Australia's Got Talent 2012 - Seven West Media

INTRODUCTION
The nation’s most watched program of 2011, AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT,
makes its anticipated return in 2012 on Monday 16 April at 7:30pm.
A massive 2.98 million Australians watched as 14 year-old
Jack Vidgen was crowned last year’s winner and judges
DANNII MINOGUE, KYLE SANDILANDS, BRIAN MCFADDEN and
host GRANT DENYER have hit the road across the country to
find this year’s new crop of super-stars.
Judge Dannii Minogue says of the auditions this year: “Just when
we think we’ve seen it all something or someone comes out of
no-where and does a truly amazing performance. A star walks on
the stage and wows us. When the whole audience just floats to
their feet after a performance and the rest of the stage seems to
melt away, you know you have just witnessed the birth of a star”.
Kyle Sandilands says “The talent is, as always, diverse. What’s
different this year is that some of the acts we have previously
said no to are back after going away and re-working their
performance. Of course some are still terrible, which of course a
part of me loves, but some have taken our comments on board
and have worked harder to transform their idea and selves into a
proper act. I think the people at home will be blown away by the
weird things that Australians can do!”
After the flood of exceptional talent last year Brian McFadden
firmly believes “that this year is the best talent we have ever had.
We’ve got everything from amazing guitarists, world-class bands,
phenomenal dance troupes and acrobatics. And just to keep
us on track, some jelly wrestling midgets who take Kyle on for
good measure!”
Australian viewers will once again determine the winner of the
$250,000 grand prize. Following the achievements of past winners
Mark Vincent, Justice Crew and Jack Vidgen, along with the
recent local success of Timomatic and Cosentino, the stakes
are high.

HOST
GRANT DENYER
Grant Denyer could almost be a contestant with his many talents -
Sunrise weatherman, Dancing with the Stars champion, motor racing
driver and original AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT host.
Grant started driving cars at the age of seven on his family’s
Riverina farm in New South Wales. While he desperately wanted
to become a racing driver, he settled for go-karts and qualified
in the Top Ten for the Australian National Class Go-kart titles at
Geelong, qualified on pole for the NSW State Titles at Grenfell
before winning the NSW Go-kart Country Classic Championship
in 1997. Now, he has realised his V8 dream, driving for the Ford
Rising Stars V8 Supercar development series team as one of the
country’s hottest upcoming talents, winning ‘Rookie Of The Year’
and ‘Motorsport Personality Of The Year’ in his first season.
Not just content with life in the fast lane, Grant embarked on a
career in the media, securing a position at Prime TV in Wagga
Wagga as a journalist. In 1999, Grant became a full-time news
reporter for Network Ten. Thanks to his racing background and his
obvious talent on camera, he was soon given the opportunity to
work on the station’s V8 Supercar coverage as a pit reporter.
At the start of 2003, Grant joined the Channel Seven’s breakfast
program Sunrise as a weather presenter. Not one to shy away
from adventure, his role on Sunrise has seen him set five official
Guinness World records, including setting the largest tandem
bungee jump record by jumping out of a helicopter on Bondi
Beach. He has tried out to be a rugby league cheerleader,
travelled in the weather wagon around Australia for an
entire year and was the first journalist to report from Innisfail’s
devastated cyclone zone in 2006.
During his time on Sunrise, Grant was able to branch out, hosting
shows such as The Guinness Book of Records and Greatest
All-time Aussie Bloopers. He even commented for the Sydney
Olympic Games in 2000.
He surprised many with his dancing skills during the fourth series of
Dancing with Stars, beating world boxing champ Kostya Tszyu to
become the series champion.
Recognising his extraordinary talent since his dazzling victory on
Dancing with the Stars in 2006, Grant went on to host It Takes Two
in the same year. He also fulfilled his life long dream of becoming
a V8 Supercar driver and earned ninth position at his first Bathurst
1000 at Mount Panorama.
In 2010, Grant returned as a fulltime member of the Sunrise family,
resuming his role as the shows weatherman.

