Evie

"Young Divas" is a concert experience like no other. Four of the finest young female singers in Australia � Australian Idol winner Kate DeAarugo. 2005 Runner Up Emily Williams, Powerhouse pop singer Ricki-Lee and the sensational Paulini have come together to create one huge show, the pop event of 2006.

"Young Divas" is a 2 hour vocal spectacular with each girl performing separately and with the other members of the group. The Divas are backed up by one of Australia�s finest show bands. The girls will perform songs from their own individual albums as well as hand picked selection of the great songs made famous by legendary divas of the past and present. For fans of Australian Idol the girls will also perform their most memorable songs from the show as well as treating the audience to a preview of their own un-released, forthcoming singles.

KATE DEARAUGO: The reigning Australian Idol has had a phenomenal twelve months. On top of winning the most prestigious signing competition in the country Kate has been signed by SonyBMG Music and released a Top 10 debut album called �A place I�ve never been� which has already spawned two incredibly successful smash singles �Maybe Tonight� and �Faded�. She has enjoyed enormous radio play and support and quickly become one of the hottest pop acts in the country with her remarkable voice, down-to-earth personality and Aussie humour. The Young Diva�s tour will be first time Kate has stepped out on stage since Australian Idol and our Bendigo superstar can�t wait hit the road! Kate will then follow the Diva�s tour with her own subsequent shows later in the year.

EMILY WILLIAMS: One of the great new voices on the Australian music landscape. Emily narrowly missed out on winning Australian Idol 2005 but won the hearts of many Australian�s in the process. Her soaring vocals and heartfelt renditions of such songs as �I�m Every Woman� and �I will always love you� made her an instant star at the tender age of 20years old. Since completing the show she has been signed to SonyBMG Music and is currently recording her debut album. The Diva�s tour will mark Em�s first time to rock it live in front of an eager, national audience. Her personal story of triumph, amazing stage presence and unmatched charisma and range is certainly a force to be reckoned with!

RICKI-LEE COULTER: After her outstanding success in Australian Idol 2 Ricki Lee has emerged as one of the sassiest entertainers in the country. Not only is she an incredible singer but with chart-topping songs like �Hell No!� and �Sunshine� she has dominated the airwaves and brought a fresh sound to Australian pop/r&b. Her highly successful debut self-titled album has delivered consecutive hits and 2006 should also see a new Ricki Lee album closer to Christmas. Ricki Lee was the one of the standout performers on the 2004 Australian Idol tour and brings a sexy, flamboyant edge to the Young Divas spectacular.

PAULINI: Australia�s sweetheart Paulini won the hearts of the nation as the lead female vocalist in the first series of Australian Idol and remains one of the finest all-round singers to come out of the show. Her unmatched range and powerhouse vocals are amazing. Paulini has enjoyed great success on the charts with a huge N01 single in 2004 with Angel Eyes and a platinum debut No1 album with One Determined Heart. Her success continued with a starring role in Ch 9�s hit series Celebrity Overhaul and has a brand new single �So Over You� and forthcoming album �Superwoman� for her fans to enjoy. Paulini has toured extensively with Tina Arena, Guy Sebastian and Human Nature since completing the Australian Idol 1 tour and is now ready to rock the house with her amazing voice on the Young Diva�s tour.

To celebrate this amazing concert event, SONY BMG Music Entertainment are to release a single recorded by the Young Divas, a cover of the 1989 Donna Summer classic �This Time I know Its for Real� which will be in stores May 6. The girls will perform this track LIVE for the first time on National Television on the Dancing With the Stars Grand final on May 9. For an evening of hits and glamour there is no other concert event like the �Young Divas�. This is a once in a lifetime musical experience not to be missed.

"Young Divas" The concert event of 2006.
Tickets available from ticketek & ticketmaster.

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Anyone going? I am, can't wait! I'm a big fan of them all bar Kate so it should be grand.

Dalz

I absolutely LOVE the song! I wish they would come to NZ!

Too bad Emily's part isn't even big

Phee

Figured it was about time this thread got a bump to the top of the heap.

I just read on another board that apparently Idol starts on August 6th. They don't have the date up on the official site or anything yet though, so I dunno how set in stone that is.

Just Peachy.

Thanks very much for giving this thread a bump, Phee

Can't wait for Idol to start .... though I've been watching It Takes Two and oh my eyes ... hated Guy and Sarah singing BOMT.

