Kyle Sandilands has been left stunned during a dramatic audition on Channel Seven’s upcoming season of Australian Idol, a new teaser has revealed.
The 54-year-old shock jock appeared momentarily lost for words when a contestant appeared before him and fellow judges Amy Shark and Marcia Hines without a song to sing.
In the preview, the young woman, named Eva, tells the surprised judges to pick a song for her to perform, leaving the trio gobsmacked.
‘You want us to choose which song you audition with?’ Kyle asks Eva, who nods and smiles enthusiastically.
However, the mood turns awkward when Kyle challenges the would-be Idol contestant: ‘It’s normally a bit of a red flag [when you don’t have a song].’
The other judges seem to back up Kyle’s verdict on Eva’s audition strategy, with Amy Shark telling the hopeful, ‘You need to be your own artist.’
In a new teaser for Australian Idol, Kyle Sandilands was left stunned during a dramatic audition
In the preview, the young woman from Brisbane tells the surprised judges to pick a song for her to perform
Kyle then cheekily suggested to the other judges to yell out requests, leaving Eva biting her lip and looking embarrassed.
‘Whitney Houston,’ the KIIS star suggested before adding, ‘Men at Work, Down Under.’
Marcia also chimed in, suggesting Eva try out with Chris Stapleton’s Tennessee Whiskey.
This season of Idol comes one year after Kyle rubbished claims that he had been gearing up to leave his Australian Idol hosting gig.
In April 2025, Woman’s Day reported that speculation was ‘rife’ that Sandilands, 53, would not be returning for the 2026 season of the Channel Seven reality series.
The publication claimed that his three-year contract with Idol had now ended and that ‘producers are concerned that [his] priorities had shifted’.
The publication also claimed that Kyle was stepping down from his Idol role due to his recent brain aneurysm diagnosis.
It was all news to the shock jock, however, who told Daily Mail Australia that there was no truth to the rumour.
The other judges seemed to back up Kyle’s verdict on Eva’s audition strategy. Pictured: Amy Shark
Kyle, who first joined Australian Idol in the early 2000s, said that the only correct course of action is for the publication to pay reparations to readers.
‘I’m calling on the editor of Woman’s Day to do the right thing and refund the $5.99 to every single reader who bought this week’s edition of the magazine,’ Sandilands said.
He added that he would happily accept an apology from the publication.
‘I’ll graciously accept Woman’s Day’s apology for the false report. I’ll also promise not to sue them, this time,’ Sandilands joked.
A spokesperson for Sandilands further rubbished the claim, adding: ‘Kyle’s not on a three-year deal, nor has his contract expired’.
At the time, rumours of Sandilands’ departure appeared greatly exaggerated, especially given that he already confirmed to The Daily Mail that he was locked in for another season.
‘They’ve already booked in the dates,’ he said.
