Australian Idol 2024 to introduce world-first twist: 'Really important'

The upcoming season of Australian Idol is set to introduce a world-first twist to the franchise that will completely change the audition process.

The beloved singing competition, which first premiered in 2003 but returned to screens last year after a 14-year hiatus, will feature a game-changing tweak that has been approved by Simon Cowell’s production company SYCO.

Season nine will have just 30 ‘Golden Tickets’ on offer for the contestants, which is a major drop from 50 last season, and they will be awarded very differently.

Rather than successful singers transitioning from the auditions to the next round of the competition, they will now have to front the judges a second time to learn who will receive a Golden Ticket.

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Channel Seven’s Head of Scheduling Brook Hall told TV Tonight that the format change will hopefully help viewers get to know the contestants more at the beginning of the season.

“In the two [shows] we’re against, MAFS and Survivor, you’re seeing the key characters each day. We’re trying to address that,” he said.

“The good thing is you get to see all of the good artists once more. I think it’s really important for character development.”

He assured fans that the network isn’t “bastardising the format by any means” but updating it to keep it fresh.

“Fremantle, and Syco which controls the format, have had to be cross it. We’re not trying to do a silly trick. We’re just trying to ask, ‘How can we make sure there’s more character development early on?’,” he detailed.

Marcia Hines' return to the show

This year’s season of Australian Idol will also see Australian music legend Marcia Hines joining Kyle Sandilands and Amy Shark on the judging panel.

The singer and TV personality served as a judge during the reality show’s original run from 2003 to 2009 and made a brief appearance as a guest judge last season.

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle about returning to the franchise in 2024, Marcia said she was “stoked” when she received the offer to come back.

“I really loved doing it all the years that I was doing it for seven years in the beginning, and I feel really privileged that they have asked me to come back,” she shared.

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