Australian Idol Round-Up: Final 12 Week

So, finally, after two weeks of der-fred auditionees, delusional stage mothers and the indignity of the Wildcard show, Australian Idol has properly begun. And despite the inherent naffness of the “Idols’ Idols” theme and extended slow-motion-childhood-photo-montage action, it was actually one of Idol’s better kick-offs. Shall we hold hands and discuss it all over the jump? Before we address the “stars”, a word on the hosts: Jimmy James and The G were in fine form (particularly their riffing on the clearly tiresome advertorial: “Did we say ‘Mazda’ enough?” “Mazda.” ), but I’m still not sure about Ricki Lee’s appointment as the finalists’ big sister/throw-to hostess. She seems to swing between worrying intensity and a simmering envy of the finalists (witness her not-so-lighthearted “I’M JEALOUS” after Chrislyn’s touchdown) that isn’t all that becoming. But who cares about the hosts, we’ve got finalists to discuss!

Wes Carr: Beautiful Day (U2)
Pretty good, FM-rock-baiting version of the soaring™ classic, though I just can’t get excited about Wes – I think it’s the fact that his facial scruff is clearly hiding a questionable upper lip. Which I realise is a highly superficial reason not to back an Idol, but come on, it’s show business, not show friends.

Tom Williams: I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing (Aerosmith)
Ha ha! Who let this child through into the Final 12, seriously? Lame-o-tronic. I’m sticking to my Tom Williams = stealth Christian vote, too.

Roshani Priddis: Tell Me About It (Joss Stone)
I’m beginning to wonder whether my initial excitement about Roshani may have been misplaced. Her performance was good (and points for picking Defamer Australia’s patron saint of primal scream R&B therapy, too), but her farty stance (knees akimbo, squatting, waving arms about as though to push one out – Cosima was a fan of it, if you recall) made it all a little hard to take.

Teale Jakubenko: Walk Away Renee (Rick Price)
In the scheme of things, loudly proclaiming that Rick Price is “an inspiration” to you is probably not terribly wise in the face of a music industry ready to destroy you, and while Teale did a workmanlike job of Price’s whiney anthem, his face looks like someone’s increased a JPG’s width in Photoshop without remembering to increase the height at the same time.

Sophie Paterson: Mr Jones (Counting Crows)
Similarly, if you’ve been painted as the genuine article in the previous weeks, having created interesting arrangements and taken otherwise mundane songs into new realms, is doing an Adam Duritz while dressed as a Cotton On employee really a great idea? This was Dullsville, population: Sophie. Props to Kyle for revealing Sophie’s stealth ranga status, though.

Luke Dickens: Feelin’ Alright (Joe Cocker)
Hideous! He’s not a good singer, he’s just LOUD, and as the judges pointed out, “that thing on [his] face” has to go. He’s so unbelievably boring – his ringtone is “the Nokia tune”! When asked what he’d call his debut single, his reply? “I’d probably go with the title of the song.”

Brooke Addamo: These Words (Natasha Bedingfield)
After watching Brooke’s inspiring/moving video intro, I can’t hate her twitchy-nose face anymore, but her performance was just aight, dawg – it was as though she’d listened to the original and memorised every twill and riff; there was nothing organic about her interpretation (or lack thereof) of the song.

Thanh Bui: This Love (Maroon 5)
While I’m once again disappointed that Thanh didn’t choose a Farnsey song, his performance was great – but his arrangement was seriously naff. Can Kermit Foreman have words? Other than his predilection for chintzy synthesisers, though, I love everything about Thanh, from his posture and his well-spokenness (something I’m well versed in, as you can see) to his family and his earnestness.

Madam Parker: Closer (Ne Yo)
Despite potentially rating highly on the Bec LaVauney/Emily Williams “message to my son” scale, Madam jettisoned her emotional fragility and RULED.

Jonny Taylor: Better Man (Pearl Jam)
Ohh, Jonny and your red and black rave pants… There’s not much you can say about this, really, is there? The nadir for me was the final few seconds where he turned his back to the audience and then appeared to try to get the band to clap along, before realising the song was over. He had a nice smile in his wedding photo, at least.

Chrislyn Hamilton: Think (Aretha Franklin)
Everything I said about placing bets on Chrislyn singing Aretha? I take it back – I COMMAND HER TO SING ARETHA EVERY SINGLE WEEK!!! I missed her intro/audition episode, so I had no idea she was only SEVENTEEN. She is a completely natural, relaxed and amazing performer and singer and she makes me lose CONTROL of the CAPS LOCK!!

Mark Spano: Never Tear Us Apart (INXS)
Tradie Mark won me over with his video package of his “flat at the back of my grandma’s house” full of stoner detritus, Scream masks and cats. And his performance was pretty good, too!

In short, with few exceptions, it was a ripper start to the season proper – perhaps our excitement at the Can You Feel It promos was well-founded, after all? But what are YOUR thoughts?