Nope they don’t swap the groups.
They should mix up the groups from week to week. And those eliminated should be the ones with lowest votes overall not the one with the lowest votes in either group.
They did change. There was 2 from Sunday went to Monday & vise versa from last weeks top 12.
Australian Idol’s Top 8 take centre stage
Wanwue and Harry eliminated
Tonight, Harry Lamb and Wanwue Tarpeh were eliminated after Australia had their say, choosing the Top 8 Australian Idol contestants on Seven and 7plus.
Ahead of the verdict, the Top 10 took to the stage for a rousing group performance of Noiseworks’ classic anthem Touch.
Judges Marcia Hines, Kyle Sandilands and Amy Shark praised the depth of talent, admitting it was hard to see artists eliminated at this stage of the competition.
Marcia shared: “The performances are on another level; we couldn’t be prouder.”
Trè Samuels, 26, from Victoria and Kesha Oayda, 21, from NSW were safe from the public vote after the judges sent them direct to the Top 8 after the performance shows.
Hosts Ricki-Lee and Scott Tweedie then announced that four artists with the lowest votes from each performance show were at risk of elimination.
Ballarat barber Harry Lamb, 26; Jacinta Guirguis, 25, from Bacchus Marsh; Wanwue Tarpeh, 21, from Victoria; and big-voiced soul singer Charlie Moon, 31, from WA landed in the bottom four.
On Wanwue, Marcia said: “This is the hardest part. We don’t have anything to do with it; it’s up to Australia at this point. They are wrong.”
The bottom four performed again to prove they had the vocal star power to stay in the competition.
Jacinta’s unique vocals soared during Alessia Cara’s Scars To Your Beautiful, while Harry stripped back his rock persona during The Fray’s How To Save A Life .
Charlie tapped into his powerhouse emotion with Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott, while Wanwue brought her signature vibes to Jessie J’s Price Tag.
After her elimination, an upbeat Wanwue said: “This is not the end. This is the start of my journey. I have come so far, I’m not stopping here.”
She added: “All good things must come to an end. There’s always a storm before the rainbow.”
Alongside her vocals and vibe, Amy acknowledged: “I loved your empathy, you are such a kind-hearted person, that’s what makes you the whole package.”
Kyle praised her “rich and beautiful voice”, adding: “You’ve got the skills, you’ve got the profile, go for gold.”
Marcia added: “I am so proud of you.”
After his elimination, a grateful Harry praised the “so many highlights and friends he has made along the way”.
Not surprised to see Harry receive the lowest votes, Kyle praised his final performance, calling it “a beautiful, emotional song, I believed every word” and wished him well.
Amy acknowledged Harry’s maturity and grace in handling criticism on live television, sharing: “I have loved watching you grow. To see where you’ve come from to where you are now.”
ARIA Award winner Budjerah also took to the Idol stage with a smooth rendition of his new single Gentleman.
The Australian Idol 2026 Top 8:
· Charlie Moon, 31, Perth, WA
· Harlan Goode, 18, Brisbane, QLD
· Jacinta Guirguis, 25, Bacchus Marsh, VIC
· John Standley, 17, Bunbury, WA
· Kalani Artis, 23, Central Coast, NSW
· Kesha Oayda, 21, Jindabyne, NSW
· Simela Petridis, 31, Adelaide, SA
· Trè Samuels, 26, Melbourne, VIC
The winner will receive $100,000 in prize money, an exclusive recording package with Hive Sound Studios, attend a songwriting camp with Sony Music Publishing, marketing and social media support from The Annex, VIP tickets to the ARIA Awards and TV WEEK Logie Awards and the esteemed title of Australian Idol 2026.
It was only promoted on social media, and the hosts did not mention it on the performance shows.
The Victorian contingent is down to two with Harry and Wanwue gone. I wonder if Charlie got some sympathy votes from viewers, as he performed below his best due to the cold?
Every contestant will take on a genre he or she has not sung before, according to the promo.
Audience tickets are now available for the top 6 performance show on Saturday April 4, and results show on Tuesday, April 7.
EDIT: due to live AFL on Easter Sunday night, the top 6 performance show will air on Monday April 6.
So the following week April 12 & 13 should be the finale. Same days as MAFS. 7 & Idol just can’t seem to find the ability to air episodes without MAFS even with this season finishing a bit later than usual
13th and 14th
Oh they aren’t doing Sunday & Monday for the finale?
That’s right, AFL Gather Round Sunday night game
Last night’s top 8 performance show went way overtime.
It was initially scheduled to finish at 8.40pm. When I set my PVR recording, the EPG showed the finish time as 8.43pm. I added two minutes but the recording ended at 8.45pm during the final ad break, so I was forced to watch the final segment on 7plus. That segment went for 6.5 minutes, which meant the episode would have finished at around 8.52pm.
I would not bother recording it. Its available as soon as it finishes broadcasting on 7Plus anyway. I personally think it should be made available at the start of the broadcast not the end.
I prefer recording it so I can watch it straight after Australian Survivor, and skip through all the ad breaks.
“I think the reason the show with all Australian songs struck such a chord with audiences is because music is the tapestry of our lives,” Marcia Hines told The Music Network . Everyone has lived one of those songs at some point whether they’ve broken up to it, celebrated with it, or turned to it during a moment in their life. That’s why it resonated so strongly this week.”
“I think Aussie music just connects because it feels really honest, people see themselves in it,” Amy Shark said.
Kyle Sandilands added: “Aussie songs just hit harder people know them, love them, and they go off. You could feel it straight away. When you back local music, Aussies show up.”
7plus is not very user friendly but there are ways around it.
The judges this season are giving way too many standing ovations. Literally last night they did it for 5 or 6 of the 8 performances. They start to lose their meaning when this happens and then it looks bad for the contestants that don’t get it. They just seem to love everything and never give any constructive criticism anymore. There were a couple of performances last night that I thought were quite average, yet they stood up for.
I think it is time for Charlie and Jacinta to go. Although based on performances last night I thought that Kesha was really weak and given she was in the bottom the first week, it wouldn’t surprise me if she goes (that was one standing ovation that I really didn’t understand).