Australian Idol hasn’t been on the air since 2009. In its 7 seasons, so many contestants came through with songs I still yell in the car to this day. It’s recently come to my attention that this isn’t the norm, and these bops aren’t as widely loved as they deserve to be.
Ricki-Lee, Stan Walker, Anthony Callea, and Jessica Mauboy all used to be household names in the early 00’s but have since dropped off your radar and you need to get them back on it.
I was listening to Wasabi by Lee Harding in the car recently, and decided that I needed to compile a cohesive list of my favourite songs from Australian Idol competitors.
Can’t Touch It – Ricki-Lee
Spending her days living her best life, Ricki-Lee started out with this iconic bop. Even though she was a shoo-in to win, she also only placed seventh on her season of Australian Idol because Australia is full of snakes and nobody voted for her.
This song is a repetitive and funky bop which was totally inappropriate for 8 year old me, but I loved it anyway.
Angels Brought Me Here – Guy Sebastian
This is probably my favourite song off this list, and holds pride of place at the top of my throwback playlist. I love Guy Sebastian, he sits in his rotating throne on The Voice absolutely crushing it.
That voice. That outfit. That HAIR. Everything about this is fantastic.
The Prayer – Anthony Callea
Anthony Callea is peak 2004. He was runner up on season 2 to Casey Donovan but the winner in my heart. He also released a Christmas album in 2013 which is amazing.
There is nothing I can say to fault his whole career.
Black Box – Stan Walker
Stan Walker was the winner of the final season of Australian Idol. It is clear now that they didn’t run an eighth season knowing it would be inferior without Stan Walker.
Black Box is a BOP and was played on the radio for about 12 minutes until everyone forgot about it and it fell out of the rotation. Stan deserved more.
Wasabi – Lee Harding
The song that inspired this list. Comparing a girl’s hotness to a spicy paste? Absolutely iconic.
The girl Mr Wasabi was singing about was a 2019 woke vegan who cared about the environment. We could all learn a little something from her.
Before anyone comes for me, Shannon Noll was purposely left off this list. He was not robbed. His talent was inferior to Guy Sebastian and I will stand by that until I die. Thanks.
These songs are all timeless bops and really just deserve you to revisit them once in a while.
Emily Vescio 