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Stan crowned Australian Idol

19 year old Queenslander Stan Walker has won the title of Australian Idol 2009.

ai17Stan Walker has won Australian Idol 2009.

The 19 year old from Queensland defeated 17 year old Hayley Warner in the Grand Final at the Sydney Opera House.

“I just want to thank God man,” said a tearful Walker. “I want to thank my family for supporting me, they came from New Zealand.”

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ai19His family and friends performed an impromptu Maori haka in the audience upon hearing of his win.

Born in Melbourne but raised in New Zealand, Stan won over audiences with his mix of soul and R & B songs.

He wins a  record / management contract with Sony BMG, a $200,000 development fund and a new car.

The win was an ambition fulfilled for the young singer who dreamt of competing after he watched Guy Sebastian win in 2003.

‘Rock chick’ Warner, 17, was the first female finalist for Idol since Natalie Gauci in 2007.

ai21Idol struggled to match previous ratings this year, but TEN has affirmed its return in 2010.

Walker has released the single “Black Box” available now on download.

Gallery: Australian Idol 2009

This post updates.

51 Responses

  1. To all the genius’ out there Stan doesn’t go to Hillsong, but Tweed Valley an ACC church in Tweed Heads (same denomination tho) just because your a christian doesn’t mean you go to Hillsong. It’s pathetic the amount of slake a church (Hillsong) that is doing so much good gets, it’s unfair and before you judge it check it out.

  2. I never watched a full episode of Australian Idol this year. But I caught a few snippits. I was positively impressed by Stan. A georgeous individual.
    The proverb posted bry Janelle Takimoana …”thrive for the days destined to you” … Wow! What a remakably beautiful thought.

  3. Stan is not a member of Hillsong, but just a vistor attending, he is a member of Tweed Valley Community Church. Both church’s are a part of ACCC (AOG).

    AOG have many church’s through out New Zealand also, with a very strong Maori & islander following and do great work helping many broken people as we have seen.

  4. I think people have freakin lost their minds!!!

    People complaining about his heavy kiwi accent and his religious beliefs and how he should not be outspoken about it and keep his religious beliefs to himself. Well, why? Because you don’t like it , agree with with it or understand it? To that I say keep your pathetic beliefs to yourselves as well then. And for his Kiwi accent it is what it is, who cares.

    If you don’t like Australian Idol, then Don’t watch it!. Stop complaining already it’s getting old.

    And if you don’t like Stan or think he should not have won….Tough!

    He did win and most of us who voted for him think he’s amazing and his performances week after week were also amazing. And yes I will be buying is album which comes out Dec 11 and his single Little Black Box is no1 on iTunes.

    At the end of the day it’s personal preference I like his style of music which is Soul and RnB.

    Go Stan!!!

  5. Small correction: MasterChef Australia finale will be shown on ONE in NZ this Friday from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, while Australian Idol finale will be shown on sister station TV2 from 8.30pm to 10.30pm.

  6. Stan’s win was mentioned by several New Zealand media outlets today, including TVNZ, which will broadcast the final this Friday night at 8.30pm on its TV2 channel, the last hour of which will be up against the finale of MasterChef Australia on sister station ONE (MC has been shown in NZ at around 5pm Sundays to Fridays, but the finale will be shown in primetime).

  7. fair dinkum. these contetstants are adults. if you think our bagging is bad. just wait until they both start too struggle. the real music critics will lay it on worse than we are. you cant baby them all the time. to the people that say. aus idol should keep going because american idol has been going brilliantly. there is a reason for that. they have a better talent pool and the singers on that show is worth watching.

  8. I’m with the people posting messages that don’t slag others and their point of view. I have enjoyed Idol for its entire run, and admit that some seasons have been stronger than others. The competition is decided largely by the public. Although the bickering judges shape the top 24, there was an abundance of talent through the semi finals. The element of interactivity from the public is what makes the show and the performers who emerge from it. We will never know how the show would have emerged if Ashley or Sabrina had stayed in til the end – that is the format and how it develops each year. I don’t fathom people who watch and winge – don’t watch – plenty of other options. As another contributor mentioned seven years and a million viewers is still pretty good, and Channel 10 may be a number of things but suicidal they are not. Idol will return, and if the American Idol can still make it fresh and watchable after 8 seasons, then Idol’s Aussie producers will tweak the format to woo more people back. Hayley and Stan made great competitors for a final. Great mentors too this year – Suzi, Harry, Buble, Liza!

  9. @johnb

    Sadly I would have to agree.
    It would seem every forum on the net has become the breeding ground for angry misinformed people.

    Its starting to spoil a great site!

