Touchdown! Should Seven revive Australian Idol?
It created stars & stopped the nation -could Idol be the answer to Seven's prayers?
- Published by David Knox
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With Seven’s ratings already struggling in the first week of ratings, here’s a question without notice: Should Seven revive Australian Idol?
Industry sources tell TV Tonight the network has the option on the show -and has had for a year.
Australian Idol screened on 10 from 2003 – 2009 and made stars of Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll, Jessica Mauboy, Casey Donovan, Anthony Callea, Rob Mills, Ricki-Lee Coulter, Paulini, Matt Corby, Stan Walker, Em Rusciano, Dean Geyer, Wes Carr, Casey Barnes and more…
By comparison The Voice is yet to create a household name.
The format also allowed viewers to connect with acts and watch them grow with judges remaining independent instead of taking sides as The Voice and X Factor do. It culminated in event television grand finals at the Opera House – we all remember how Guy Sebastian v Shannon Noll stopped the nation.
Sentiment for the series remains strong. Yesterday Carrie Bickmore & Tommy Little hosted a ReunIdol party on their H!T Network radio show with James Mathison, Shannon Noll, Rob Mills, Cosima DeVito & Axle Whitehead (including a reprisal of “Rise Up”).
American Idol also ended its run in 2016 on FOX, but within two years it was revived once more on ABC. The Australian edition has also never been on air in an age of social media…
Seven has confirmed Australia’s Got Talent from Fremantle is back in a “Champions v Challengers” season, which invariably will feature several singers. It is also reviving Farmer Wants a Wife, Big Brother and Wife Swap.
But reviving the show will not come cheap and Seven is under huge pressure with its company share hitting record lows.
Would Australian Idol help them get back on track?
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- Tagged with Australia's Got Talent, Australian Idol, Big Brother, Farmer Wants a Wife, The Voice, Wife Swap
39 Responses
Considering how little money there was to be made by PopStars and Australian Idol stars from music sales in those days and the increasing impossibility of creating any real long lasting career, anyone entering into this would be foolish if they expected anything more than five minutes of fame with little to no financial benefit. Hard pass.
why not there is not enough reality tv shows for people to go on to then think they are celebrities
Masked Idol, I like it. That’s got legs.
12
They’ve already ruined Big Brother (and it isn’t even started yet)
Just imagine what they’d do to Idol.
Some things are best left in 2003
I’d be way more likely to watch Idol than Got Talent, but I’d rather it be on 9 or 10, being more suited to the show. 7 just won’t make it’s mark anymore and will probably not be able to cast the right people for the job.
I’d watch Idol, but I’d be much more excited about a Popstars revival. We’ve seen the dynamics of solo singers on other shows like The Voice and X Factor, but it’s been 20 odd years since we’ve seen a girlband/boyband being formed.
X Factor had girlbands/boybands… even a manufactured one in the form of The Collective.
Not on Channel 7, Manu would be a judge and Sonia Kruger the host. Plus it would go on for 58 weeks and involve a cat fight episode one for “drama” and everyone will be white and straight.
Agree word to word. Wait till Seven goes into administration
Wow. Seven have a couple of under-performing shows on their network and people are already prophesying that financial distress is forthcoming. Let’s not fail to remember a former number one network was in a far more precarious position only a mere eight years ago and was able to recoup.
White and straight is a bit unfair. X Factor and AGT have been some of the most inclusive shows on commercial tv over the years, and they were on seven. All races, genders and ages have been represented.
Disaster. Here’s the thing- it’s too expensive. The Masked Singer and The Voice work because they’re a new spin and different and make you have to watch. They guarantee you eyeballs. Idol is too big a gamble and could be a disaster for 7.
I love Oz Idol – It’s the biggest and the best format out there!
I’ve always thought there was space for Australian Idol, even when the other singing shows were riding high. Australian Idol had a point of difference because the contestants always got to stay in control of themselves – their song choices (albeit within the week’s theme), their wardrobe choices, their vision. The big problem my household has had with The Voice and X Factor is that judges weren’t there to just lend a helping hand, they were moulding them, often with little regard for the artists that these people were when they auditioned. Consequently, it became more about the judges than the singers. The rapid eliminations in other shows might be snappy, but they also create a real disconnect. I don’t care who brings it back, but someone should.
A big yes. Big name judges, a real talent search ….and try to get as many of the original production team as possible. Lightning in a bottle
On the face of it seems like an incredibly dumb move. Who made this call? Sales?
revive it but f it up like they are going to with big brother
Is Blue Heelers still returning?
No doubt Seven would pre-record the entire series 😉
Should definitely come back but they should still keep doing MKR but go back to the old format and do better with the programming next time
Only on channel 10. Seven will destroy the format.
Rehash everything – it’s in Seven’s DNA
Personally, I don’t think many revivals have worked, especially in reality TV. The music industry has changed and viewers tastes have. Yes singers often win Got Talent shows. We are a small nation and cannot guarantee a huge music career, but I acknowledge many contestants have had some longevity.
The Masked Singer and the Voice have highlighted how things are different and I know the first is not a talent show, but the second has not produced ‘stars’ but the chairs are a point of difference. It seems cooking shows are on the decline… see how Master Chef does this year. But 7 do need something new and shiny to fill their void. Or have a range of shows at 7:30 and not just one for 5 nights a week…
Of the innumerable talent shows which we have been treated to over the past twenty years, “Australian Idol” truly is the best of the lot. The show did things with a point-of-difference and undeniably launched the careers of uncountable many. It also engaged with the audience beyond the grand final with the top 12 congregating together and doing a series of limited live concerts. I think it is worth revisiting but the proviso that the production values are stronger than its previous incarnation.
Aren’t they still advertising for contestants for AGT ,I’m afraid the answer is No from me as I don’t think the talent gene pool is big enough.
On another note that photo takes me back ,Guy Sebastian channeling Leo Sayer.
Only if they don’t change it…they have to learn to leave shows that were a hit as they were.
If they bring it back, they can’t drag it out with the drama and sob stories as we’ve seen in The Voice. Punchy, fun, exciting.
Unlike The Voice, Idol produced many stars who are still around today. Theres something special there.
In the first few seasons of Australian Idol, not only the winners, but also many of the finalists had some notable success, particularly chart success. In the later series’, usually many of the finalists other than the winners and runners-up were not able to achieve chart success. I think it could have been the marketing or a decline in interest from the audiences.
I think a potential revival could be refreshed by including groups, bands and various other genres that do well on the radio other than the usual pop ballads and soft rock they had on the show, like alternative, electronic and dance, hip hop etc.
No. Just no.
That’s exactly the words that came to mind when I saw the headline.
Would love to see either Australian Idol or Popstars back on TV… Or even a local version of “Search For The Ultimate Popstar” which could pit former winners and singers from music/variety shows up against each other..