Royston Sagigi-Baira Wins Australian Idol 2023

Royston Sagigi-Baira, a First Nations singer from Cape York was crowned Australian Idol for 2023 tonight winning both the public vote and Australia's hearts with a spectacular performance. Taking away $100,000 in prize money and a recording contract with Sony Music Australia, the singer will be hoping to emulate the success of past Idol alumni including Jessica Mauboy, who also performed her new single Right Here Right Now on tonight's show. 

Growing up in the small community of Mapoon at the tip of Far North Queensland, Royston was an early favourite from his first audition and has steadily impressed the judges across his journey in the competition. Citing Mauboy as his biggest inspiration, Royston entered the competition with Sam Smith's I'm Not The Only One. 

His final performance on the Idol stage was an incredible rendition of When You Believe, the Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston duet from the movie The Prince of Egypt, showing once and for all why he deserved the crown. 

Sportsbet had him at just $1.44 after the top three were revealed last Monday night with most commentators expecting the win. 

“I can’t believe this. This is crazy!” Royston said upon being announced as a grand finalist. “This is a testament [to the fact] that no matter where you come from, as long as you work hard, you can follow your dreams, and they can come true.”

Starting his singing journey at school and church, Sagigi-Baira moved to Brisbane to attend the Aboriginal Centre For The Performing Arts (ACPA) and is currently in his second year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music) at Queensland University of Technology. Communities across Cape York have been getting behind him with a strong voting performance across the series. 

Royston beat out strong competition from 15 year old Phoebe Stewart and 20 year old Josh Hannan. Busselton's Phoebe Stewart was another early favourite, despite early nerves and was one of the most improved contestants as she gained confidence and experience across the competition. Taking inspiration from Adele, her powerful and controlled vocal performances consistently gained praise from the judges. 

It wasn't a flawless night for Phoebe though, as she took a tumble down the stairs just before the winner was announced, in what proved to be a bad omen. The perils of live TV...

Melbourne's Josh Hannan was the first of the three voted out of the contest this evening, despite being the most experienced musician in the top three. His career as a singer songwriter is likely to blossom further now that the constraints of reality TV will be off.

The next test for Royston will be the performance of the winner's single. The song Invincible has been penned by pop queens Tones & I and Graace, giving him a good head start. Australian Idol's first run which ended in 2009 had a strong record of radio and chart hits, but its predecessors like The Voice and Australia's Got Talent have had progressively worse results with many winners being ignored by radio and failing to chart. Will Australian Idol deliver better luck for Royston? One would think he'll at least get a good showing on Kyle Sandilands' Kiis FM. 

Kicking yourself you didn't audition for Idol this year? Well fear not... Auditions are already open for next year's big event. Head here to put your name forward and roll the dice between fame and fortune and infamy and ridicule. 

Nostalgic for the old days? Settle in and watch the original Australian Idol Guy Sebastian when he headed across the ditch to perform for Ryan Seacrest on American Idol.