Phee

Not a problem, Peachy.

I saw an ad that confirms the August 6th start date.

Phee

Only a few days to go!


Carnations for all

IF you happen to bump into Australian Idol judge Mark Holden during the next few months there's one topic that you should avoid talking to him about.
The idea that there isn't enough young talent to sustain another season of Australian Idol after three series, gets Holden's goat. He is sick of defending the pool of performers the program has to draw from.

"That's just crazy; it's such a fallacy to say there aren't enough performers out there who are of a standard high enough to support another season of the show," Holden says.

"It's like saying there's not enough high-school students to fill university classes, or there's not enough good young footballers for the AFL draft or the NRL. It's the nature of life that it's constantly being renewed.

"For people to think that the music business would be any different, I just don't understand that, and we have definitely found a diverse and cool bunch of contestants this year."

To increase the talent pool during the audition process, the Australian Idol team raised the cut-off age, visited more rural centres and encouraged performers to sing their own songs or play instruments.

Holden and his fellow judges, Marcia Hines and Kyle Sandilands, have also vowed to change the way they do business for the new season and focus more on working as a team. "We can be too Pollyanna sometimes and there will be less of that this year; it's not about one upping each other," Holden says.

"We sat down together a few weeks ago to get the skeletons out of the closet, to talk about the things that pissed us off about each other last year, and we decided that we would do our job as a team."

As for what the judges will be looking for when the competition starts in earnest on Sunday night, Holden, a songwriter who handed out red carnations in the video for his '70s hit I Wanna Make You My Lady, says he will know it when he sees it.

"I think that if you base it according to what's on the radio at the moment then you are already putting yourself behind the curve," he says.

"Kyle does but that's because he's in at the radio station every day, and that's on top of his perceptions, but I feel that what's on the radio is already two years old because it takes time for an artist to develop.

"It's just a feeling, I just think that if something engages me and I love it that's enough; I don't worry about where or how it fits in because that's a different process."

Australian Idol, Ten, Sunday 7.30pm

Just Peachy.

Thanks for the article Phee

*squeeeeeeeeeeeee* Not long to go now.

Kyls

Idol on tonight!

I hope the audition process doesn't go on for too long...

Evie

Yay! I can't wait to see it, they've been saying the talent's better / more interesting so it should be good! Can't wait to see the semi-finals when the girls and boys face off [in the top 24, to get to the top 12] like they did in American Idol 4/5.

Don't forget to watch It Takes Two! Guy's in the final with Sarah..they won't win [though it's amazing that they scraped through so far..Guy's obv. VERY popular!] but it's always fab to see him and to see what kind of arrangements he does with their songs. Plus he'll be doing his new song tonight, and Paulini will be back to sing with the rest of the voted out contestants.

EDIT; so what did we think of the Aussie Idol opener?

Man, there were so many tragic ones..You'd think people would get a clue.

Anyway, I thought that Dean guy [his South African accent wins him points just for that] and Nathaniel were cute, he especially had an awesome voice, and so did Jessica from NT. She was the last one shown there and she sang I Have Nothing, like it was the easiest thing in the world.

It's good to have it back on air, yay!

Phee

She was rather awesome. Her voice sounds much older than that of a 16 year old. The other kid from NT that got through sounded pretty good, too.

I reckon that Dean guy could potentially be a major fave with the fangirls, so I won't be surprised if he makes it to the finals.

I wish they'd show more of the good people. The trainwrecks are good for a laugh, but I wanna see more from the ones who actually can sing.

Great to have the show back.

Just Peachy.

That's what I'm hoping

I taped Idol tonight.

xallyx

There's something about Idol this year isn't there? I've spoken to a lot of people who seem more interested then normal . The first episode was good. I like how they're letting people sing while playing instruments. Adds a bit more to the show.

Ally

Just Peachy.

Hi Ally

I think that's one of the main things that I like about Idol this year.

Kyls

I really liked Dean and Jessica.

I agree with you Phee about the lack of good auditionees they had on there. They showed maybe 5 or 6 good ones and the rest, while some where kind of funny.. were crap!

haydensgirl

Yeah, I find it annoying sometimes when they show more funny/crap auditions over the good ones. They just go at the end 'there were 30 contestants that went through in Melbourne' etc...you kind of think 'why didn't you show some of them?' lol