Aussie 'Idol' enjoys role model status

Sydney schoolgirl Casey Donovan won't be going back to school any time soon after being crowned Australian Idol.

Donovan, who has just finished Year 11 at Sydney's Australian Institute of Music, has landed a recording deal with Sony BMG and will release her debut album within a fortnight.

Overall, more than 50,000 people auditioned in the competition and more than two million people tuned into the show each week.

Donovan's offbeat, grungy style, dreadlocks, and fuller figure have broken the stereotypical popstar image.

The part-Aboriginal singer, who lives in Bankstown in Sydney's southwest, said she was pleased to be a role model for people of all colours, shapes and sizes.

"I think I've broken the image," she said. "No one's perfect, and that's just how it is."