Australian Idol auditions: dreams on line

Some sang softly as they strummed guitars, others sat in the corner with their iPods, cramming last-minute lyrics. But for all of these hopefuls, the nerves were definitely kicking as they waited to put their dreams on the line at auditions for Australian Idol in Wollongong yesterday. By 2pm almost 100 people had formed a line at the University of Wollongong's conference and function centre waiting for their big moment. They ranged from schoolkids, to mums with the same dream of becoming the next Australian Idol. An infant in the crowd let out an impromptu scream as the TV show's executive producer Greg Beness took charge of proceedings. "Geesh what a voice she's got, she has some lungs on her," he quipped. Beness has been talent scouting for some time and knows exactly what the show is looking for. "The three main factors we look for are personality, pitch and musicability, which really comes down to knowing the music industry." However, the benchmark has already been set with producers surprised by the amazing talent found in some unusual places around Australia. "Surprisingly Tamworth and Mackay have produced some really good talent so there is a chance that the next Australian Idol may even come from Wollongong," he said. Contestants travelled from as far as Wagga and even Brisbane to audition in the Illawarra. However, Beness said contestants should not be upset if they were not chosen for the program. "Contestants need to be committed to music and be good singers, but for the Idol program they need to be marketable and relatable and that's a big factor that we look for," he said. Australian Idol has produced some top talent with 2008's winner Wes Carr's first album reaching No 2 on the Australian charts and 2006's runner-up Jessica Mauboy awarded Best Aussie at the Australian MTV awards last month.