Australian Idol: What has happened to the winners?
From international success to a spectacular fall from grace, the winners of Australian Idol have experienced the highs and lows of show business.
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It was one of the most successful reality TV shows in Australia, so it’s no surprise that Australian Idol is gearing up to make a comeback next year after a 12-year hiatus.
The show was known for making dreams come true as everyday Aussies were plucked from obscurity and turned into overnight celebrities.
From the nerve-racking auditions to the powerful performances, the show took viewers on a musical journey that lasted seven seasons.
So where are the winners of Australian Idol now?
Season 1 - Guy Sebastian
Inaugural winner Guy Sebastian is arguably the most successful contestant of the franchise.
With nine studio albums under his belt and 12 top 10 singles including his song Battle Scars which was an international hit, the Malaysian-born artist, 39, has won countless accolades over the years including seven Aria awards.
Since catapulting to fame on the show in 2003 with his angelic voice, the former worship leader has built a music empire which has expanded into TV with a lucrative coaching gig on The Voice and philanthropy through his charity The Sebastian Foundation.
He represented Australia at the 2015 Eurovision contest and finished in fifth place.
His fans include media mogul Oprah Winfrey and Pope Benedict XVI.
He is married to his high school sweetheart, Jules, and they have two sons together - Hudson, nine, and Archie, seven.
Sebastian said one of his greatest blessings has been the ability to give back to those less fortunate.
“I think you either feel that tugging internally or you don’t,” he said.
“I try to say that maybe because I’ve grown up with such a beautiful family and support network so I’ve got this feeling like I need to give back, but I don’t think it’s that, I think we genuinely hate hearing stories of people struggling.
“What we want for our kids is what we want for a lot of other kids and families growing up... There’s so much that needs to be done but if we all band together in small ways we can at least make a dent and help some people.”
Season 2 - Casey Donovan
In 2004, a then 16-year-old Casey Donovan became the youngest contestant to win Australian Idol after beating the show favourite Anthony Callea.
After signing with Sony, her debut album For You debuted at number 2 and went double platinum but in 2006 she was dropped and went independent.
The Indigenous singer set her sights on theatre and has appeared in various stage productions including The Sapphires and Chicago.
In 2014, she shocked fans by revealing in her memoir Casey Donovan: Big, Beautiful & Sexy that she was catfished by her best friend referred to as “Olga”, who pretended to be a man named “Campbell”.
Donovan entered a relationship with Campbell and they dated for six years before she discovered he did not exist and was in fact Olga.
“I spent six years of my life loving someone who never really existed, being ‘supported’ by a best friend who was deceiving me from the beginning, pulling all the strings,” Donovan wrote.
“I know everyone gets their heart ripped out every now and again but that ... That just took the cake for me.”
Donovan openly struggled with sex addiction and self-harm after the ordeal.
In 2017, she began Uber driving as a source of income while pursuing singing and acting work.
She later appeared on the third season of I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! And won the show.
More recently, she placed second in Eurovision - Australia Decides 2020.
Originally from Bankstown, Donovan, 33, now lives in Melbourne and has found love with Renee Sharples, who she met on dating app Bumble.
Season 3 - Kate DeAraugo
After being humiliated on national television by judge Kyle Sandilands, who claimed she had “tuckshop lady arms”, swimming teacher Kate DeAraugo had the last laugh when she won the show.
The Bendigo-native beat runner-up Emily Williams during season 3 in 2005 and was signed to Sony before releasing her debut album A Place I’ve Never Been which went platinum.
The following year, she joined girl band Young Divas, which was made up of fellow Idol stars Ricki-Lee Coulter, Paulini Curuenavuli, Williams and later Jessica Mauboy.
However the group eventually split two years later after persistent feud rumours.
Despite having the world at her feet, by 2012 DeAraugo had a spectacular fall from grace.
After struggling with her weight, mental health and drug addiction, she was arrested in 2017 for possession of crystal meth, carrying a knife and tomahawk and driving with drugs in her system and pleaded guilty.
She was placed on a community corrections order instead of jail.
“It’s no secret that mental health and depression and addiction and all of that stuff has been a big part of my story,” she said earlier this year on The Morning Show.
“The good news is that I’m nearly three years in recovery now. It was a dark time but an incredible learning experience now that I’m out the other end.”
The 35-year-old has retreated from the spotlight and now lives a quiet life in Melbourne with her boyfriend, whose identity has not been made public.
DeAraugo recently completed a Certificate 3 in Civil Construction.
Season 4 - Damien Leith
Season four winner Damien Leith captivated viewers with his impressive vocal range and thick Irish accent on the reality singing show.
However the judges were brutal and Leith previously spoke about his constant struggle with bullying both on and off the show.