JUDGE
BRIAN MCFADDEN
Cheeky ex-pat Irishman Brian McFadden rejoins the judging panel
and has the goods to back it up, boasting a multi-faceted career as
a hugely successful singer, songwriter and television host.
Brian McFadden was destined for big things when he won a spot
in the Irish boy band Westlife, signed to BMG by Simon Cowell and
managed by UK X-Factor judge Louis Walsh . Westlife went on to
have 14 number one hits in the UK charts alone.
Brian left Westlife to pursue a solo career, with his first single “Real
To Me” going straight to number one in the UK. Australians were
first introduced to Brian through “Almost Here”, a duet recorded
with pop princess Delta Goodrem, which became an Australian
smash hit and ARIA chart topper. In 2007, Brian signed to Island
Records through Universal and released the album Set In Stone,
which included the Gold single “Like Only A Woman Can”. More
recently, Brian released Wall of Soundz, which included the
#1 smash “Just Say So”, selling over 100,000 units.
Multi-talented Brian has also had a number of hits as a songwriter
for such well-known groups as Il Divo and Girls Aloud and also
co-wrote the theme song of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth
Games “Together We Are One”.
The last few years have seen Brian venture into television, hosting
FOX8’s Football Superstar before appearing on Australian Idol in
2009 as a guest judge and mentor.
In 2010, Brian signed on to his largest TV task yet, joining the
AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT juggernaut. He said: “I love AUSTRALIA’S
GOT TALENT; I enjoy everything about it – not only getting to meet
everyday people but uncovering all the hidden talent out there
in Australia”.

TV JUDGE ICON, AGE 58
DANNII MINOGUE
AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT alumni DANNII MINOGUE’S CV is as long as she
is tall (5ft 2in to be exact!). A natural performer, Danielle Jane Minogue’s
33-year career has traversed television, music, theatre and film since
the age of seven.
Dannii remains the AUSTRALIA’S GOT TALENT’S beloved – and only
original - judge. Dannii also worked simultaneously on the UK’s
highest-rated television programme, The X Factor in 2007, 2008,
2009 and 2010 and was hailed a ‘national treasure’.
It was in 2007 that Dannii first decided to flip the coin, stepping
off the stage and into the judge’s chair to launch AUSTRALIA’S
GOT TALENT. Her natural rapport from behind the desk caught the
eye of Simon Cowell, who snapped her up to judge and mentor
on UK’s The X Factor. Dannii’s final series of The X Factor in 2010
was the most successful ever with an incredible final audience
peaking at 19.4 million viewers. In a winning end to the decade,
Dannii was also named TV Personality of the Year, Style Icon and
Celeb of the Year.
Dannii has also launched her own fashion label - Project
D - lovingly co-designed with Brit and best friend Tabitha
Somerset-Webb in the UK. In Australia, she has most recently
become the global face of ModelCo’s ‘Fibrelash’, the latest
eyelash enhancing product on the market and is contributing
editor to UK’s Glamour magazine.
As one of Australia’s biggest female exports, Dannii is no
stranger to the music charts. A million-selling artist, Minogue
possesses an incredible anthology of 21 smash-hit singles and
five studio albums.
Outside the world of showbiz, Dannii continues her charity work
as ‘Ambassador for Young People’ with the Terrence Higgins Trust,
the UK’s leading HIV and AIDS charity. She also accepted Olivia
Newton-John’s personal invitation to become an Ambassador
for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre Appeal.
The charity is raising money to replace the old cancer wards of
the Austin Hospital in Melbourne with a brand new building to be
named the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre.

AFL JUDGE SUPERSTAR, AGE 31
KYLE SANDILANDS
With a number one rating radio show already under his belt,
Kyle Sandilands returns again to the small screen to tell it how it is.
When Kyle joined the judging panel of Australian Idol in 2004,
audiences quickly fell for his no-nonsense honesty and unique
humour. As one of our country’s most popular broadcasters, Kyle
is one half of the number one rating FM Sydney breakfast duo,
“The Kyle and Jackie O Show”.
Back in 2000, Kyle joined Jackie O on the Hot 30 Countdown,
which subsequently morphed into a nightly national institution
with unprecedented ratings across Australia. They went on to
host the national drive time slot before moving into breakfast
on the Austereo network in 2005. It was during this time that this
inimitable radio star propelled 2Day FM from eighth place to
be the number one FM station.
The Kyle and Jackie O Show has dominated the ratings as the
number one breakfast show since 2005.
Kyle and Jackie began hosting mcm media’s nationally
syndicated chart show, ‘The Hot Hits’ in 2000, broadcasting
to more than 1 million people every week of the year until
November 2009; then, in January 2010, Kyle and Jackie O
became only the third ever hosts of Australia’s biggest national
countdown, Take 40 Australia.
Kyle and Jackie O also host the Hour of Power nationally around
Australia every week night on the Austereo network.

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