Australian Idol (season 2)Contestants(with dates of elimination) Casey DonovanWinner Anthony CalleaRunner-up Courtney Murphy8 November Hayley Jensen1 November Chanel Cole25 October Marty Worrall18 October Ricki-Lee Coulter11 October Daniel Belle4 October Emelia Rusciano27 September Amali Ward20 September Dan O'Connor13 September Angie Narayan7 September The second season of Australian Idol debuted on 13 July 2004. Over 50,000 people throughout Australia auditioned. The finale was the most-watched television program in Australia in 2004, attracting 3.3 million viewers.
Overview As well as the five larger cities, the judges also visited Canberra, Hobart, Darwin and Tamworth this year. Of the twelve finalists, three were from Sydney, two were from Melbourne, and one each from Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Hobart, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide and Bega.
The winner was Casey Donovan. Runner-up Anthony Callea, Courtney Murphy (3rd), Hayley Jensen (4th) and Chanel Cole (5th). The final 2, as well as Ricki-Lee Coulter (7th), were the only contestants of the Top 12 to score hits, with Callea ending up the highest seller with his first release of "The Prayer" being named the second highest selling song of the last decade by ARIA in January 2009.Daily Telegraph Delta Goodrem's talents top the charts 7 January 2010 – retrieved 7 January 2010 Chanel Cole and Daniel Belle teamed up under the label Spook to release an album in October 2005, and a bootleg album for Chanel was also released in November 2005. Ngaiire Joseph (Top 30 contestant) and Marty Worrall released a single each in late 2005, and Hayley Jensen released an album in September 2007. To this date Anthony Callea is the only Idol contestant to make the top 3 without being in the bottom 2 or 3 throughout the course of the show. For this second series of Idol, the Grand Finale remains the highest rated Idol show in the first five series.
Telstra, a major sponsor of the series, made an embarrassing error when they issued a series of half-page advertisements in major newspapers congratulating Donovan on her victory, with a reference to her website. However, the address was incorrect, leading to a website about gay porn star Casey Donovan, rather than the singer's. The company issued a prompt apology upon realising their mistake.
After the season, judge Ian Dickson left the series, though he would return for Seasons 5 to 7. The 2004 season was also notable for an Asian contestant named "Flynn", who sang the Freestylers song "Push Up" after being found from a terrible audition, in the same vein as William Hung.
Semi-finals
Group 1
Anthony Callea – "Angels" (Robbie Williams) Prinnie Stevens – "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Aretha Franklin) Courtney Murphy – "She Will Be Loved" (Maroon 5) Chanel Cole – "Glory Box" (Portishead) Laurence Sorbello – "Amazed" (Lonestar)
Ngaiire Joseph – "No More Drama" (Mary J. Blige) Emily George – "Ain't No Sunshine" (Bill Withers) Meri Bosenavulagi – "Wind Beneath My Wings" (Bette Midler) Ben Eaton – "Freedom! '90" (George Michael) Hayley Jensen – "Angel" (Sarah McLachlan)
Advancing to the Top 12: Courtney Murphy, Chanel Cole and Hayley Jensen Wild Card Contenders: Anthony Callea, Ngaiire Joseph and Emily George
Group 2
Yasmine Dia – "You're Free (To Do What You Want To Do)" (Yomanda) Gabriel Cabrera – "Careless Whisper" (George Michael) Chloe Skipp – "Turn Me On" (Norah Jones) Angie Narayan – "Chain of Fools" (Aretha Franklin) Barry Southgate – "Up Where We Belong" (Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes)
Tara Del Borrello – "My Immortal" (Evanescence) Adrian Hood – "Burn" (Usher) Liza Schulberg – "You Put a Move on My Heart" (Tamia) Daniel Belle – "Rock DJ" (Robbie Williams) Amali Ward – "Some Kind of Wonderful" (Grand Funk Railroad)
Advancing to the Top 12: Angie Narayan, Daniel Belle and Amali Ward Wild Card Contenders: Tara Del Borrello, Adrian Hood and Liza Schulberg
Group 3
Nicole Wheatley – "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith) Garth Ploog – "Something Beautiful" (Robbie Williams) Christie Green – "Anytime You Need a Friend" (Mariah Carey) Ricki-Lee Coulter – "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" (Barry White) Carlos Velazquez – "Yesterday" (The Beatles)
