Exclusive interview: Kyle Sandilands on fatherhood, Idol and his wedding

Radio king Kyle Sandilands opens up about why he is so hard on Idol contestants, his baby ultimatum — and why the PM is going to DJ at his wedding.

When the call came in to meet the head of Channel 7 for lunch, Kyle Sandilands already knew the only show that would get him back on television would be Australian Idol.

And, after 15 years off air, he didn’t like his chances.

“I said why the f..k does he want to have lunch, I don’t want to do TV. I told my manager I’d only be interested in doing TV if they brought Idol back — and that’s what the lunch was about,” he told Insider.

“He goes: ‘What do we have to do to get you back on TV?’ and I said a miracle would have to happen and he said: ‘What about Australian Idol?’

“So it was a great lunch that went on and on and dreamt and talked about different people … and the judging panel is excellent.

“I really liked Idol and I missed it when I got fired the first time.”

Kyle Sandilands is delighted to be back on Australian Idol.

Sandilands was last a judge for the hit show from 2004 to 2009. After that he tried his hand at The X-Factor and Australia’s Got Talent but, for him, Idol was the pinnacle.

This time, he sits next to the “fabulous” Meghan Trainor, with Grammy Award-winning legend Harry Connick Jr and the “gorgeous” Amy Shark rounding out the judges.

He says it’s the cross-section of the quartet that makes them the show’s strongest panel yet.

“I think Harry was one of the first people I ever played on radio,” Sandilands tells Insider.

“I don’t like to bring that up because he’s only a few years older than me and he feels that ages him, but he’s had such success, and with the real musos that come out of the woodwork, someone like Harry can just jump on the piano and say: ‘No, you’re singing the wrong key … ding, ding, ding … you should sing in this key’.

Idol judging panel Sandilands (l to r), Meghan Trainor, Amy Shark and Harry Connick Jr. Picture: Channel 7

“I do all my shows like I’m a viewer or listener … so little bits of inspiration like that, from different points of view from the business is what I think makes the judging panel very, very strong.

“I don’t make the music and I don’t write the music, I’m at the other end where the record companies bring it in and go: ‘Do you want to play this?’ and we go nup, or yes.

“And that’s really how it works when it gets to a radio station or a Spotify or YouTube … there’s still a bit of a gateway required.

“And I go: ‘I don’t like it’.

“And sometimes I don’t even care why and I’m not even bothered to even think why, I just don’t like it — and then Harry will go: ‘Oh, you did this wrong’ and they go away with something.

“It’s not gonna be from me, I’m not the cuddler.

“But Harry can be prickly sometimes as well, he’s a no-nonsense guy … he knows what he likes and he’s got his ideas.

“And then Meghan Trainor is fabulous. She’s just lovely and she travels with the whole family, the kids, the husband, the mother – it’s just wonderful, like the Partridge Family.

“And gorgeous Amy as well. I had to pull her aside at one stage and say: ‘Listen, you’re not the fairy godmother saving the children from the wicked music industry, you’re here to find an Idol’.

“I said you’re not here to f..king save them, they’re either good enough, or they’re not.

“But she’s been through the ringer. A lot of people think she’s had overnight success, but she’s in her 30s and she’s done the hard yards and all the festivals and she’s amazing.

“She’s done it the traditional, old-school Jimmy Barnes way.

“Everyone just brings that different point of view and all of the advice matters, because that’s how the public see it — you’ve got to have a good song, you’ve got to be interesting, you’ve got to engage people and the music’s got to be deliverable to an audience, so they actually become successful at the end of it.

“That’s why I think the panel is perfect.”

Sandilands with KIIS on-air partner Jackie O at his 50th birthday. Picture: Instagram

So is the controversial KIIS FM shock jock as unapologetically blunt on Idol’s return as he is on radio?

He says whether he’s hard on hopefuls or not, his judging is always truthful.

“It’s funny, like I’ve burst into laughter at some people because they’re just ludicrous, and they think they’re excellent you think, f..k, you really didn’t realise they’re being ridiculous,” he says.

“I’m only harsh if it’s required. I don’t get off on being an asshole.

“I do have to tell someone to get the f..k out because they just weren’t taking no for an answer … and I was like: ‘Get the f..k out, enough is enough, no one’s picking them’.”

