Australian Idol (Season 11)Finalists Kesha Oayda Winner Harlan Goode Runner-up Kalani Artis 14 April Tre Samuels 7 April Jacinta Guirguis 7 April John Standley 7 April Charlie Moon 30 March Simela Petridis 30 March Wanwue Tarpeh 24 March Harry Lamb 24 March Sophie Poidevin 17 March Lily-Grace Grant 17 March
The eleventh season of Australian Idol premiered on 2 February 2026. This is the fourth season airing on Seven Network, after they bought the rights to the series from Network 10. The grand final was won by Kesha Oayda on 14 April 2026.
Production
In April 2025, it was officially revealed that the show had been renewed by Seven Network for an eleventh season, set to premiere in 2026. It was revealed that Ricki-Lee and Scott Tweedie would both return as hosts, and Kyle Sandilands, Marcia Hines and Amy Shark would all be returning as judges. Seven later confirmed the 2026 cast at their upfronts on 22 October 2025.
Auditions
Auditions were held in various cities around Australia. In a few cases, a single judge visited a remote location to audition contestants by themselves. Like last season, contestants were not guaranteed a "golden ticket" if they got two or three "yes" votes from the judges. Instead, they were sent to a holding area until the end of the day, when the judges would further narrow down the contestants they saw, potentially have some contestants sing again, and decide who made the Top 30.
Auditions 1 (2 February)
+ Singers that received a golden ticket Singer AgeHometown Song Kalani Artis 23 Central Coast, New South Wales "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia Lily-Grace Grant 17 Northern Rivers, New South Wales "What You Get Is What You See" by Tina Turner John Standley 16 Bunbury, Western Australia "Shout " by The Isley Brothers Eva Ilov 20 Brisbane, Queensland "Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston/ "Tennessee Whiskey" by Chris Stapleton/ "Down Under" by Men at Work Mat Rigby 17 Melbourne, Victoria "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay
Auditions 2 (3 February)
+ Singers that received a golden ticket Singer AgeHometown Song Charlie Moon 31 Perth, Western Australia "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish Harriet Kenworthy 19 Perth, Western Australia "Scar" by Missy Higgins Achille Fong 20 Sydney, New South Wales "All The Small Things" by Blink 182 Jacinta Guirguis 25 Bacchus Marsh, Victoria "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye & Kimbra
Auditions 3 (8 February)
+ Singers that received a golden ticket Singer AgeHometown Song Simela Petridis 31 Adelaide, South Australia "I Don't Want to Wait" by Paula Cole Taiyo Marchand 15 Sydney, New South Wales "Treasure" by Bruno Mars Vince Phillips 25 Hawkesbury, New South Wales "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus Jessica Mauboy filled in for Kyle while he was in Canberra.
Auditions 4 (9 February)
+ Singers that received a golden ticket Singer AgeHometown Song Cody James 20 Karratha, Western Australia "Fire and the Flood" by Vance Joy Wanwue Tarpeh 21 Melbourne, Victoria "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" by Shania Twain Olivia Giaourtas 21 Camden, New South Wales "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips Nicholas Storm 19 Gawler South, South Australia "Treat You Better " by Shawn Mendes Riley Ziskey 23 Gympie,Queensland "Take It Easy" by Eagles
Auditions 5 (15 February)
+ Singers that received a golden ticket Singer AgeHometown Song Sophie Poidevin 19 Melbourne, Victoria "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele / "Tainted Love by Gloria Jones Tre Samuels 26 Melbourne, Victoria "Back at One" by Brian McKnight Kesha Oayda 21 Jindabyne, New South Wales "Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars Harry Lamb 26 Ballarat, Victoria "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
Auditions 6 (16 February)
+ Singers that received a golden ticket Singer AgeHometown Song Lydia Virgo 24 Northern Beaches, New South Wales "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga Harlan Goode 18 Brisbane, Queensland "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA Rochelle Ballard 23 Longreach, Queensland "Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland Alita Santhosh 22 Adelaide, South Australia "Shackles (Praise You)" by Mary Mary Asher Iyer 16 Brisbane, Queensland "Hip Hop Hooray" by Naughty by Nature
Auditions 7 (22 February)
+ Singers that received a golden ticket Singer AgeHometown Song Jamie Lamont 20 Gold Coast, Queensland "I Feel the Earth Move" by Carole King Natalie Lockhart 25Gold Coast, Queensland "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston Kahlia Henao 27 Western Sydney, New South Wales "Valerie" by Amy Winehouse Lachie Clue 20 Mornington Peninsula, Victoria "I'm Outta Love" by Anastacia Anastacia appeared as a guest judge.