Emelia Rusciano – "Good Luck" (Basement Jaxx) Casey Donovan – "Here's Where I Stand" (Tiffany Taylor) Marty Worrall – "Drops of Jupiter" (Train) Billie McCarthy – "Stormy Weather" (Billie Holiday) Dan O'Connor – "Amazing" (Josh Kelley)
Advancing to the Top 12: Ricki-Lee Coulter, Casey Donovan and Dan O'Connor Wild Card Contenders: Garth Ploog, Carlos Velazquez, Emelia Rusciano, Marty Worrall
Wildcards
Adrian Hood – "The Way You Make Me Feel" (Michael Jackson) Emily George – "Killing Me Softly" (The Fugees) Garth Ploog – "Harder to Breathe" (Maroon 5) Emelia Rusciano – "If I Ain't Got You" (Alicia Keys) Ngaiire Joseph – "Don't Let It End" (John Farnham)
Carlos Velazquez – "Señorita" (Justin Timberlake) Tara Del Borrello – "I Turn to You" (Christina Aguilera) Anthony Callea – "The Reason" (Hoobastank) Liza Schulberg – "Do I Do" (Stevie Wonder) Marty Worrall – "Somewhere Only We Know" (Keane)
Advancing to the Top 12: Anthony Callea, Emelia Rusciano and Marty Worrall
Weekly Song Themes Date Week Theme 5 SeptemberTop 12Australian Made 12 SeptemberTop 11Pop 19 SeptemberTop 10The '60s 26 SeptemberTop 9Disco 3 OctoberTop 8Contestant's Choice 10 OctoberTop 7Beatles 17 OctoberTop 6The '80s 24 OctoberTop 5RnB-Soul 31 OctoberTop 4Big Band 7 NovemberTop 3The '70s
Top 12 – Australian Made OrderContestantSongResult1Chanel Cole"Green Limousine" (The Badloves)Safe2Daniel Belle"You Were There" (Southern Sons)Safe3Amali Ward"Emotion" (Samantha Sang)Bottom 34Ricki-Lee Coulter"Hopelessly Devoted to You" (Olivia Newton-John)Safe5Marty Worrall"When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" (Jimmy Barnes)Safe6Casey Donovan"Symphony of Life" (Tina Arena)Safe7Angie Narayan"A Touch of Paradise" (John Farnham)Eliminated8Anthony Callea"Heaven Knows" (Rick Price)Safe9Emelia Rusciano"Just The Thing" (Paul Mac)Bottom 210Dan O'Connor"Better" (The Screaming Jets)Safe11Hayley Jensen"Weir" (Killing Heidi)Safe12Courtney Murphy"You Weren't In Love With Me" (Billy Field)Safe
The Top 12 Contestants
Casey Donovan
Casey Donovan finished in first place for the second series of Australian Idol. She blew the judges and her fans away with powerful renditions of songs such as "Symphony of Life" and "The Special Ones". She came close to elimination twice when she landed in the bottom two during the Top 6 and the Top 4, thus making her the only winner of Australian Idol to date that has enden up in the bottom group on more than one occasion. All other winners were in the bottom group only once, or not at all. She scored four of Mark Holden's touchdowns during the Top 30, the Top 8, the Top 5 and the Top 3. Casey and season 4 winner Damien Leith hold the record for the most touchdowns at four apiece. After Australian Idol Casey was signed to Sony BMG and she released a number one single and released a platinum selling album. She is no longer with Sony BMG but released an EP independently in 2007 and plans to release an independent album in the near future.
Audition: "A Million Tears" (Kasey Chambers) Theatre Week (Round 1): Theatre Week (Round 3): "Exodus" (Evanescence) Top 30: "Here's Where I Stand" (Tiffany Taylor) TOUCHDOWN Top 12: "Symphony of Life" (Tina Arena) Top 11: "Don't Speak" (No Doubt) Top 10: "Somebody to Love" (Jefferson Airplane) Top 9: "Shake Your Groove Thing" (Peaches & Herb) Top 8: "Special Ones" (George) TOUCHDOWN Top 7: "Eleanor Rigby" (The Beatles) Top 6: "The Flame" (Cheap Trick) Bottom 2 Top 5: "Beautiful" (India.Arie) TOUCHDOWN Top 4: "Why Don't You Do Right?" (Peggy Lee), "Come Fly with Me" (Frank Sinatra) Bottom 2 Top 3: "You're So Vain" (Carly Simon), "Misty Blue" (Dorothy Moore) TOUCHDOWN Top 2: "Take Me as I Am (Vanessa Amorosi), "Hello" (Evanescence), "Listen with Your Heart" (winner's single)
Anthony Callea
Anthony auditioned and was selected for the final 30 in the television series Australian Idol in 2004. Based on viewer votes, he did not make it through the first round of competition but was invited back as a "Judge's Choice Wildcard", where his performance earned him a place in the top 12.
