''New Zealand Idol'', also known as ''NZ Idol'', was the New Zealand version of the

Idol series ''Idol'' (also known as ''SuperStar'' in some countries) is a reality television singing competition format created by British television producer Simon Fuller and developed by Fremantle. The format began in 2001 with the British television se ...

originated as the hit British TV series ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

''. New Zealand first saw the ''Idol'' format when TV2 aired '' American Idol 2'', which garnered impressive ratings. After ''

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program ''Pop Idol' ...

'' also received good ratings in New Zealand,

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

decided to order the first season of ''NZ Idol'', which was broadcast on TV2. After the third season in 2006, TVNZ made a decision not to fund or broadcast a fourth season, thus placing ''New Zealand Idol'' on indefinite hiatus, with no plans to run a fourth season. NZ Idol was produced by

South Pacific Pictures South Pacific Pictures is a New Zealand television production company. The company produces drama series, mini-series, telemovies and feature films for the domestic market and international market. SPP's largest property is ''Shortland Street'' ...

in association with

Grundy Television Reg Grundy Organisation (founded as Reg Grundy Enterprises, later known as both Reg Grundy Productions and Grundy Television and known informally as Grundy's) was an Australian-based multinational mass media company, primarily involved in tele ...

and developed by

Fremantle Media Fremantle (; formerly FremantleMedia) is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. Fremantle takes its name from Fremantle International, acquired by predecessor company All American Television in ...

Season one

The show was hosted by TV presenter

Dominic Bowden Dominic Joseph Bowden (born 15 December 1977) is a New Zealand television personality, host and voice actor. He is best known as the host of New Zealand reality series including ''New Zealand Idol, Dancing with the Stars New Zealand and The X ...

and the panel of judges consisted of

Frankie Stevens Frankie Stevens (born Francis Donald McKechnie Stevenson), (born Wellington, 1950), MNZM, is a New Zealand entertainer and singer. He was a judge for all three seasons on the reality series ''New Zealand Idol''. He is the brother of singer Jon S ...

Fiona McDonald Fiona Maude McDonald (born 1965) is a New Zealand pop singer and television personality. Singer McDonald's first involvement with music came through singing jingles for Auckland student radio station bFM. From that work she was asked to joi ...

and

Paul Ellis Brian Paul Ellis is a New Zealand record producer, talent manager, manager, and radio host. He is most known to audiences for being the former judge of ''New Zealand Idol'' and a former judge of the reality series ''New Zealand's Got Talent''. E ...

. The first episode was watched by over 1.15 million viewers. The competition was tough in the final few rounds of NZ Idol but it was finally whittled down to the top ten. Nine of these were voted in by the public through three heats (Camillia Temple,

Ben Lummis Ben Lummis (born Isileli Junior Brown on (1 June 1978) is a New Zealand R&B/Pop/Gospel recording artist who rose to musical fame as the winner of the First season of ''New Zealand Idol'' in 2004. He is of Māori (Ngati Porou) and Pākehā (Eu ...

and Filipo Saipani;

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

, Luke Whaanga and 'Big' Dave Houma; Robin Johnson, Sela Mahe and Eddie Gaiger). Jessie Cassin was added by the judges as a wildcard. Ben Lummis eventually won the competition despite being in the bottom 3 in the first, third and fourth round of the competition, while Michael Murphy who eventually came second in the season had not been in the bottom 3 at all. Camillia Temple, the oldest contestant at 28, who had been a favourite to win, ended up in third place. Ben Lummis released his idol-winning single "They Can't Take That Away" which spent 7 weeks at #1, selling over 40,000 units. His Album 'One Road' debuted at #1 on the album charts, selling over 30,000 copies. His second single, "I Love You Love Me" failed to make radio playlists and the single was shelved. His video for the single, however, did play on video music channels.

Semi Final Qualifyings

; Top 24 Format: 3 out of 8 making the final each week plus one Wildcard

Bottom three statistics

Season two

Auditions for the second series of ''NZ Idol'' began in June 2005. The show was once again hosted by

, with Jackie Clarke replacing Fiona McDonald, who was pregnant with her first child, as one of the three judges. The nine that got in by public vote were: Nik Carlson, Frank Andrews, Jesse O'Brien,

Rosita Vai Rosita Vai (born 4 June 1981) is a New Zealand singer who rose to musical fame as the winner of the second season of ''New Zealand Idol'' in 2005. Now married, she is also known as Rosita Gibbons. Prior to her win, Rosita managed to stay out of ...

, Rongo Brightwell, Keshia Paulse and Shelley Paikea. Teresa Bergman, failed to make the top nine, eventually being asked back by the judges in the wildcard, and winning the wildcard vote. Keshia Paulse, who was one of the favourites to win the competition, was voted out unexpectedly in the second round. Rosita Vai was the eventual winner of ''NZ Idol'' 2 and the first female contestant to win the competition. Rosita had not been in the bottom 3 in the whole season. Nik Carlson from

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

came second, while Steven Broad finished in third place. Rosita released her single "All I Ask" which spent two weeks at #1 and went platinum. However her debut album ''Golden'' only reached #15 without being certified and spent only three weeks in the top 40 album chart. In 2006 Ashley Cooper has enjoyed success with her single "I Want You" debuting at #19, eventually peaking at #11 on physical sales and very little

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

. Also in 2006, Robert Arnold, who had auditioned unsuccessfully for all three seasons made it to #1 in the New Zealand charts as part of

Boyband A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many ...

