Australian Idol 2023: Judges throw down last minute twist as top six to be slashed in half overnight

Australian Idol Judges Kyle Sandilands and Harry Connick Jr traded salty sledges before serving up a last-minute twist to the final six singers.

Australian Idol is throwing everything at its last week. The judge’s dropped a last minute twist at the semi-final “live show” to not save any of the top six from the public vote and leave it up to the fans to decide

But it was the salty sledgefest between Kyle Sandilands and Harry Connick Jr which spiced up the first semi-final show.

The radio champion and the serious musician threw down at each other on a few occasions with their adjudications after the performances.

In one corner was Connick Jr espousing at length about arrangements and taking risks and being Harry.

And in the other was Sandilands countering with a warning to contestants they risked losing votes if they chose the show’s final week to “show off”.

“It’s a contest … you sing to win. And then you do your airy fairy, arty stuff,” he said,

Connick Jr “respectfully” disagreed and said “Kyle doesn’t know what I am talking about.”

And the pair traded the same script for the remainder of the show, not even pretending they respect each other anymore and setting the stage for more fireworks at the Monday elimination.

Kyle Sandilands, Meghan Trainor, Amy Shark and Harry Connick Jr - Australian Idol Judges.

Australian Idol fans are in for a shock as this week’s cut will be the deepest with half the contestants sent home from the semi-final on Monday.

Three of the top six singers will be eliminated ahead of the Grand Final on March 26 as the truncated Seven reboot of the talent quest wraps up after eight weeks on air.

The first series in 2003, won by Guy Sebastian with Shannon Noll as runner-up, was 19 weeks long.

The top six finalists – Amali Dimont, Phoebe Stewart, Josh Hannan, Royston Sagigi-Baira, Ben Sheehy and Anya Hynninen – were trying to remain upbeat about the brutal booting they face as they rehearsed for the live show.

“The final cut is a super tough part of the show. I think it will bring out the best in all of us for our performances but it will be really hard for half of us to go when we are all so close to our dreams,” said Hannan, one of the favourites to win 2023 Idol.

And then there were three. The top six face a brutal cut on Monday. Picture: Supplied

While the winner automatically scores a recording deal with Sony Music, the label is rumoured to be considering a reboot of the Young Divas, the girl group formed in 2006 featuring Idol contestants.

It would include the popular young female stars of the 2023 season.

The Young Divas pop vehicle helped build audiences for the post-Idol solo careers of Jessica Mauboy, Ricki-Lee Coulter and Paulini. It disbanded in 2008.

Now it’s coming to the pointy end of the 2023 half-year ratings war and there’s been a clear winner from its start on January 30.

Australia just loves drama-packed reality as Married At First Sight’s ratings show. Picture: Channel 9

Married At First Sight was first out of the blocks and has grown exponentially week on week and is now regularly attracting almost 1.9 million eyes with its catch-up audience.

Australian Survivor has cemented its second place and is averaging around 1.248 million with catch-up TV for Ten.

Despite its huge production value, and talent on offer Australian Idol is very much in third place – averaging 821,000 total TV viewers, according to Seven.

While it seems nothing can stop the MAFS juggernaut, David Knox, of blog TV Tonight, believes eventually the reality love show will be toppled from its perch.

“TV is famously cyclic and – as shows such as MKR once discovered – the tide can eventually turn with viewer fatigue and shiny new playthings on offer elsewhere,” he said.

“The Block is probably the longest-running show to retain such ongoing dominance, but the answer to toppling (Nine’s dominance) lies in taking a risk with new genres and formats.

“Something will ultimately stick.”

Survivor also got swamped by the MAFS ratings. Picture: Supplied

Knox said just as viewers have appeared to tire of The Bachelor’s well-worn format, MAFS needs to be cautious around its “relentless cheating and contestants chasing Insta-careers”.

“However, based on the numbers, it doesn’t appear to be in any imminent danger just yet,” he said.

“Nine’s success has also proven the undying power of story and character.

“It’s something that Australian Survivor leans into very favourably, and fans are clearly loving this season, but less so Australian Idol which takes a few weeks before viewers have much chance to connect with individual singers.

“Idol is an expensive show, it really needed to do better to justify the price tag.”

Originally published as Australian Idol 2023: Judges throw down last minute twist as top six to be slashed in half overnight