“I was all excited to show off my singing skills to the whole of Australia but before a note came out of my mouth, the first thing the celebrity judges Mark Holden and Kyle Sandilands said to me was - ‘My God what is it with your teeth? You are also rather ugly’. “It was a pretty shattering and defining moment in my life,” he said.
“The fact is I was not only the oldest ever winner of an Aussie talent show but I was being told all these pretty heavy things by people I respected and then there was the online bullying that came after.”
Nicknamed “The people’s tenor”, the former pharmacist signed with Sony BMG and enjoyed incredible success with the release of nine studio albums.
His debut album The Winner’s Journey went platinum and in 2007 earned him an ARIA award for being the highest selling album.
However, in 2009 it was claimed that Leith did not receive any proceeds from the sale of more than 300,000 copies of the album.
One bombshell report claimed despite selling more than $5 million worth of records, Leith was forced to sell his car just to pay rent.
His music has appeared in TV commercials, films and TV shows.
In 2011, he went on to appear on Dancing With The Stars and dabbled in literature, writing and narrating a collection of stories for children and adults.
Leith, 45, now works as a radio announcer for WAVE FM 96.5 and occasionally still performs live gigs.
He lives in Scone in the Hunter region after moving from Stanmore with his wife Eileen and three children Jarvis, 15, Jagger, 12, and Kikki, 9
Season 5 - Natalie Gauci
Season 5 contestant Natalie Gauci almost never made it to the top 12 after failing to receive enough public votes.
She was given a lifeline by the judges and eventually went on to win the show in 2007, beating runner-up Matt Corby.
However behind her bubbly demeanour, Gauci was suffering private pain stemming from sexual abuse she endured during her teenage years, which later led to drug abuse and an eating disorder.
“I was really scared of it coming out,” she said.
“I was so afraid of people knowing and that was the one thing I didn’t want them to bring out in the public about me, because I wasn’t ready to talk about it.
“I just wanted to do my music and so [the show] promised me that they wouldn’t expose it and if anybody brought it up it would just be a non-conversation. We wouldn’t talk about it.”
She initially signed to Sony and her debut album peaked at number 11 on the ARIA charts.
After two years she left the music label and collaborated with European record label Sorry Shoes.
She formed electro-pop group Tune in Tokyo and later moved to the UK, where she taught music for six years.
Gauci had a brief cameo in the 2011 film Big Mamma’s Boy.
She eventually moved back to Australia and now lives in Queensland with her son one-year-old son Jedediah.
The 39-year-old single mum underwent spiritual healing to overcome past trauma and is as a healer while still dabbling in music.
She appeared on The Voice last year and performed Sia’s The Greatest during a blind audition.
Season 6 - Wes Carr
Bondi’s Wes Carr rose to stardom after winning the sixth season of Australian Idol.
After signing to Sony, he enjoyed some success including a number one debut single and a second studio album which peaked at number two on the ARIA charts.
He later went independent and began using the pseudonym Buffalo Tales as he claimed the show ruined his name.
“People have a perception of Wes Carr. That’s not me. Ironically, I had to change my own name to release my own music,” he previously said.
“Meanwhile, I’ve got this Wes Carr thing hanging over my head that I have to kill off. I’m sick of that character. It is tainted.”
In 2013, Carr caught the attention of music powerhouse Sia with his cover of her song Diamonds (performed by Rihanna).
He later dabbled in theatre with a role in Rolling Thunder Vietnam and in February this year, he relocated to Nashville in the US to advance his music career.
Carr, 39, is married to former Home and Away actor Charlotte Gregg and the couple have two children Willow, 8, and Jackson, 2.
Season 7 - Stan Walker
Kiwi singer Stan Walker rose to stardom on Australian Idol in season seven when he was just 19.
He signed with Sony and his debut single Black Box peaked at number 2 on the Aria charts and went double platinum.
With seven albums under his belt, the Melbourne-born musician’s work has earned him recognition in both Australia and New Zealand.
He once opened for US musicians Beyonce and Nicki Minaj during their respective tours.
Walker’s career expanded to TV in 2013 after he scored a judging gig on The X Factor New Zealand.
That same year, he made his acting debut in the New Zealand film Mt Zion.
In 2018, Walker sparked concerns for his health after he was pictured looking gaunt and frail.
It was later revealed that he battled cancer, which he opened up about in his 2020 autobiography Impossible: My Story and he lost 20kg due to a gallbladder issue.
“They found 13 spots of cancer in my stomach,” he said.
“If I hadn’t got it out... right now I’d either be dead or on my way out. Long term, I have to have injections of vitamin B12 every three months - I’ll die without it, because that’s how our bodies make blood. But I am cancer free, I’m just like everybody else.”
Walker also touched on abuse, addiction and overcoming his difficult childhood through his Christian faith.
Now living in Whanganui, the 30-year-old is healthy and happy and recently tied the knot with model and TV presenter Lou Tyson. He is now a stepfather to her son, Te Puuwairua.
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