Over the weeks of the competition his popularity with the Australian public grew. During his run on the show, he gave several performances that earned him high praise from the judges, including Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water", Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" and Andrea Bocelli and Céline Dion's duet "The Prayer." Judge Ian 'Dicko' Dickson said Callea's performance of the latter was the finest he had seen during his two years with the show and rendered him speechless. Mark Holden invented a new concept of the 'Grand Royale' Touchdown for his fine performance. This, to date, remains the only 'Grand Royale' Touchdown given out by Mark Holden.
Audition: "Wishes" (Human Nature) Theatre Week (Round 1): Theatre Week (Round 3): Top 30: "Angels" (Robbie Williams) Wildcards: "The Reason" (Hoobastank) Top 12: "Heaven Knows" (Rick Price) Top 11: "Ignition" (R. Kelly) Top 10: "Gimme Some Lovin'" (Spencer Davis Group) Top 9: "Car Wash" (Rose Royce) Top 8: "The Prayer" (Andrea Bocelli and Céline Dion) TOUCHDOWN Top 7: "I Saw Her Standing There" (The Beatles) Top 6: "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Foreigner) Top 5: "Back at One" (Brian McKnight) Top 4: "Fever" (Peggy Lee), "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" (Nat King Cole) Top 3: "Hold the Line" (Toto), "Bridge over Troubled Water" (Simon & Garfunkel) TOUCHDOWN Top 2: "Listen with Your Heart" (winner's single), "Walking Away" (Craig David), "Glory of Love" (Peter Cetera)
Courtney Murphy Courtney Murphy (born 20 November 1979 in Perth, Western Australia) was eliminated on 8 November 2004, making it to the top three.
Audition: "The Rescue Blues" (Ryan Adams) Theatre Week (Round 1): Theatre Week (Round 3): Top 30: "She Will Be Loved" (Maroon 5) Top 12: "You Weren't in Love with Me" (Billy Field) Top 11: "No Matter What" (Badfinger) Top 10: "Spinning Wheel" (Blood, Sweat & Tears) Top 9: "Everyone's a Winner" (Hot Chocolate) Top 8: "God Only Knows" (The Beach Boys) Top 7: "Got to Get You into My Life" (The Beatles) Top 6: "Oh Sherrie" (Steve Perry) Top 5: "What a Fool Believes" (The Doobie Brothers) Bottom 2 Top 4: "For Once in My Life" (Frank Sinatra), "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" (Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington) ~ TOUCHDOWN Top 3: "Somebody to Love" (Queen) ~ TOUCHDOWN, "My Love" (Paul McCartney) Eliminated
Murphy played the parts of "Roger" a "T'Bird" in the Grease Arena Spectacular which toured Australia from May until June 2005. He has released a CD in the group "Murphy's Lore" with his brothers.
Murphy appeared as a guest on ABC's "Spicks and Specks" in 2005 and briefly revisited his performance of Billy Field's "You Weren't In Love With Me", causing co-host Myf Warhurst to become visibly emotional. Murphy's performance of the song is credited in Billy Field's 2005 released Best Of compilation as the impetus for a significant increase in interest in the back catalog of Billy Field.
Murphy performed the Australian National Anthem "Advance Australia Fair" before the test match held between Australia and India at the WACA Ground in Perth, Western Australia on 16 January 2008.
Recording and mixing of Murphy's debut album "Big" was completed in September 2009. Mastering by Sterling Sound, NYC to be completed October 2009. The full-length album is set for independent release in January 2010, and features production, performance and mixing contributions from LA-based power pop artist Bleu.
Courtney's brother, Chris Murphy, later competed in the fourth season of Australian Idol, where he was placed fourth.
Hayley Jensen