoria"I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz
Saoirse Harding19Gold Coast, Queensland"I Love You" by Billie Eilish
Jonathan Wells28Melbourne, Victoria"SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake

Auditions 4 (4 February)

SingerAgeHometownSong
Isaac McCallum23Burrill Lake, New South Wales"Bruises" by Lewis Capaldi
Jet Cameron16Fig Tree Pocket, Queensland"This City" by Sam Fischer
Bethany Byrne28Mooroolbark, Victoria"Afterglow" by Ed Sheeran
Kym Miaco28Lightsview, South Australia"P.Y.T." by Michael Jackson
Jesse Lazaroo18Perth, Western Australia"Talking to the Moon" by Bruno Mars

Auditions 5 (5 February)

SingerAgeHometownSong
Denvah Baker-Moller23Rockhampton, Queensland"Pony" by Kasey Chambers
Gab Hester18Rye, Victoria"Down Under" by Men at Work
Jackson Smith25Melbourne, Victoria"Eyes Closed" by Ed Sheeran
Jess Chalmers24Melbourne, Victoria"Domino" by Jessie J

Auditions 6 (6 February)

SingerAgeHometownSong
Prayer Corby23Humpty Doo, Northern Territory"Big Jet Plane" by Angus & Julia Stone
Kiani Smith17Bribie Island, Queensland"2002" by Anne-Marie
Kobe White24Keysborough, Victoria"Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars
Olivia Britton23Wodonga, Victoria"I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry
Eli Parr20Loganholme, Queensland"Story of My Life" by One Direction

Auditions 7 (7 February)

SingerAgeHometownSong
TJ Zimba24Karratha, Western Australia"Location" by Khalid
Imogen Spendlove23Melbourne, Victoria"I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston
Chenai Boucher26Seaford, Victoria"River" by Bishop Briggs

Top 30

Top 30 Part 3 (13 & 14 February )

24 contestants reached this round. Each contestant sang a song solo in front of a live audience. The judges then decided who would progress to the final 21.
SingerOrderSongResult
Drea Onamade1"That's What I Like "Advanced
Trent Richardson2"Stay "Advanced
Amy Reeves3"Clarity "Advanced
Kiani Smith4"You're the One That I Want"On Notice
Imogen Spendlove5"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"Advanced
TJ Zimba6"Airplanes"Advanced
Chenai Boucher7"Kryptonite "Advanced
Denvah Baker-Moller8"Yellow"Advanced
Jake Carlson9"Wish You the Best"Advanced
Natasha Rose10"Bad Romance"Advanced
Kobe White11"You're Still the One"Advanced
Jonathan Wells12"Attention"Eliminated
Jess Chalmers13"Break Free"Eliminated
Isaac McCallum14"7 Years"On Notice
Tyler Hamill15"Budapest"Advanced
Ivana Ilic16"Came Here for Love"Advanced
Ripley Alexander17"Heart of Glass"Advanced
Olivia Britton18"Genie in a Bottle"On Notice
Bethany Byrne19"Kiss Me "On Notice
Jackson Smith20"You Broke Me First"On Notice
Kym Miaco21"Touch"Advanced
Saoirse Harding22"Jealous"Advanced
Jesse Lazaroo23"Say Something "Eliminated
Dylan Wright24"Sorrento Moon (I Remember)"Advanced

Top 21

Over three rounds, seven singers will perform in front of a live audience, by the end of each round four singers will make it through to the top 12. The judges will also each be given one ‘FastPass’ which, whilst not exactly a Touchdown, works like a Golden Buzzer, automatically sending someone into the Top 12.

Top 12 finalists

Dylan Wright

Dylan Wright, born on, is from Bangalow, New South Wales. He became the ninth winner of Australian Idol on 25 March 2024.
Wright's debut album Half a World Away, debuted at number 12 on the ARIA Australian Artist Chart on 4 November 2024.

Amy Reeves

Amy Reeves, born on, is from Broome, Western Australia. She finished as the runner-up on 25 March 2024.

Denvah Baker-Moller

Denvah Baker-Moller, born on, is from Rockhampton, Queensland. She reached the Grand Finale on 25 March 2024, but was eliminated prior to the final round of performances.

Kiani Smith

Kiani Smith,
born on 3 October 2006
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1193803198947203&set=a.564692511858278&__cft

Weekly Song Themes

DateWeekTheme
25–27 FebruaryTop 12Party Anthems
3-5 MarchTop 10Judges' Song Contest
10-11 MarchTop 8Public's Choice
17-18 MarchTop 6Heroes and Tributes
24-25 MarchTop 3Aussie Classics

Live performances

During each round of the live performances, each contestant sings a song with a given theme. After all contestants have sung, the judges choose one contestant to directly advance to the next stage; then, the public is given approximately 24 hours to vote for their favourite singers. During the results night, after voting has closed, the four contestants with the fewest votes sing again—in pairs. The singer with the lowest number of votes, per each pair, is eliminated from the competition.

Top 6 (17-18 March)

Each contestant performed a song on live performance night. The judges opted not to put any singer directly into the Grand Finale, meaning that all results would be decided by the public vote. On results night, after voting had closed, the contestants each sang again. After each pair of contestants had sung, the results were announced for those two singers: one eliminated, and one was put through to the Grand Finale, three in total.

Grand finale performances

Grand finale (24-25 March)

Performance night

Results night

SingerOrderFree ChoiceOrderAudition SongResult
Denvah Baker-Moller1"Landslide" by Fleetwood MacN/A'Eliminated
Amy Reeves2"Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj4"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Aretha FranklinRunner-up
Dylan Wright3"Tiny Dancer" by Elton John5"Better Be Home Soon" by Crowded HouseWinner'''

  • Wright performed the coronation single, "Paper Heart", upon winning.

Elimination chart

Did Not PerformSafeBottom 2/4Judges’ VoteEliminated

Ratings

On 28 January 2024, OzTAM’s rating data recording system changed. Viewership data will now focus on National reach and National total ratings instead of the 5 metro centres and overnight shares.