They filmed auditions in October, when a tour took them from Sydney to Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Canberra and even the country town of Crookwell in the NSW southern tablelands, and Sandilands says the voices speak for themselves. But so does the delusion.

“Because we haven’t seen Idol in like 15 years, we forget there was a little bit of family fun because anyone can audition,” he says. “On The Voice, for example, which is a great show, but everyone who shows up has some sort of singing ability, whereas you still get your loons – I don’t know if that’s a politically correct word — but your deluded types that come in that think they’re great, because anyone can audition, which is the beauty of this.

“So we still have the ones that come through that are just there for a laugh.

“There’s some guy who lost a bet at the pub but he’s out from out bush and then he surprises himself that he gets through multiple rounds.

“It’s like where they realise: ‘Shit, this could actually be a living’ … it’s a transformation that you see.

“And that crumbles some people and other people really embrace that.

“So watching the journey of it all, for want of a better word … it’s fun to sit at the desk to see them nervously audition and then surprise themselves getting through each round.”

Sandilands is a devoted dad to baby Otto.

The 16-hour days were a hard slog for the new dad, who was also doing his radio show with Jackie O in the mornings before going straight to set.

His new son Otto was only a few months old too, so throw in late night feeds and early morning nappy changes and it’s no wonder Sandilands had to put his feet up over summer.

“It was a lot. I have someone on the road with me from the radio and they set that up and I wake up, go into the next room, do the radio show and then go to Idol set, in makeup, then audition for 16 hours and then go home and eat and go to bed and do it all over again,” he says.

“Perth was a bit dicey because we were doing the show from 3am back to Sydney — I didn’t take into account the daylight savings.

“Then that night I caught the red-eye back and when I got to Sydney they put a microphone and headphones in my hand at the gate and I started the show from the airport.

“It was busy, but it was fun and worthwhile doing.”

Kyle Sandilands and partner Tegan are getting married in April.

When speaking to Insider he may be on holidays, but he’s been up since 5.45am to feed Otto and give fiance Tegan Kynaston a sleep-in.

And he loves it.

“Because before I went on holidays, I couldn’t before — I was up and gone, and Tegs, the good sport — I said I’ll even stay up and do the dream feed at 10pm and she was like no, you sleep,” he says.

“And I don’t know if that was a trust issue or a: ‘We’re all in this together’ issue but I’m up early, so I’ll do the early shift,” he laughs.

Becoming a father was never on the radar for the 51-year-old and, to be honest, he wasn’t sure he’d like it.

But along came Otto and the heir to his King Kyle throne rocked his world.

“It was not like a desire of mine for my whole life, and then when Tegan said it’s now or never, like: ‘Ship off if you’re not interested in a family’ — said in a much tenderer way than that of course — and I thought: ‘Well, it’s now or never’,” he says.

“And it’s the best thing.

“They all say: ‘It’s the best thing we’ve ever done’ and it is.”

Sandilands took a well-deserved break over summer.

He says Tegan has “gone into motherhood beautifully” and the pair, who recently moved from a Bellevue Hill rental to Vaucluse while their Dural home is being renovated, have been lucky because little Otto sleeps well and eats well.

“There have been no issues, no problems,” he says.

“And every time we go for his little three-month check-up, or his four-month vaccinations, we’re like: ‘Oh God’, you know, it’s all these weird worries I’ve never had before. Because I wouldn’t go to the doctor unless I was on death’s door and needed to be resuscitated … so it’s weird now, being responsible for someone else.

“But it’s very nice and we having a lot of joy.”

He was a “little bit fluey” so was off air for a few days before the show finished up, nothing like Jackie O, who ended the year two weeks early because of lethargy and post-Covid challenges.

“Jackie had that bloody chest cough for weeks after she had Covid this year,” Sandliands says. Speaking of family, two weeks in tropical Port Douglas over Christmas and January was the perfect way to ease into the new year, which will culminate in a long awaited wedding in April. Otto will be in a “ridiculous little suit squirming like a piece of meat”.

“Actually, the wedding is a few weeks after Idol. I’d love to make sure the Idol winner is performing at the wedding,” he says.

“The Prime Minister is DJ-ing at the wedding — he promised that prior to the election and then I reminded him twice and he’s like ‘Yes, so a promise is a promise’.”

Australian Idol premieres on January 30, and will air three nights a week on Channel 7 and 7plus. 

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