Top 30
Top 30 Part 1 (23 February)
Singer was Eliminated Singer got put On Notice Round 1 – Chorus Line Group Song Singer Result Group 1 "Flowers" Harlan Goode Advanced Natalie Lockhart Advanced Mat Rigby Advanced Rochelle Ballard Eliminated Lily-Grace Grant Advanced Group 2 "Fields of Gold" Olivia Giaourtas Advanced Harriet Kenworthy Advanced Jacinta Guirguis Advanced Simela Petridis Advanced Kalani Artis On Notice Group 3 "Beggin'" Harry Lamb Advanced Lydia Virgo Advanced Sophie Poidevin Advanced Wanwue Tarpeh Advanced Nicholas Storm Eliminated Group 4 "Somebody Like You" Cody James Advanced Riley Ziskey Advanced Kesha Oayda Advanced Vince Phillips On Notice John Standley Advanced Group 5 "Wings" Eva Ilov On Notice Lachie Clue Advanced Taiyo Marchand Advanced Jamie Lamont Advanced Achille Fong Advanced Group 6 "Battle Scars" Charlie Moon Advanced Asher Iyer Advanced Tre Samuels Advanced Alita Santhosh Advanced Kahlia Henao Eliminated
Top 30 Part 2 (24 February & 1 March) Singers was Eliminated Singers got put On Notice Round 2 – Group Challenge Group Song Singer Result Group 1 "We Found Love" Tre Samuels Advanced Charlie Moon Advanced Simela Petridis Advanced Group 2 "Ordinary" Mat Rigby Eliminated Jamie Lamont On Notice Alita Santhosh On Notice Group 3 "Can't Help Falling in Love" Harry Lamb Advanced Sophie Poidevin On Notice Riley Ziskey Eliminated Group 4 "Problem" Jacinta Guirguis Advanced Wanwue Tarpeh Advanced Eva Ilov Advanced Group 5 "I Don't Care" Kalani Artis Advanced Harriet Kenworthy Advanced Kesha Oayda Advanced Group 6 "Every Breath You Take" Taiyo Marchand Advanced Asher Iyer On Notice John Standley Advanced Group 7 "Believe" Harlan Goode Advanced Natalie Lockhart Advanced Vince Phillips Advanced Group 8 "Can't Get You Out of My Head"Olivia Giaourtas Eliminated Lydia Virgo On Notice Lachie Clue On Notice Group 9 "Mr. Brightside" Lily-Grace Grant Advanced Cody James Advanced Achille Fong Advanced
Top 30 Part 3 (2 & 3 March)
Singer Order Song Result Simela Petridis 1 "You've Got the Love" Advanced Harlan Goode 2 "Livin' on a Prayer" Advanced Cody James 3 "7 Minutes" On Notice Taiyo Marchand 4"Can't Stop the Feeling!" Advanced Lydia Virgo 5 "Bang Bang" Advanced Kalani Artis 6 "Forever Young" Advanced Sophie Poidevin 7 "Material Girl " On Notice Wanwue Tarpeh 8 "Made You Look" Advanced Harry Lamb 9 "Brother" On Notice Charlie Moon 10 "Walking on Sunshine" Advanced Vince Phillips 11 "The Gambler" On Notice Lily-Grace Grant 12"Don't You (Forget About Me)" Advanced Tre Samuels 13 "Because You Loved Me" Advanced Harriet Kenworthy 14 "Vampire" Advanced John Standley 15 "Johnny B. Goode" Advanced Eva Ilov 16 "Crush" On Notice Achille Fong 17 "A Thousand Miles" AdvancedNatalie Lockhart 18 "Into You" Eliminated Jamie Lamont 19 "Knock on Wood" Advanced Asher Iyer 20 "Jump" Advanced Lachie Clue 21 "Thriller" Eliminated Kesha Oayda 22 "If I Can't Have You" Advanced Alita Santhosh 23Love Don't Cost a Thing" Eliminated Jacinta Guirguis 24 "Don't Speak" Advanced Jessica filled in for Kyle on Group Challenge and Live Audience.
Top 21
Over three nights, seven contestants will perform in front of a live audience, by the end of each round four singers will make it through to the top 12. The judges will also each be given one ‘FastPass’ which, whilst not exactly a Touchdown, works like a Golden Buzzer, automatically sending someone into the Top 12.
