Australian Idol (season 6)
The sixth season of Australian Idol premiered on Sunday, 24 August 2008, on Network Ten. The season finale aired live on Sunday, 23 November 2008. The winner was Wes Carr with Luke Dickens as runner-up.
Changes to Format
, Ian Dickson, and Marcia Hines returned as judges, however long term judge Mark Holden left to pursue other interests. Andrew G was temporarily absent while he prepared for his wedding and Ricki-Lee Coulter is acting as a new back-stage host. The London auditions featured guest judges Tina Arena and Darren Hayes.Also for the second time on an Idol contest, the format for eliminations in the Top 12 round will be different. In the new result nights, the bottom 3 of the week will be announced first and the voting line will be opened again for viewers to vote for their favourite in the bottom 3. Music Idol, the Bulgarian version of Idol, were the first to use this new format in their second season. New Zealand Idol season 3 used a similar format for the second week of the finals, but dropped it afterwards.
Process
Regional auditions phase
Locations
The Auditions were held in the following cities:^ These auditions were not filmed, with successful contestants going to capital city of the respective state for their second tier audition.
Auditioning contestants are required to be between the ages 16 and 30 on 1 July 2008.
Registrations were also conducted online, although not mandatory, allowed users to enter a draw of $2,000.
Semi-finals
From 1 to 4 September the Semi-final rounds aired on television, allowing viewers to vote. The Wildcard Performance Show was held on Sunday, 7 September, with results on 8 September.List of the semi-finalists below.
| Females | Males |
| Brooke Addamo | Thanh Bui |
| Nicole Banks | Wes Carr |
| Natalie Colavito | Luke Dickens |
| Amanda Grafanakis* | Teale Jakubenko |
| Chrislyn Hamilton | Matthew Parsons |
| Madam Parker | Irae Schwenke |
| Sophie Paterson | Mark Spano |
| Roshani Priddis | James Spargo |
| Brooke Schubert | Mitchell Steele |
| Kayla Vanzetta | Jonny Taylor |
| Brooke Wilkie | Jack Anton |
Weekly Song Themes
Top 12 Finalists
Wesley Carr
Wes Carr is a 26-year-old from Bondi, New South Wales. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Wes Carr moved to Bondi as a 15-year-old. Before he auditioned for Australian Idol, Wes Carr performed and had regular resident gigs around Sydney.On 23 November 2008, Wes Carr was announced the winner of Australian Idol 2008.
Luke Dickens
Luke Dickens is from Young, New South Wales. Before he auditioned, Luke Dickens was a sheep shearer and had taught himself how to play the guitar. He was announced runner-up to Wes Carr on 23 November 2008.Mark Spano
Mark Spano is a 26-year-old from Brighton, Victoria. He is of Italian Heritage. Mark Spano fronted band The Need for seven years, but had to stop after losing his voice due to polyp in his vocal cords. During his 2-year recovery, Mark Spano worked as a labourer until he auditioned for Australian Idol. Spano was eliminated during the Top 3 results night.Teale Jakubenko
Teale Jakubenko is a 22-year-old from Yatala, Queensland. Born in Gold Coast, Queensland, Teale Jakubenko recently toured with renowned Australian singer Wendy Matthews. Jakubenko was eliminated during the Top 4 results night. Teale was placed in the Bottom 3 six times including elimination and therefore has been placed there the most times out of any contestant in the history of Australian Idol.Chrislyn Hamilton
Chrislyn Hamilton is a 17-year-old from Scarborough, Queensland. Before her audition, Chrislyn Hamilton was in high school and was the lead singer in her school band, picked up a leading role in her school musical and performed in a gospel rock choir group every week. Hamilton was eliminated during the Top 5 results night, and for the first time, the contest was left with four male finalists.Roshani Priddis
Roshani Priddis is a 21-year-old from Ashfield, New South Wales, although she grew up in Tamworth, New South Wales. Born in Sri Lanka, Priddis moved to Australia as a 6-week-old when she was adopted by an Australian family. Priddis was eliminated during the Top 6 results night.Sophie Paterson
Sophie Paterson is a 23-year-old from London, United Kingdom. Originally from Maryknoll, Victoria, Paterson moved to England to pursue a music career. Before she auditioned, Sophie Paterson worked as a bar manager and performed regularly. She was eliminated during the Top 7 results night.Thanh Bui
Thanh Bui is a 25-year-old from Abbotsford, Victoria. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Vietnamese parents, he moved to Melbourne as a 7-year-old. He was educated at Melbourne High School, graduating in 2000. Thanh Bui was part of the boy-band North who toured around Malaysia and split up in 2006. Aside of Australian Idol he is the director and vocal coach at International Artist Academy. Bui was eliminated during the Top 8 Results Night.Madam Parker
Madam Parker is a 23-year-old who lives with her family in Beverly Hills, New South Wales. Originally from New Zealand, Parker moved to Australia in order to make a better future for her son and pursue her musical dreams. Parker is of Māori and West African descent. Parker was eliminated during the Top 9 Results Night. In April 2010, it was announced that Madam will be a new member of the Young Divas group, replacing former member, Emily Williams.Jack Anton
Jack Anton is a 25-year-old from Melbourne, Victoria. At 15-months-old, Jack Anton had a heart condition. Before the auditions, he attended high school. Anton was eliminated during the Top 10 Results Night. Jack joined a band from Melbourne named at Sunset in March 2014, but he left to focus on solo music in June 2016. The band was also renamed to 'Lynk'.Brooke Addamo
is a 25-year-old from Werribee, Victoria. Addamo takes professional vocal coaching and won Teen Idol in 2007. She was eliminated during the Top 11 Results Night. She has now released an E.P. with Wunderkind under the moniker "Owl Eyes" which is in stores now.Jonny Taylor
Jonny Taylor is a 22-year-old from Perth, Western Australia. Since 2006, Taylor has been determined to make his life count after a serious motorcycle accident almost took his life. He was eliminated during the Top 12 Results Night.Elimination chart
| Females | Males | Top 24 | Top 12 | Wild Card | Winner |
| Did Not Perform | Safe | Safe First | Safe Last | Eliminated |