Australian Idol

Coaching, staging and choreographing
on the high rating Australian version
of the international TV phenomenon.
  • John joined the Australian Idol creative production team in 2006 in collaboration with renowned choreographer William A. Forsythe. The pair became the Performance Coaches for Series Four, which remained one of the highest rating shows for Channel 10. Together they coached contestants in performance skills, stagecraft, and camera technique for their solo performances from the Top 24 right down to the final 2, and also staged and choreographed the weekly group numbers and the Sydney Opera House grand final.

  • John continued on for Series Five as the sole coach and staging choreographer, delivering some 12 more group numbers and coaching nearly 100 solo performances. The highlight of that year was staging and choreographing the final 12 for the Sydney Opera House grand final, where he also had the pleasure of working with international superstar Lionel Ritchie.

  • During his two years on Australian Idol, John worked with and coached the likes of Jessica Mauboy, Dean Geyer, Matt Corby, Natalie Gauci, Damien Leith and Lisa Mitchell who have all gone on to have impressive music and performing careers.

Grand Final

The Top 12 finalists, a youth choir on the steps of the Opera House, massive fireworks over Sydney Harbour and an international superstar surprise guest... what a way for John to see out his Idol adventure at the end of Series 5.

Scrapbook

Some memories and moments from John's Idol experience.
The weekly Idol page in TV Week Magazine.

Winning words

"I had the great pleasure of working with John during my time on Australian Idol. He was always wonderful to work with, extremely talented, very inspiring and helped me to feel much more comfortable performing..." 
​- Damien Leith (Australian Idol Winner 2006)

Credits

Executive producers - Greg Beness & Suzanne Mitchell
Production companies - FremantleMedia Australia & 19 Entertainment
Broadcaster - Network 10 Australia
Hosts - James Mathison and Andrew G
Judges - Mark Holden, Marcia Hines, Ian "Dicko" Dickson, Kyle Sandilands
Musical Director - John Foreman
Vocal Coach - Erana Clark
Performance Coach - John Rowe
"A star performance is so much more than a killer vocal -
​it requires an emotional and physical commitment to the music
​and a clear connection with the audience."
​John Rowe