Australia’s Got Talent is an Australian reality television show and talent show that is based on a UK show called Got Talent which features Simon Cowell as a judge. The first six seasons of the show aired on the Seven Network during the years 2007 to 2012. The first season was originally aired at 6:30 pm on Sunday nights. After a successful run of the first season the show was moved to a better Tuesday night timeslot. The show aired from April in 2008. Judges Burlinson and Symons on the show did not return for the fourth season and were replaced by Brian McFadden and Kyle Sandilands.
The seventh season of the show was picked up by the Nine Network. Dawn French, Timomatic and Geri Halliwell all joined the panel as replacements for judges McFadden and Minogue. In 2014 the show was axed bit later returned in 2016 for an eighth season with Kelly Osbourne, Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson, Sophie Monk and Eddie Perfect on the judging panel. The show was renewed for a ninth season which began airing in 2019 with Ricki-Lee Coulter returning as coach on the show.
What is the format of Australia’s Got Talent?
Australia’s Got Talent is a singing talent show where performers of all ages compete for a top prize of between $100,000 to $250,000.Each season of the show involves three stages, auditions, semi-finals and the grand final. Only the highlights of the audition stage are aired on television for viewers. In some of the seasons, the auditions are held in different cities across Australia. The judges whittle down the accepted audition acts down to around 40 acts for the semi-final try-outs.
In most seasons of the show, the semi-finals include a public vote. The acts that proceed to the finals are determined by the public and the judges. In the first season of the show, the judges would buzz in a cross in a tick. During season 9 of the show, the public voting on the acts was cancelled.
The show has used a logo that was similar to the America’s Got Talent logo for the first, seventh and ninth seasons, whilst they used a logo that was more similar to Britain’s Got Talent for the remaining seasons.
Australia’s Got Talent Season 1
The first season of show aired in 2007 on the Seven Network and at the time became the second version of the Got Talent franchise. The original judges for the first season were Dannii Minogue, Tom Burlinson and Red Symons. The singer Bonnie Anderson was crowned the winner of season one, whilst Herb Patten finished in second place on the show.
Australia’s Got Talent Season 2
The second season of Australia’s Got Talent first began broadcasting in 2008 and featured returning judges from season one. The winner of season was announced as guitarist Joe Robinson, whilst Jourdain won second place.
Australia’s Got Talent Season 3
The third season of the show aired in 2009. Auditions for the show started at the end of 2008 and the successful contestants were notified that they would proceed in December 2008. The winner of the show was declare to be Mark Vincent. The grand final followed the same format as the previous season, with contestants being eliminated in pairs and each judge picked their top act to make reappearance on the show. During the Grand Final, the winner of season one of Britain’s Got Talent, Paul Potts performed live on the studio.
Australia’s Got Talent Season 4
The fourth season of Australia’s Got Talent aired in 2010. Kylie Sandilands and Irish singer Brian McFadden joined Dannii Minogue on the judging panel, replacing Red Symons and Tom Burlinson. Grant Denyer continued to host the show. The auditions for the third season of the show took place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. The show was revitalized to look more like Britain’s Got Talent, with the opening changing to be more similar to the UK opening. The live shows began in May 2010 and ended in June 2010 and a dance troupe, Justice Crew were crowned at the winner of the show. They were awarded the top prize of $250,000 whilst the runner-up Cameron Henderson was awarded the second place prize of performing during the 2010 AFL Grand Final.
Australia’s Got Talent Season 5
The fifth season of the show began airing in 2011. The auditions for the show took place in 16 cities across the states of Australia. The successful auditions were asked back for a second audition in front of the judges and a live audience. The season was won by 14-year Jack Vidgen, a singer.
Australia’s Got Talent Season 6
The sixth season of the show went to air in 2011. Previous judges Dannii Minogues, Kyle Sandilands and Brian McFadden returned again as judges for the show, although Sandilands was briefly replaced by Todd McKenney because he was sick during the auditions. The winner of the season was Andrew de Silva, whilst the country rock band The Wolfe Brothers came in runner-up place.
Australia’s Got Talent Season 7
Season 7 of the show aired in 2013. Dannii Minogue and Brian McFadden were replaced by the three new judges Dawn French, Timomatic and Geri Halliwell. Julia Morris also replace Grant Deyer as the host of the show. The winner of the show for that year was Uncle Jed, a Funk/Soul/Jazz/Reggae band.
Australia’s Got Talent Season 8
The eighth season of the show began airing in 2016. It was the second season of the show to air on the Nine Network. The judging panel was replace by a new panel, Kelly Osbourne, Ian Dickinson, Sophie Monk and Eddie Perfect. The show included a golden buzzer for the first time. The winner of the season was Fletcher Pilon. The series was cancelled after season 8.
Australia’s Got Talent Season 9
At the end of 2018, the Seven Network announced that she show would return for a ninth season after a three year hiatus. The judging panel was announced as Nicole Scherzinger, Shane Jacobson, Manu Feildel and Lucy Durack and Ricki-Lee Coulter. The winner of the season was Kristy Sellars.
Australia’s Got Talent Season 10
In 2019 the Seven Network announced that the show would return in 2020 however in a Champions audition where previous winners, finalists and live round participants would compete against each other for a cash prize.
Controversies surrounding Australia’s Got Talent
Much of the controversy surrounding the show revolves around participants being eliminated. Some eliminations have previously caused outrage amongst fans who did not agree with the judging decisions. The most recent season has seen some outrage due to a risqué performance by an artist who used a certain appendage to paint. The move was poorly received by the audience, who were worries about children watching the show. Other acts including a contortionist act have also sparked controversy in the past. One majorly unpopular choice during the 2012 season was the elimination of Owen Cambell, who performs blue and roots style music and had a strong fan support based but was asked to leave the show nevertheless. Some controversy around the contracts that artists are asked to sign has also arisen of the years.