Kyle Sandilands announces star-studded line-up of Australian Idol judges
Kyle Sandilands has revealed who will be joining him on the Australian Idol judging panel, including two international stars.
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Kyle Sandilands has revealed the star-studded line-up of judges who will helm the returning season of Australian Idol.
The reality talent show, which has been off-air for more than a decade and is finally returning to screens on Channel 7 in 2023, will feature Sandilands, US singers Meghan Trainor and Harry Connick Jr and Australian pop star Amy Shark.
Sandilands, 51, made the announcement Wednesday morning on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, despite claiming he was supposed to break the news on Sunrise later in the morning.
“I’m going on Sunrise very soon to announce to the whole country the Australian Idol line-up … I can’t wait, I’m going to tell you first,” he told his co-host.
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“(We) start filming the auditions next week. It’ll be me. The other Australian I’ve chosen, Amy Shark will be the other Australian. She’s excellent. She’s a nice girl but she’s been busy, she writes songs, she works hard, she’ll be fabulous.
“Meghan Trainor … and from American Idol … Harry Connick Jr. Yes grannies, get your panties wet now. Harry Connick Jr. is on Australian Idol. He’s a real crooner.
It comes after Sandilands revealed in August he would be the only original judge to reprise his role, ruling out the possibility of Marsha Hines, Ian Dickson and Mark Holden returning.
Making the announcement on his radio show at the time, Sandilands joked he only agreed to the gig if Seven bosses delivered his contract personally so he could sign the papers live on-air.
“I think they’re bringing the contract, I said I’ll only sign it on the radio show, so all the big head honchos have to march into the studio with the contract. I’ll sign it live on-air,” Sandilands said.
Sandilands also claimed he was heavily involved in recruitment for his three co-judges, while he ruled out Osher Gunsberg’s return as host due to his multiple Channel 10 hosting duties.
“They can’t sign on someone else unless I sign off on it … I’m not going to be doing the show with a bunch of knobs,” Sandilands said.
“I’ve got a long list of knobs I won’t work with. I’d like at least one other Australian, and I would love a big name US and a big name UK, but it all depends, everyone’s touring around … But there’s a lot of big stars interested.”
He said the show would follow a similar format, which would see contestants audition around Australia before a top 12 is chosen for live shows.
As for whether he would soften his infamous brutal honesty, Sandilands said he’d be sticking to what he knows.
“I like The Voice, but I won’t be one of them wishy washy Voice judges that say, ‘No matter how disgusting you are to look at, you’ve got a great voice.’
“I’m not interested in that sh*t. I can only be myself.”
Australian Idol aired for seven seasons on Channel 10 from 2003 until 2009, and made big stars of contestants including Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy and Casey Donovan.
In 2020, the Seven Network announced at their annual upfronts that they would be reviving the series.
Originally published as Kyle Sandilands announces star-studded line-up of Australian Idol judges
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