Australian Idol winner reveals surprising bond with Kyle Sandilands: 'Really special'

The winner of Australian Idol 2024 has been revealed following a nail-biting grand finale on Monday night.

The public voted for 31-year-old Dylan Wright to take home the crown, plus a recording contract with Sony Music Australia and $100,000 in prize money.

Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle following his win, the father-of-two admits it was a “complete shock” when host Ricki-Lee Coulter called out his name and he “wasn’t expecting it at all”.

“I’m feeling ecstatic, exhausted, all the emotions,” he remarks. “And it was just amazing seeing my family there, everything I do is for them.

“The whole experience was incredible. I did not expect to learn so much and to be around so many amazing people. It feels so cliché to say but I didn't expect to grow so much as a musician and as a person.”

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Dylan, who auditioned for the show because he grew up watching it, says his biggest hope after winning is to write music with as many artists as possible.

“An absolute dream collaborator is Chris Stapleton or Matt Colby or Jack Johnson. They’re my three idols,” he details. “I spoke to Matt recently and he just gave me advice to stay true to myself and take it all in my stride.”

As for the $100,000 pay cheque, the painter plans on putting the money towards a holiday with his wife and two young children, Piper, four, and Rivi, one.

“The first thing I'm going to do is have a little trip away with the girls and just be a family for the first time in three months,” he shares. “I’ll have the phone off and just kind of drink in the moment.”

Dylan's surprising bond with Kyle Sandilands

Looking back at his experience, Dylan says one of the biggest stand-out moments was bringing ‘mean judge’ Kyle Sandilands to tears with his performance.

“Making Kyle cry twice was an absolute highlight of my life. I did not expect that to happen,” he laughs.

“We don't get much time with the judges, just a bit of time on stage. But everything they had to say was just so supportive and it felt like they had your back the entire time. And if they’d give you criticism, you'd take it on board and try and just do better than next week.”

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Dylan adds that he had such a “unique bond” with the breakfast radio host that not many viewers would have known about.

“He’s a new father and I’ve got two kids, and his mum recently went through chemo. My mum went through the same thing and passed away 10 years ago and I think that really touched him,” he shares.

“I get goosebumps thinking about it. It was just really, really special. And to see him kind of connecting with my music and the way I sing songs was really something special.”

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