Would-be idols getting ready to warble

The first of 15,000 hopefuls will line up in Auckland today to audition for New Zealand Idol II, but opinions are mixed on whether the show will be as successful as its predecessor.

Last year nearly one million people - 55 per cent of viewers - watched as Ben Lummis won on public voting, even though some critics dismissed the show as little more than a glorified karaoke competition.

But judge Paul Ellis does not think the first Idol scraped out the barrel of New Zealand talent.

"I was at a bar in the Viaduct and the singer in the band came up to me and said he'd had a bad audition last time round but he wanted to give it another go.

"I said 'You're a great singer, so come along'.

"I've met so many people in the past year who were frustrated they didn't give it a go the first time round, who were too scared to audition."

South Pacific Pictures managing director John Barnett also believes the viewers will return.

"Numbers tuning into watch homegrown programmes, local productions, has gone up quite a lot.

"You look at something like Dancing With the Stars and people are obviously interested in and want to be part of something which takes people from their neighbourhood and puts them into a programme like Idol with the potential to become a star."

Misha Kavka, Auckland University media studies lecturer and a specialist in reality television, was unsure.

"In New Zealand the first series was a cultural event so everyone interested in New Zealand culture or with a sense of belonging to New Zealand got tied up in it.

"This year I think the voting numbers will still be there and it will still appeal to the youth demographic, to people who like that kind of thing. But it will have less broad appeal than last time."

In the United States, the fourth series has just ended, watched by 27 million viewers on average, 6 per cent more than the year before. It was America's top rating programme for the 2004-05 year.

Ratings in New Zealand for the show's unattractive 5pm timeslot were also strong, drawing about 150,000 viewers and 17 per cent audience share and an estimated 265,000 viewers for the final last Saturday.

Mr Ellis expects NZ Idol will again generate "water-cooler talk".

"I am incredibly optimistic. If it was a sick puppy it wouldn't be on prime time.

"It is fair to say that just as Eminem, Slip Knot or Simon and Garfunkel aren't everyone's cup of tea, it's the same for Idol.

"But here people take a strong interest and there is a sense of ownership, more so than any other reality TV show, in my mind."

As to what we can expect this time round, the answer is more of the same. The format of Idol, franchised to more than 20 nations worldwide, is set in stone, bar a bit of tinkering.

Mr Ellis admits the budget for the show compared with the American version reflects the different population sizes.

"I wish we did have more. Everyone always wishes they had more.

"In the end it's down to the performances."