Australian Idol 2003
| Broadcast from | 27 July – 19 November 2003 |
|---|---|
| Judges |
Ian "Dicko" Dickson Marcia Hines Mark Holden |
| Host(s) |
Andrew G James Mathison |
| Broadcaster | Network Ten |
| Finals venue | Sydney Opera House |
| Guy Sebastian | |
 |
|
| Origin | Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Song | "Angels Brought Me Here" |
| Shannon Noll | |
| Australian Idol (season 1) | |
|
Finalists (with dates of elimination) |
|
| Guy Sebastian | Winner |
| Shannon Noll | 19 November |
| Cosima De Vito | 3 November |
| Paulini Curuenavuli | 27 October |
| Rob Mills | 20 October |
| Levi kereama | 13 October |
| Rebekah LaVauney | 6 October |
| Kelly Cavuoto | 6 October |
| Lauren Buckley | 29 September |
| Cle Wootton | 29 September |
| Peter Ryan | 22 September |
| Mathew Chadwick | 22 September |
The first season of Australian Idol was produced by Fremantle Media subsidiary Grundy Television in association with UK company 19TV, and was broadcast on Network Ten for 19 weeks in the latter half of 2003. The judges were Mark Holden, Marcia Hines and Ian "Dicko" Dickson.
When Network Ten paid $15 million for the first season of Australian Idol they anticipated it to be a critical and financial success, like it had been in other countries such as the UK and the USA. When the show aired for the first time in August 2003 it was very successful, attracting a diverse ranges of viewers, from people wanting the crazy auditions to people who wanted to hear great voices. The audition process went through several major cities in Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Darwin. Towards the end of its run, Australian Idol became the most popular TV show in the country with more ratings than major events such as the AFL Grand Final. The Grand Final at the Sydney Opera House attracted more than 3 million viewers. It was listed as the ninth highest rating TV show in Australia in the past century in 2007.
The eventual winner of the competition was Guy Sebastian. He beat Shannon Noll who finished in 2nd place, Cosima De Vito who came in 3rd place, Paulini Curuenavuli who came in 4th place & Rob Mills who finished in 5th place. After Idol, it was these five, the Final 5, who were the most successful out of the Top 12.
Other Idol contestants from Season 1 to release music were Rebekah LaVauney, Peter Ryan and Courtney Act.
In the third semi final, just before the live verdict, one of the contestants, Anthony Sumbati, was disqualified for taking part in a radio interview without the consent of the producers. He later performed in the Grand Final as one of the performances outside the Sydney Opera House.
In the wildcard show, a contestant named Daniel Wakefield was originally meant to be in the top 12, but due to his contract, he wasn't able to be in the top 12. Instead of having one contestant chosen by the judges and the other chosen by Australia, three contestants were chosen, two by Australia and one by the judges.
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