Scott Tweedie and Ricki-Lee Coulter are back as hosts for the toughest season of Australian Idol yet.
With an all-new format to the audition rounds, the hosts had a front-row view of how tough the competition is for 2024.
Unlike previous seasons of the hugely successful Channel 7 show, only 30 “golden tickets” are up for grabs over the season.
Watch Australian Idol on Channel 7 and stream it for free on 7plus >>
Aspiring performers will no longer know instantly whether they are going through to the next round.
Instead, once each artist has auditioned, the performer has to wait around until the end of the day before learning whether they are in the running for one of the coveted tickets.
During this time, they watch the other auditions on a screen, scoping the competition and contemplating their own audition.
At the end of each day, the judges may ask several singers to perform again — before handing out a select few tickets to those who are going through to be part of the top 30.
The rest are sent home.
“That’s what makes this year even tougher,” co-host Tweedie, 35, tells 7NEWS.com.au.
“Previously, you had your moment in the room and you get your answer, then and there, on whether you go to the next round.
“Now it’s like, ‘You’re good… but are you good enough for the top 30?’
“’We don’t know yet, we need to look at everyone and we’ll see you later on.’
“So you could be sitting there for six hours thinking, ‘Did I do my best? Did I not?
“Then you start to have these mind games with yourself, and it’s really out of your control.”
Tweedie suggests this format more closely follows the harsh realities of making it in the music industry.
“(It’s like), ‘If you honestly believe you can cut through, not only be the Australian Idol but then once you are the Australian Idol create some hit songs — this is what it’s all about,” he says.
“Today is day number one. Good luck, here we go.”
Through the long wait for contestants, it is Tweedie and Coulter’s job to remain upbeat and positive — no easy feat on 14-hour shooting days.
The key to their success, Tweedie says, is ensuring their immediate team of hair, make-up, producers all have the “same vibe and same energy so they’re really positive and fun”.
“The days are really long but we’ve got a great crew around us and Ricki’s crew is incredible and I love my team as well.”
The TV host says Coulter is “the hardest working” teammate who “loves every moment of her work”.
“It’s always a yes, she’s happy to do everything, and for someone like her that’s working in media for so long, that’s rare,” he says.
Ultimately, Tweedie says they both love what they do, recalling the special moment the pair step out onto the stage before beginning a live show.
“We have this moment, like 10 seconds before we begin the live show, where we’re like, ‘We’re here’,” he says.
“And we look at each other, and we kind of laugh, and we’re like, ‘How good are our jobs… how lucky are we’.
“I know Ricki does this for a living, but I’m not a pop star or a rock star.
“So when we walk out there — as close as I’ll ever get to being a rock star, because the band’s playing and the crowd’s going wild — I’m pretending that’s for me,” he laughs.
Australian Idol returns Monday January 29 at 7.30pm (AEDT) on Channel 7 and 7plus.
