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Gallery: Carols by Candlelight

It was Dami Im who stole the show at the Myer Music Bowl last night.

Dami Im stole the show -hands down- last night.

The X Factor discovery soared with her performance of When a Child is Born and rocked the Bowl with Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas -a match fit.

Nine turned on a magical night of performances, for the 79th Carols by Candlelight hosted by David Campbell and Lisa Wilkinson.

But the troupers like Denis Walter, Sylvie Paladino and Anthony Callea were other highlights (even if someone can’t help but oversing each year!).

We got a lengthy look at the new Hi-5 with Santa’s friend Marty Fields and while it wasn’t a memorable first outing, perhaps they will find their place in a setting that showcases their talent.

This year we should really also acknowledge the annual contributions of the Melbourne Gospel Choir, ably supporting profile singers without ever upstaging.

And hats off to the ageless maestro John Foreman.

And if there is any criticism, Twitter has called it again…. we want Humphrey. May just have to campaign for that for the 80th event.

You can catch it all again today from 1:10pm on Nine.

Photos: Les O’Rourke

10 Responses

  1. My highlight was Kate Cebrano and her 12 year old daughter singing. Kate looked like she was about to burst with pride and the little whisper to her daughter ‘beautiful’ was priceless. Dami Im off course was wonderful as usual. I watch her and can’t understand why she hasn’t cracked the lucrative American market big time !

  2. My two favourites were Marina Prior and Dami. Agree that it wasn’t the best ever Hi-5 but I got super nostalgic when “Santa Claus is Coming” came on and had a ball with that one song. I’m sure they will get better as time goes on.

  3. Nine made a real blue devoting so much time to Hi-5 – it’s certainly what turned us of the broadcast. The over-scripted, over-choreographed, squeaky clean performance just dragged on too long – particularly given we were watching 5 unknowns on stage.

  4. Dami’s performance of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is the best I’ve ever heard it sung, excluding Mariah of course. It needs an exceptional singer to keep up with Mariah and Dami was just that. Next year I’d be happy for Dami to just do the entire show herself, with costume changes and cheesy skits littered between songs 🙂

  5. My staple every year…re watching now….just two things for me…crowd seemed a little flat this year…and who dressed the Hi5 guys….
    And Dami is on as I type….

  6. As far as Humphrey is concerned, I remember the year they got rid of the segment. They replaced it with a promotion for a movie called Happy Feet 2 which had already flopped in the US and which was opening here on Boxing Day (and it flopped here as well). Many people had thought that with that shameful advertorial out of the way Humphrey would return the following year but he never did.

    1. The thing with Humphrey is that even though they dropped his main appearance from the TV broadcast, he still appeared for those at the bowl during ads and into the crowd, etc. He would also be shown at the end with everyone else on stage (leaving those at home to wonder why Humphrey only appeared in the closing).

      For this Carols he didn’t even appear on the closing for the TV broadcast, so it seems for whatever reason 9 stopped him from attending totally.

  7. Dami just never does a bad performance. She just puts so much energy into every song she sings. I enjoyed it last night

    My disappointment no one sang Little Drummer boy or Mary Boy’s Child

  8. Carols wins hands down every year because they raise money for Vision Australia & are not one long commercial for a chocolate or supermarket company. Very classy show Nine. David & Lisa have a natural rapport. Thank you.

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