★★★★★ 0/5

Idol search: personality, pitch and musicability

Australian Idol stopped in Wollongong this week looking for singers with the key ingredients that define the show.

3
Leave a comment

australianidollogo“The three main factors we look for are personality, pitch and musicability, which really comes down to knowing the music industry,” says Australian Idol producer Greg Beness.

At Wollongong auditions this week some sang softly as they strummed guitars, others sat in the corner with their iPods, cramming last-minute lyrics. By 2pm almost 100 people had formed a line at the University of Wollongong’s conference and function centre waiting for their big moment. They ranged from schoolkids, to mums with the same dream of becoming the next Australian Idol.

An infant in the crowd let out an impromptu scream as Beness took charge of proceedings.

“Geesh what a voice she’s got, she has some lungs on her,” he quipped.

Beness says he has found amazing talent found in some unusual places around Australia.

“Surprisingly Tamworth and Mackay have produced some really good talent so there is a chance that the next Australian Idol may even come from Wollongong.

“Contestants need to be committed to music and be good singers, but for the Idol program they need to be marketable and relatable and that’s a big factor that we look for,” he said.

The search continues:

PERTH – SUNDAY APRIL 19
Perth Convention Exhibition Centre, 21 Mounts Bay Road, Perth

HOBART – TUESDAY APRIL 21
Hotel Grand Chancellor, 1 Davey Street, Hobart

ADELAIDE – SUNDAY APRIL 26
Adelaide Convention Centre, North Terrace, Adelaide

ALBURY – TUESDAY APRIL 28
The Albury Convention Centre, Swift Street, Albury

MELBOURNE – FRIDAY MAY 1, SATURDAY MAY 2 , SUNDAY MAY 3
The Atrium, 448 Epsom Road, Flemington Racecourse

BRISBANE – SATURDAY MAY 9, SUNDAY MAY 10
Suncorp Piazza, Cnr Little Stanley & Glenelg Street, South Bank

SYDNEY – SATURDAY MAY 16, SUNDAY MAY 17, MONDAY MAY 18
Australian Technology Park, Bay 4, Henderson Road, Eveleigh

Source: Illawarra Mercury

3 Responses

  1. Australian Idol is designed to discover someone who can sign and sell a heap of music. Personality must be a factor, as this is what attracts customers. If all that was required was the ability to sing to achieve widespread commercial success, then someone like Katie Noonan would be massively successful, rather than just moderately so. Katie is a wonderful person, but she’s not the sort that appeals to the youth market, so her success is limited. As for the age issue, how many new artists are discovered in their 30s? There are 30-somethings who are successful, but they all started their career earlier. In the 80s, it was still possible for an artist to establish themselves during their 20s and even their early 30s, but in today’s youth-driven industry, that’s all but impossible. Madonna was 26 when she released “Like A Virgin” – in today’s climate, she would have been considered too old at that age and she would have struggled to get a foot in the door (she was 24 when she signed her first record deal – most artists these days sign their deals in their teens). Cyndi Lauper was 30 when she released “She’s So Unusual”, her debut solo album – this would *never* happen these days. Kylie Minogue was considered extremely young when she first started releasing records at the age of 19 and was even one of the youngest artists ever to achieve a #1 album in the UK at the age of 20. These days, we’ve got kids still of school age having #1 singles all over the planet. In a perfect world, age wouldn’t matter and being able to sing would be the only criterion, but sadly, this isn’t a perfect world.

  2. the show is ageist, older people can sing you know too. Its all about money money money, lets face it some of the people who get on this show can not sing.

  3. Your opening para says it all – “The three main factors we look for are personality, pitch and musicability”
    No surprise here personality is the key , forget ability to sing or sing in tune.
    Just look good, have a back story or be offbeat and they will give you a go.
    I almost wish for return to the old days of Young Talent Time or just letting people sing without the hype or “paid sms voting”
    I could not care less about personality , it should be more about the music and the singers ability to sing in tune.

Leave a Reply