'NZ Idol' judge reduced to tears

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX

Imagine if someone had made acerbic international Idol judge Simon Cowell cry.

The tabloids would have dined out on that little morsel for yonks, not to mention the kudos the Idol-wannabe would have won.

Last night, in the first voting episode of NZ Idol, Hamilton's Camillia Temple managed what must be New Zealand's answer to doing just that.

She had hard-nosed judge Fiona McDonald blubbing like a baby.

Of course it took an incredibly soulful, goosebump-inducing rendition of Whitney Houston's Exhale (Shooop) to do it. And no doubt once McDonald started many viewers must have joined in. Well maybe just a few. Okay, okay, maybe it was just me.

Regardless, it came three songs in and raised the bar.

But that does not mean the competition is all over in the first week. From 8.30 last night the voting lines were opened and home viewers were put in charge of selecting this country's answer to Guy Sebastian, Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard.

And one judge's moved-to-tears-moment is not necessarily anyone else's.

Three of last night's eight performers will go through to the finals. Or possibly four if the judges' wildcard entry comes out of last night's lot. Regardless, five will be leaving Idol HQ after tonight's results show and going home, courtesy of the viewers.

But it should not be a difficult choice. Last night's ensemble featured two potential Idol winners and two performers who were not far behind them.

The other four were good, but not as good. More karaoke bar than Western Springs.

Idol's youngest performer, Karly Ryder, 16, belied her years with Anastacia's Not that Kind of Girl. Big voice and probably the spunkiest performance of the night. The only question mark would be about her maturity.

Or perhaps she was just trying a little harder than necessary.

Christine Hutt shone immediately. Strutting a semi-Alicia Keys style the 22-year-old took a boring Celine Dion number and gave it a soul. The judges appreciated it. The public would be silly not to.

The only bloke to really raise the eyebrows was Ben Lummis, 24, of Glen Eden - even if it was initially due to his revelation that the make-up was "starting to make me feel pretty".

You'll remember this guy, he looks like Stacey Jones and he sings like Craig David. You might even see him in the finals.

But the performance of the night was undoubtedly 27-year-old Temple's. The woman is a budding star and worthy of every vote she gets.

The show itself has already improved. Fewer cheesy lines from host Dominic Bowden for one thing. But it does need an injection of atmosphere.

I look forward to a real studio audience and little more atmosphere when the potential Idols will be able to feed off the crowd and inject a little more life into the party.