Iilysh Retallick may have thousands of fans behind her going into the Australian Idol grand finale, but she’s revealed that one “secret weapon” has helped her get so far.
During an exclusive interview with Chattr, Iilysh said she’s so grateful for how much her small town of Culcairn has gotten behind her.
“There is about 1400 people in my town, and the support, honestly, it has been my secret weapon,” she said. “I don’t think I would be here without them. They’ve done so much.”
Culcairn certainly has thrown their support behind Iilysh — the local butchers has even created an ‘Iilysh sausage’ that’s a sweet chilli and mango flavour.
“The sausages are a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy,” Iilysh said. “They’re selling out every day. [The butcher] even had to put a limit on how many sausages people could get, whichis six at a time.”
The rest of the town of Culcairn is getting behind Iilysh ahead of the Grand Final, too.
“They’ve changed the name of the town to Cold Can for a week. They’ve plastered my name all over every board they can find.
“The footy club has changed their name to the Cold Can Lions. And then they all gather at the footy ground to show their support. They even have watch parties at the pub, and you can get a free Schooner if you vote Iilysh 10 times. They’ve done so many things. It’s amazing to see.”
If you’re not up to date on the Cold Can reference, it was what Kyle Sandilands called Iilysh’s town at the auditions.
“The Cold Can reference comes from my audition day when I told the judges where I came from. Kyle was a bit confused, and he said, ‘Oh, Cold Can as in opening a cold can?’ and ever since then, it’s just kind of stuck, and we just go by Cold Can,” she laughed.
So, will the town erect a statue of Iilysh if she’s crowned the winner of Australian Idol 2025?
“I have no idea what they will do, but I know that it would be huge, big and massive. They would do something amazing,” she replied with a laugh.
Iilysh on her Australian Idol transformation
Viewers have watched as Iilysh blossomed from a shy country girl into a confident rocker dominating the Australian Idol stage.
Looking back at her journey on the show, Iilysh says that she’s proud of how far she has come.
“I think my my time on Idol has made me more confident, especially thinking back to the girl I was when I auditioned. I was scared, I was nervous, I wasn’t sure what I was doing.
“But as I’ve gone further in this competition, my drive and my strength and power have just grown.”
However, she stressed that she will always be a country girl at heart.
“I’m always still going to be Iilysh from Culcairn. I’m always going to be that girl, but I think it’s just my artistry and my confidence and the way I perform has just grown stronger.”
And we wouldn’t want it any other way!
The Australian Idol 2025 finale airs on April 6 at 7pm and April 7 at 7:30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.
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