Australian Idol has found its top three contenders for the Idol crown, after a judge favourite was eliminated from the competition.
During the March 20 episode of the show, it was a bittersweet night as we said goodbye to three contestants.
The Top Six opened the semi-finals with a killer performance of I Feel Good by David Guetta FT Bebe Rexha before hosts Ricki-Lee, and Scott Tweedie announced that each contestant would sing again before finding out who was headed to the Grand Finale on March 26.
23-year-old Royston Sagigi-Baira was first on stage, performing the power ballad I Want To Know What Love is by Foreigner.
Judge Kyle Sandilands said that Royston has “shone like a bright sun on this stage”, while Meghan Trainor said he “slayed every day”.
Next up was 19-year-old Anya Hynninen, who performed It’s a Man’s Man’s World by James Brown.
Meghan said the song was “the perfect song choice” and called Anya “badass” while Amy Shark said the singer had an “edge” and “super swag”.
Following the performances, Ricki-Lee revealed that Royston was headed to the Grand Finale.
“I can’t believe this. This is crazy!” he said. “This is a testament [to the fact] that no matter where you come from, as long as you work hard, you can follow your dreams and they can come true.”
Phoebe Stewart became the next Grand Finalist
Rocker Ben Sheehy was next to perform, taking on the Joe Cocker classic The Letter before 15-year-old Phoebe Stewart hit the stage with a moving performance of Lost Without You by Freya Ridings.
Amy said Ben had “something so weird about you, but weird is a good thing” and “everything about you draws people in”, while Harry Connick Jr said the performance was “cool” and said he should create an album called “Ben’s Lasts Notes“.
Critiquing Phoebe’s performance, Harry said that Phoebe “checked every single box,” while Kyle called her a “beautiful vocalist” that sounded like “heaven”.
Following this, Ricki-Lee announced that Phoebe had become the next contestant to move onto the Top Three.
“Thank you everyone for taking the time out of your life to appreciate music, the show and me. And I’m really happy I’m here. Thank you,” she said, fighting back tears.
After the ad break, Amy performed her new hit High On You with Sam Fischer.
Josh Hannan beat out Amali Dimond for the final spot in the Top Three
20-year-old Josh Hannan and 16-year-old Amali Dimond were the last to perform.
Josh performed Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley while Amali nailed Demi Lovato’s Warrior.
Kyle praised Josh’s song choice, calling him “a true star”, while also adding that he had a “red hot rocket chance” of winning.
Meghan said she “died” three times throughout the performance while lamenting that she didn’t like that the final spot would go to either him or Amali.
Meghan was at first lost for words before saying “You are a star!”.
“You’re just ready,” she added.
Amy said Amali was “beyond” just singing and had “star quality” and consistency.
Kyle said that Calvin Harris’ tour manager was interested in her.
Ricki-Lee then announced Josh as the third and final singer to perform in Sunday’s Grand Finale.
“It’s a bit emotional,” said Josh. “Everyone who voted for me. It is an absolute dream for me to be here.”
The judges told Amali that she was going to be a star, with Harry saying that she could “do anything” in the “showbiz world”.
The winner of Australian Idol will receive a recording contract with industry giant Sony Music and $100,000 in prize money.
The Australian Idol Grand Finale will air on Sunday, March 26 at 7.00 pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.
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