Australian Idol: Piper Butcher Misses The Top 12

Piper Butcher’s Australian Idol journey has come to an end with the 18-year-old eliminated last night (Sunday, Feb. 19) following with her performance of Madonna’s Like A Prayer.

Although she received some positive feedback from all four of the judges – Meghan Trainor, Amy Shark, Harry Connick Jr and Kyle Sandilands – she also got handed some constructive feedback.

Trainor said, “You did so good… it was groovy, nice arrangement. Your voice is haunting, and I love that.” While Shark noted, “I love how you didn’t overperform that, you definitely didn’t underperform either. I think you’re just effortlessly great.”  

Then it was Connick Jr.’s time to speak. After complimenting Butcher on her flawless singing, he said, “The question I have is about the arrangements. When you have a very short amount of time, if you’re not playing a whole concert, you have 90 seconds to play. You start slowly like that, I’m not so sure I would have kept the groove in half-time like that.”

He continued, “I think you had an opportunity to really crank it. You got to think about the competition as opposed to what kind of artist you are. You also have to think about how you fit into the competition, and I think you could have been stronger.”

“I definitely think Piper is back, there’s no mistaking that. Sounds great. Looks great. That’s a concert I’d go to. That’s an album I would buy and listen to from beginning to end. And that’s where the money is. That’s how you make a living out of singing,” Sandilands added. “But Harry’s right. As good as you are, and you’re in your pocket, you got to compete.”

Last night saw the top 24 divided into eight singers per round with four singers from each round progressing into the top 12. With Amali Dimond, Royston Sagigi-Baira, Ben Sheehy and Anya Hynninen advancing, Butcher was eliminated from the competition.  

“My Australian Idol experience is at a close, but I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the platform it gave me to share my passion and love for music,” Butcher shared on social media. “I am feeling ALL of the feelings right now and cannot thank each and every one of you for getting behind me! Onwards and upwards from here… be sure to keep an ear out about what’ll happen next with me. I’ve been doing music for 7 years now, and let me tell you it is only the beginning!!

The Newcastle singer-songwriter released her debut EP in 2021. September peaked at #1 on the Alternative Album iTunes charts and #2 in the All-Genre Album iTunes charts. Her latest releases – Read Between The Lines and Unconscious Mind – dropped in 2022.

With Americana meets rock ’n’ roll influences from the likes of Lukas Nelson, Chris Stapleton and Stevie Nicks, the CMAA Academy of Country Music graduate has supported acts such as Diesel, Glenn Shorrock, Gretta Ziller, The Black Sorrows, Richard Clapton, Thirsty Merc, Melody Moko, Josh Pyke and Tori Forsyth, and played alongside Bill Chambers, Gina Jeffreys and Lyn Bowtell to name a few.

Butcher originally made it into the top 50 with her stunning rendition of the Imagine Dragons classic Radioactive. Following the chorus line auditions and group performance rounds, Butcher made it into the top 24 with Avril Lavigne’s Complicated.

Australian Idol had seven seasons from 2003-2009 making household names of country singers like Hayley Jensen, James Johnston, Shannon Noll, Wesley Dean and Casey Barnes, as well as singers including Guy Sebastian, Casey Donovan, Rob Mills, Paulini, Jessica Mauboy and Anthony Callea. After a 14-year hiatus, this reimagined season (which premiered on Monday, January 30) sees hopefuls aged 15-28 showcase their talents.

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Keep up to date with Piper Butcher via her Facebook page here.