– a radio station stunt – three weeks before Matt Saunoa hit the top. While these singers got to high places, there were many wannabe applicants that did poorly. One of note was a certain Liz Shaw, who came not just to audition but to also try to take over host Dominic Bowden's presenting job, only to spectacularly fail. The series once again proved a ratings hit in New Zealand, but

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

were reportedly unhappy with the format and reviewed their role in the program.

Semifinal qualifyings

Top 24
Format: 3 out of 8 making the final each week and one wildcard

Bottom three statistics

Season three

The third (and to date, last) season of ''NZ Idol'' began screening in July 2006. Dominic Bowden returned as host, and judges Paul Ellis and Jackie Clarke were replaced by

Iain Stables Iain Philip Stables is a New Zealand radio disc jockey. In the past Stables worked on various radio stations across New Zealand beginning his radio career on Radio Windy in Wellington at the age of 14. As well as radio, Stables has appeared in ...

, a popular radio DJ from the ZM radio station, and

Megan Alatini Megan Bronwinne Alatini (née Cassie, born 29 September 1976) is a South African-born, New Zealand pop singer, actress and television personality. She rose to fame in New Zealand on the reality television series '' Popstars''. She went on to b ...

, a former member of girlgroup

TrueBliss TrueBliss were a New Zealand pop girl group formed in April 1999. The band were formed on the popular television show ''Popstars'', which aired on TVNZ's TV2 channel for nine weeks in the search for a new girl group. TrueBliss were the firs ...

, the first band created from the popular TV show

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Realit ...

. This left Frankie Stevens as the only original judge. In addition to a recording contract, in series 3 contestestants are also in the running for a cash prize of $50,000 and a

Daihatsu , commonly known as Daihatsu, is a Japanese automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers. The company's headquarters are located in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. Historically, Daihatsu was ...

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...

. The maximum age limit to enter was increased from 28 to 30. Another key difference in the third season is the inclusion of a live band in the top ten shows. On 31 May 2006, South Pacific Pictures announced that SonyBMG was to discontinue its association with ''NZ Idol''. On 21 August the top 9 was officially announced. Aroha Robinson, Ashlee Fisher, Clinton Randell, Indira Moala, Kali Kopae,

Matthew Saunoa Matthew Saunoa (born 1986) is a New Zealand pop singer who rose to musical fame as the winner of the third season of ''New Zealand Idol'' in 2006. After winning the third season, his winner's single, " Hold Out" topped the New Zealand Singles Ch ...

, Rebecca Wright, Victor Sulfa and Toni Baird. On the same night the 3 wildcards were announced. The host, Dominic Bowden stated that the viewers had 12 hours to choice their 10th person to make up the final 10. The 3 wildcards were: Ben Hazlewood, Lenken Isaac and Wiremu Hohaia. On 22 August Ben Hazlewood won the wildcard vote. It had been announced that the top 10 was not going to release a single, like previous seasons. On 29 October Matt Saunoa won the competition without falling into the bottom 2/ 3 throughout the whole season. Although betting agency Centrebet had Indira Moala favourite to wi

His debut single "Hold Out" was written by James Reid (musician), James Reid from

The Feelers The Feelers is a New Zealand pop rock band formed in the early 1990s in Christchurch by James Reid (singer/guitarist) and Hamish Gee (drums/guitar). History The Feelers was signed by Warner Music and released their first album, '' Supersyste ...

. The single charted at #1 in the first week, but failed to reach gold status (at least 5,000 copies sold), and dropped the following week to #3.

Semi Final Qualifyings

Top 18
Format: 3 out of 6 making the final each week in another city + one Wildcard

Bottom three statistics

Pop's Ultimate Star

Many previous contestants later appeared on ''Pop's Ultimate Star'', along with other New Zealand celebrities.

Criticism

Critics have suggested that contestants in all seasons have not been as musically strong as Idol performers from

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

, and have referred to the performances as '

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

'. Complaints have been made in regards to a variety of production issues including the lack of a live band in seasons one and two, the lighting and the sound quality. Concerns have also been expressed about the apparent lack of ongoing opportunities for Idols after the show. Three months after winning New Zealand Idol, Lummis' music label,

dropped him. Various New Zealand musicians have openly criticised the show, and refused invitations to appear on it.

Boh Runga Boh Runga (born 1969/1970) is a New Zealand recording artist and was the lead singer and guitarist in New Zealand rock band Stellar. Boh is the older sister of Bic Runga and Pearl Runga who are also musicians. Early life Boh grew up in Chris ...

stated that she "would rather lick the inside of a toilet bowl than appear on Idol." TV Guide stated after the third series aired that the show had lost around 100,000 viewers since the first series, and that "if NZ Idol was a horse, you would have to shoot it. It really is that lame."

NZ Idol in the charts

DVD

* (2004) NZ Idol 1 – ''Greatest Moments'' – #4 NZ

Albums

* (2004) NZ Idol: The Final 10 – '' Homegrown'' – #3 NZ (Gold) * (2004)

– '' One Road'' – #1 NZ (2 weeks) (4× Platinum) * (2004)

– '' No Place to Land'' – #22 NZ (Gold) * (2005)

– ''

Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

'' – #15 NZ

Singles

References

External links

NZ Idol
– Official Site
NZ Idol
– at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Pop's Ultimate Star
– Official Site
Idolblog
{{Idol series 2004 New Zealand television series debuts 2006 New Zealand television series endings New Zealand music television series New Zealand popular music New Zealand reality television series Television shows funded by NZ on Air Television series by Fremantle (company) Television series by South Pacific Pictures New Zealand television series based on British television series