Singer received a "FastPass" and advanced to the Top 12 Singer did not make the Top 12
Top 21 Part 1 (9 March) + Singers Top 21 result Singer Order Song Result Simela Petridis 1 "Alive" Advanced Taiyo Marchand 2 "Forget You" Eliminated Lily-Grace Grant 3 "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction" Advanced Charlie Moon 4 "With a Little Help from My Friends" Advanced ("FastPass" given by Marcia) Jamie Lamont 5 "I’m Every Woman" Eliminated Achille Fong 6 "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" Eliminated Kesha Oayda 7 "Take Me To Church" Advanced
Top 21 Part 2 (10 March) + Singers Top 21 result Singer Order Song Result Harriet Kenworthy 1 "I'm with You" Eliminated Asher Iyer 2 "Can't Hold Us" Eliminated Jacinta Guirguis 3 "Everywhere" Advanced Harry Lamb 4 "Somebody Told Me" Advanced Harlan Goode 5 "Chain Reaction"Advanced ("FastPass" given by Kyle) Sophie Poidevin 6 "Bette Davis Eyes" Advanced Cody James 7 "Castle on the Hill" Eliminated
Top 21 Part 3 (11 March) + Singers Top 21 result Singer Order Song Result John Standley 1 "I Feel Good" Advanced Eva Ilov 2 "Manchild" Eliminated Kalani Artis 3 "Wherever You Will Go"Advanced ("FastPass" given by Amy) Wanwue Tarpeh 4 "Only Girl in the World"Advanced Vince Phillips 5 "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" Eliminated Lydia Virgo 6 "Burn" Eliminated Tre Samuels 7 "I'll Make Love to You" Advanced
Top 12 Finalists
Kesha Oayda Kesha Oayda, is from Jindabyne, New South Wales. She became the eleventh winner of Australian Idol on 14 April 2026.
Audition: "Die with a Smile" (Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars) Top 30 Part 1: "Somebody Like You" (Keith Urban) Top 30 Part 2: "I Don't Care" (Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber) Top 30 Part 3: "If I Can't Have You" (Shawn Mendes) Top 21: "Take Me To Church" (Hozier) Top 12: "Like a Prayer" (Madonna) Top 12 - Bottom 4: "Lay Me Down" (Sam Smith)" Top 10: "Hopelessly Devoted To You" (Olivia Newton-John) ~ Judges’ Choice Top 8: "Physical" (Dua Lipa) Top 8 - Bottom 4: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (Cyndi Lauper) Top 6: "The Climb" (Miley Cyrus) Top 6: Head-to-head: "Dancing Queen" (ABBA) Grand Finale – Top 3: "When We Were Young" (Adele) Grand Finale – Top 3: "Shine" (Vanessa Amorosi) Grand Finale – Top 3: "Man I Need" (Olivia Dean) Grand Finale – Top 2: "Die with a Smile" (Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars) – Winner
Harlan Goode
Harlan Goode, is from Brisbane, Queensland. He finished as the runner-up on 14 April 2026.
Audition: "The Winner Takes It All" (ABBA) Top 30 Part 1: "Flowers" (Miley Cyrus) Top 30 Part 2: "Believe" (Cher) Top 30 Part 3: "Livin' On A Prayer" (Bon Jovi) Top 21: "Chain Reaction" (Diana Ross) ~ FastPass from Kyle Sandilands Top 12: "Pure Imagination" (Josh Groban) Top 10: "A Touch of Paradise" (Mondo Rock) Top 8: "Somebody To Love" (Queen) ~ Judges’ Choice Top 6: "I'm Still Standing" (Elton John) Top 6: Head-to-head: "Scared to Be Lonely" (Martin Garrix & Dua Lipa) Grand Finale – Top 3: "Fame" (Irene Cara) Grand Finale – Top 3: "The Prayer" (Celine Dion & Andrea Bocelli) Grand Finale – Top 3: "Don’t Stop Believin’" (Journey) Grand Finale – Top 2: "The Winner Takes It All" (ABBA) – Runner-up
Kalani Artis
Kalani Artis, is from Central Coast, New South Wales. He reached the Grand Finale on 14 April 2026, but was eliminated prior to the final round of performances.
Audition: "Torn" (Natalie Imbruglia) Top 30 Part 1: "Fields of Gold" (Sting) Top 30 Part 2: "I Don't Care" (Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber) Top 30 Part 3: "Forever Young" (Alphaville) Top 21: "Wherever You Will Go" (The Calling) ~ FastPass from Amy Shark Top 12: "Take My Breath Away" (Berlin) Top 10: "Dont Dream It’s Over" (Crowded House) Top 8: "Pink Pony Club" (Chappell Roan) Top 8 - Bottom 4: "Breakeven" (The Script) Top 6: "As Long As You Love Me" (Backstreet Boys) Top 6: Head-to-head: "Bruises" (Lewis Capaldi) Grand Finale – Top 3: "Heroes" (David Bowie) Grand Finale – Top 3: "Better Days" (Pete Murray) Grand Finale – Top 3: "If I Could Turn Back Time" (Cher) – Eliminated on 14 April
Tre Samuels