Kyle Sandilands' Whopping 'Australian Idol' Pay Revealed

Kyle Sandilands let his eye-watering Australian Idol pay amount slip live on KIIS FM, courtesy of Dean Lewis.

The How Do I Say Goodbye singer quizzed the Australian Idol judge and shock jock about his salary and asked why he was interested in appearing on the program, with Sandilands responding (via audio footage shared by the Herald Sun), “Listen, it’s clearly over a million dollars for three months work, you’d be a fool not to do it.”

Soon after revealing the figure, Sandilands confessed that he wasn’t sure if he could discuss his salary publicly. He continued, “I don’t know how much they’re paying the others, so maybe I shouldn’t have said it.”

Lewis answered, “That is a lot of money; that’s actually epic.”

As of late June, Dean Lewis’ single, How Do I Say Goodbye, had soared up international charts - certified gold in Norway and Switzerland - and gained 81 million streams worldwide, peaking at #68 on the Spotify Global Chart, #13 on Spotify US Viral Chart, and Top 20 on Shazam as of November 2022. In November 2022, he released his latest album, The Hardest Love.

In other recent Australian Idol news, TV Tonight reported that iconic judge and music legend Marcia Hines has signed on to accompany judges Kyle Sandilands and Amy Shark on the judging panel for next year’s season.

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At the time of writing, it’s unknown if international judges Harry Connick Jr. and Meghan Trainor will reprise their roles. Hosts Ricki-Lee Coulter and Scott Tweedie remain on board for 2024.

Hines appeared during the 2023 season as a guest judge and hinted at a more significant role in the show next year in July. “It looks like I’m doing it again this year,” she said on the Jess Rowe Big Talk Show earlier this year. “I look forward to it.”

Hines is touring Australia on her Still Shining – 50th Anniversary Concert Tour. She ends the run in New South Wales and Victoria – you can find the remaining tour dates below.