Australian Idol returned on March 12 with the Top 8 honouring the heroes in their lives.
Even though Kyle Sandilands was off sick, judges Harry Connick Jr, Amy Shark and Meghan Trainor were on hand to critique the performances.
16-year-old Amali Dimond, paid tribute to her father, former pro NRL player, Craig Dimond, with a performance of Katy Perry’s Unconditionally.
Judge Harry praised the young talent’s song choice and advised her to “keep riding that wave”.
At the same time, Amy and Meghan agreed Amali was “ready” to perform professionally.
Angelina Curtis, performed Born to Try by her hero Delta Goodrem, with Meghan “impressed” by the 15-year-old, noting that her performance had improved from last week.
Harry also praised the performance but cautioned Angelina about song choice for TV audiences who prefer big choruses.
Royston Sagigi-Baira, 23, performed the Miley Cyrus hit The Climb, paying tribute to his Year Two teacher, Miss Alex, who encouraged his musical talent from an early age.
Amy was in awe of the performance, saying Royston had “arrived”.
Harry was impressed that Royston had nailed the emotional connection each week; however, advised the singer to find techniques to ease any nerves that could impact his performance.
Last week’s winner of the save, Noora H, chose to celebrate her online community, which she said had supported her from the first day of her singing career.
Noora performed Scared To Be Lonely by Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa, which the judges agreed played to her favour.
Meghan praised her by saying that the 27-year-old could “slay” any genre.
Phoebe Stewart received a standing ovation for her performance
15-year-old Phoebe Stewart sang You Say by Lauren Daigle, paying homage to to her late grandfather who always wanted her to pursue music.
The teen’s stellar performance had the judges on their feet with the first standing ovation for the night.
“You are Adele,” Meghan said, likening Phoebe’s performance to the famous British singer-songwriter.
Harry commended Phoebe for her musicality and unpredictable performances.
Ben Sheehy, 24, wowed the judges with Wolfmother’s Joker And The Thief, paying tribute to the music school that had been instrumental in helping him find his voice.
Amy hailed his performance as “sick!” while Harry said Ben was the most comfortable he had ever seen him on stage.
Anya Hynninen celebrated her hometown of Selby by singing Feeling Good by Nina Simone.
The 19-year-old’s performance divided the judges, with Harry accusing Anya of “stealing” another artist’s work, saying she should have made it more her own.
Amy disagreed, saying she “loved” Anya’s performance.
Then, in the night’s last performance, Josh Hannan performed Cold Play’s Fix You at the piano. The song was a heartfelt tribute to his music teacher Tracey who is battling brain cancer.
The judges were in awe of the 20-year-old, saying he was a superstar and sent him directly to the Top 6.
Australian Idol airs 7.00 pm Sunday and 7.30 pm Mondays on Channel 7 and 7plus.
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