Author	Message / Information
Kip hrithikulous as!	THE WINNER OF AUSTRALIAN IDOL!! replied on: 11/22/2004 10:26:53 PM Yay for Casey ! I wanted her personality to win, but Anthony's voice to win...guess you can't have it both ways :-(
nafeesa Nifty Naffu	THE WINNER OF AUSTRALIAN IDOL!! replied on: 11/21/2004 8:41:47 PM Is CASEY DONOVAN!! WOOHOOO!!! And she was meant to win for us nuts, coz look at what she wore!! In the end, the girl with the big heart triumphed over the boy who wore his heart on his sleeve. Casey Donovan, the 16-year-old with an untutored big voice from Sydney's Bass Hill, won the second Australian Idol last night. She beat 21-year-old Anthony Callea, a professional singer from Melbourne's western suburbs who was once coached by Young Talent Time's Johnny Young. A sobbing Donovan took several minutes to compose herself before thanking her family, friends, mother and step-father who were in the Opera House audience. "This is a great guy," she said, embracing Callea. "I love you, buddy." Immediately after being declared the winner, she broke into a song, Listen With Your Heart. The record company BMG Australia has rushed copies of the CD of that song into stores, ready for sale this morning. It should go platinum by lunchtime. After the show, Donovan said she had given herself no chance of winning and had even forgotten to rehearse the words of the song. "I can't quite believe this. I know I'm going to be up all night in the hotel going 'oh God, oh God'." Advertisement AdvertisementShe said she broken the mould of what a popular female singer should be. "No one's perfect." Last night's final attracted more than 4 million television viewers. The contest, for which auditions began in April, hauled in more than $25 million in television advertising. Spots on last night's final cost $3000 a second. It was even advertised as proof that big girls are better. Idol was the latest in a series of globally franchised TV programs, such as Big Brother and Who Wants to be a Millionaire. They charged viewers fees, payable on voting by SMS, or registering to be a contestant. With Idol, Australians are believed to have spent almost $4 million this week voting by phone for Donovan or Callea. Little wonder then that Telstra, McDonald's, Sony Australia and Nestle were prepared to pay a total of $25 million in advertising during the second Australian Idol series. BMG made $22 million in CD sales from the first Idol series. Denis Handlon, from Sony, said Donovan's win had proved her wide demographic appeal. Last night, parties were held across Australia to celebrate the final at the Opera House, where thousands had begun lining up soon after lunch yesterday. The biggest was in Werribee, where Callea's fans, friends and family congregated at his former high school, MacKillop College. At Bankstown, large contingents of Donovan's friends and fans, many of them Aboriginal, partied from early in the afternoon. Her family celebrated at the South Sydney Leagues Club in Redfern. At the Opera House, the red carpet treatment was given to an array of mainly Network Ten personalities, Idol contestants past and present and last year's finalists, who ran down the red carpet to the accompaniment of fireworks over the harbour. The final proved a very Australian story in a time of high aspirations and low expectations: two kids from the western suburbs of their respective cities with big voices and bigger dreams. Over the weeks, Australia watched as they rose above their limitations to beat the other 10 contestants chosen after a massive national audition where 50,000 hopefuls were culled back to the final dozen. Repeating hits they had performed earlier in the Idol contest, for last night's closing performance Donovan chose Tina Arena's Symphony of Life, while Callea sang The Prayer, originally recorded by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion. Immediately after being declared the winner, Donovan broke into a song called Listen With Your Heart. Both singers sang the song eight days ago to give the voting public a chance to score them singing the same tune. But wait, there's more ... Donovan will have an album out in time for the Christmas rush and the rival television stations are also dashing to cash in on the Australian Idol phenomenon.

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