  10. I only watched Idol sporadically this year, as the talent didn’t exactly grab me by the throat, but Stan was the best of an eminently forgettable bunch. Hayley was shocking, I cannot believe she was voted into the final two. What the? She should have been one of the first eliminated. She needs to get her pitch problems fixed, pronto. Agree that Stan needs serious diction coaching. His spoken diction is woeful, really bad. He’s not too bad when he sings, but he sounds like a moron when he speaks. And the neck tattoo is just awful.

    I will be interested to see how Ten fit Idol into its schedule next year, given that they are the Commonwealth Games broadcaster. The Commonwealth Games is in October next year, so that will really stuff up Idol’s scheduling. How are they going to accommodate reality series SYTYCD, The Biggest Loser, MasterChef and Idol? All are three/four month series that broadcast on a Sunday evening? If they are determined to bring Idol back, they will have to truncate the competition or interrupt it mid flow, which would be a bad idea. Hmmm, despite all the denials, I don’t think anything is set in stone about Idol yet. Just because Andrew G said “see ya next year” doesn’t mean a thing. Shows can be cancelled with the swipe of a pen. Perhaps Idol will be “rested”, as it is the worst performing of Ten’s reality shows.

  11. I actually watched the finale last night and thought it was professionally produced but was sadly missing the magic of John Foreman.

    There were good bits and bad bits – Michael Buble is an absolute delight and how generous was he and the other “mentors” with their taped comments!

    As for Idol being back in 2010 – the same was said about Rove being back and we all know what happened with that!

    The initial ratings have just been posted over at Mediaspy and despite the TBYG special and the Idol finale – TEN came in a very distant third.

    Seven won with tabloid current affairs, reality shows and American crime dramas.
    Nine came a close second with tabloid current affairs and cricket.

    TEN had over 3 hours of Australian made shows and came a very distant third.

    I think TEN should rest Idol for a year and maybe bring it back in 2011.

  12. If only people voting spent at least the same amount of money on their Idol’s music as they did on their many votes, then maybe we’d have more successful Idols around here. I can’t believe that so many people would spend so much to vote, and then hold back on $1.69 on iTunes for the single.

  13. Before we all go jumping on the “Stan is religious” bandwagon – Hayley is too. So either way, it was a win for the churches.

    Again, I have to say – that bit with the choreographed group of dancers in the mosh pit was the most excruciating and cringeworthy piece of television I have ever seen. Almost physically painful.

  14. @John B Maybe just don’t scroll down as far as the comments?

    The Tall Poppy Syndrome usually applies to people who have become successful and are deemed “too big for their boots”, and need to be cut down to size. Which doesn’t really seem to apply to the current Idol contestants.

    There is nothing constructive about fawning over Idol, either. It was a good format in its day, but it has run out of steam and no longer rates very well. (I guess it is up to Ten to decide if the “key demos” argument can justify what is a pretty pricey program to produce)

  15. @ john b: well said! all those people who ditch stan and hayley and say they wont go anywhere i just put down to jealousy, atleast they got off their asses and had a go!

  16. Unfortunately this great site is starting to be over-run by typical whinging forum posters who feel the need to bag anything to make themselves feel smart. These comments are lame. Idol has been around for seven seasons and i am sick of reading the same ‘i’m cool coz i hate idol’ comments. The ones about how the winner will be unsuccessful are the worst. Obviously winning idol doesnt guarantee success. Its a tough industry and not everyone can make it. The two finalists were 17 and 19 years old. How much had they achieved at that age? My guess is not much. Typical predictable tall poppy syndrome.

    I hate to get personal, but i’m just over it. I like reading constructive criticism. These pointlessly negative people really reduce my enjoyment of this website.

  17. @newtaste Wasn’t guy a member of one of those super churchs too?
    @alistar. As a Christian i couldn’t agree more. They are con-men. If you look at the shows. a number comes up every 5 or 6 mins asking for money. And they live in houses that would make the pope blush

  18. People are so stupid saying idol should be axed when the programmer of ten said he couldnt give a crap about high ratings and instead wants to win ten’s demos and idol wins them nearly every week, after all its all about advertising and there will always be a market for gen y and gen x

  19. i have to say i really enjoyed the finale tonight, there was alot of different types of music and i liked all of them, mika was awesome and the top 12 chicks were kool and the top 12 guys were great aswell. Great night of entertainment. cheers 10.

  20. Channel 10 is becoming a Christian station, its disgusting. They allow Christian con men to sell false hopes to those who can lease afford it at 3am. Religion has no place on tv

  21. A lot of people are commenting even though they say they did not watch. Andrew said at the end “I’m happy to say we’ll be back next year” or words to that effect. So no ifs about it … it’s coming back.
    @BritneySpearsFan: What? This site is great in that anyone can comment but please use whole words and some punctuation.

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