Australian Idol viewers were left stunned on Monday night as fan favourites Drea Onamade, 26, and Kiani Smith, 17, were sent home in a dramatic double elimination. The pair finished in the bottom four alongside Dylan Wright, 30, and Denvah Baker-Moller, 24, but failed to secure enough votes to stay in the competition.
The episode began with the Top 8 performing a group rendition of Troye Sivan's 'Rush', followed by a solo performance from host Ricki-Lee, 38, of her new single 'On My Own'. Across Australia, 3.3 million votes were cast, leaving judges Kyle Sandilands, Marcia Hines and Amy Shark visibly shocked when Dylan—who had delivered a standout performance the previous night—landed in the bottom four.
Kyle, 52, expressed his disbelief, saying: 'That sucks, that's wrong. There must be a recount. That's some poor voting from home.' However, the judges were powerless to save any of the bottom four, who each took the stage again to fight for their place. Dylan belted out Kings of Leon's 'Use Somebody', while Denvah impressed with James Bay's 'Hold Back the River'. Drea and Kiani performed covers of Kylie Minogue's 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' and Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good', respectively, but it was not enough.
Upon learning of their elimination, Kiani said: 'Thank you. It's been a lifetime experience I will always cherish.' Drea added: 'This is not the end of Drea. Good luck. You will be seeing me.' Amy Shark, 37, commented: 'It's just really sad. I don't want to see you go. I've enjoyed every single performance.' Kyle encouraged both performers: 'Don't think it's over yet. Life continues. We want to hear the music.'
Australian Idol continues on Channel Seven and 7Plus on Sunday at 7.00pm.
