Australian Idol Auditions - Sydney - Day 1

Australian Idol took us to Sydney tonight (andwe'll be back there tomorrow night for a double dose). It was wet and miserable for the first day of auditions, and the weather had obviously affected Kyle, who chucked a sicky. The Dicko and Marcia were told that there were thousands of kids waiting outside, and the show would have to go on.

This left them in a sticky situation - two yeses means your in and two no's mean your out, but what does one of each mean? We were never given an answer to that, but the situation didnt arise anyway, Dicko and Marcia seemed to agree with each other the whole way (which ultimately led to a less interesting audition process, but what can you do?).

There were many different instruments on display for the first day in Sydney, everything from guitars to saxophones to comb playing to didgereedoos to wobble boards. But the bad weather had put the judges in a bad mood, and Ricki-Lee tried her best to keep the spirits up for the contestants waiting in line.

The Good

20 year old Rishani Priddis has been singing since high school. She has a Soul, Funk & R&B background, and her Dad was a musician. She was born in Sri Lanka, and was adopted by an australian family at a young age. She sang the John Legend song "Ordinary People". Dicko said that it was the first time anyone had sung that song well in the auditions, and that she was a "tiny bit Billy Holiday sounding".

17 year old Matt Parsons bought the entire family, his mum, dad, brother and sister-in-law. He played an original song, using both the didgereedoo and his guitar. After being asked what else he could sing, he did a Goo Goo Dolls song and a Michael Buble tune. Dicko said he was a "dead set star", and gave him a standing ovation.

21 year old Natalie Colavito had auditioned before and made it into the Top 100. Since then, she said she had been working really hard (at Best and Less). She confessed that last time she had a lack of confidence and no self esteem. After singing a bit, Dicko stopped her because he'd heard enough, he wasn't fond of her song choice, and called it "overemotional mills and boon hearthrob stuff". He likes her voice, but wants her to connect to simpler pop songs. Marcia - "You've been using your voice as a weapon, but you should get a go".

25 year old Wes Carr has been playing in pubs and clubs since the age of 15. He moved from Adelaide to Sydney, and now lives in a tiny Bondi flat. He said he doesnt want to be singing to 10 drunk people for the rest of his life. He plays covers and originals, and performed Jimmi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower". Marcia asked him what was under the hat, so Wes showed her his orange hat hair. Marcia said "You're lovely, you seem incredibly comfortable with the guitar, but you wont be able to use that all that often". Dicko said he was one of the best things that's ever walked into an Australian Idol audition, and he was blown away and honored that Wes had come in. Dicko gave him a big hug before he left.

28 year old Simon Phillips was born in WA and lives in Melbourne, but he was on tour during the Melbourne auditions. He's been a Spanish guitarist since the age of 12. With his partner close to giving brith, he hadnt had a chance to prepare much for the auditions. He writes political songs, and has played in the streets of sydney for 2 1/2 years. He sang a folksy song about Rosa Parks. Marcia said "you're a lovely storyteller, really deep". Dicko said there was a fabulous use of rhythm in his voice.

The Bad

26 year old Renee Leverton - Marcia said "Some of it was slightly in tune".

Anna Tipping was a Celine Dion look-alike (but not sound-alike)

22 year old Pi Thabthim sounded like a cow mooing.

24 year old singer - actor - dancer - Nicole Sero. Kyle said "The voice was as lifeless as the body".

17 year old Gavin Ong - when asked, he said he couldn't explain his voice, but Dicko said "oh dear", and Marcia said "Are you joshing me or what?"

Ricki's number one fan - 21 year old Peter Walter Jr. said he would turn straight for Ricki-Lee. After bombing out at the audition, he got some help from Ricki, giving a whole new meaning to the word "backing singer", literally singing behind his back. In the end, Ricki blew her second chance at Australian Idol, and Peter didn't get through.

Yiqi (pronounced "itchy") Wang was only mentioned because of the double entendre name

Pamela Talbot - 21 was dressed in black with black lipstick, and sang "More Than Words". Dicko said "You made a dreary day more dreary".

The Ugly

Nancy Lovato with the wobble board, sang The B52's song "Roam". Dicko said "You were wobbling more than the board.."

Cody and Chris said they had what it takes to be number 1... alright maybe #2. Then they stripped off, and danced until their testicles popped out. Dicko told them to put it away, while Marcia pretended not to look, finally saying "Put that shit away". They left skidding down the wet tiles outside, and ended up with third degree burns on the butt.

10 singers through tonight (we saw half of them), but there's more to come from Sydney tomorrow night.