Pressure's on Idol wannabes

BUSY living the rock star lifestyle, the Australian Idol finalists know they will be singing for more than their supper as the contest turns for home tonight.

Battered in the ratings by football finals over the past fortnight, Australian Idol's final eight singers are aware they need to lift their game and resurrect audience numbers which have fallen to just over the one million mark.

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"We know we've got work to do, that each week we need to grow and lift our performances," admitted Gold Coast crooner Carl Riseley ahead of tonight's Brit Pop-themed program.

"We certainly can't rest on our laurels."

Last Monday's elimination show failed to make the Top 10 programs for the night, accruing a national audience of just 1.06 million. Have your say on the hopefuls on our Idol Chat blog.

By contrast, Channel 7's home-grown offerings Border Security, The Force and City Homicide triumphed, with the first of which almost doubling Idol's audience figures.

In a move aimed at boosting audience interest, Channel 10 last week gave The Sunday Mail unprecedented access to the Australian Idol house.

Usually only the Idols and production staff can visit the house. Family and friends are not allowed.

In a palatial Sydney harbourside mansion, the eight remaining contestants are living the pop star dream in a house befitting those already established in the industry. It has five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a weights room, music room, three separate living areas, an in-house cook and a 24-hour security guard. The finalists admitted this style of living also informed their desire for success.

"(It's) another awesome reason about staying in the program each week," Riseley said. The multimillion-dollar mansion is rumoured to cost $10,000 a week in rent.

source: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22540842-7642,00.html