Australian Idol 2025‘s Marshall Hamburger has been a standout contestant ever since his first audition. Not only has he had fans backing him the whole way through, but host Ricki-Lee Coulter also labelled him as one to watch after his initial performance.
Now, Marshall is one of the Top 3 grand finalists, along with Gisella Colletti and Iilysh Retallick. However, Marshall told Chattr in an exclusive interview ahead of the Australian Idol finale that he never expected to get as far as he has.
“I honestly thought I would get to the auditions and maybe make it to Top 30. That’s all I thought I would get to. I’m honestly baffled by how far I’ve come. I’m so grateful,” he said.
Marshall explained that he felt like he was gaining momentum as he kept progressing through rounds.
“I think the stage that shocked me the most was Top 21 week because I was struggling because it was a transition; I was transitioning to a different style of performing and trying to become more professional in my performing.
“So I was, I was like, ‘Dang, I don’t know if I fully got there this week, but fingers crossed’. And then when I got through, I was just like, Oh, my God.”
But, it was making the Top 10 that Marshall called his “turning point”, saying that it made him realise that he could win the entire competition.
“I sang As the Days Go By, and I think that song was an anomaly because I never really had an atrociously bad rehearsal of it, it was always very good.
“I always call that song a blessing, some sort of blessing from Daryl Braithwaite,” he joked.
“As I kept progressing. I was just like, ‘I think I can actually get to the end if I keep working as hard as I am’. So I kept doing that, and here we are!”
Marshall says support from fans gives him more confidence
You don’t have to scroll far through Australian Idol Facebook groups or Mashall’s Instagram comments to see that there are a lot of fans convinced that Marshall will win.
While that may seem like a lot of pressure for his upcoming Australian Idol finale performance, Marshall said that, instead, the support helps his confidence grow.
“I think the comments of people on Facebook and Facebook groups, honestly, it just gives me more confidence in myself that people actually really like what I’m doing.
“People like what I’m doing so much that they think I’m going to achieve really great things, so honestly, that just empowers me more to do what I love,” he said.
Good luck, Marshall!
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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