Biography
Daniel Spillane (born February 29, 1980) is one of the six remaining contestants of the Top 13 in the third series of Australian Reality television show, Australian Idol[1]. After auditioning for the previous series in Sydney and not making it through, he heeded the advice of judge Mark Holden and dedicated the next year to learning the art of music. He made a risky move and quitted the family accounting business to move to Brisbane in order to find inspiration.
For a year Daniel worked as a handyman and labourer in building and repairing houses, all whilst being a neighbour to his childhood musical mentor, Paul. The year passed by and the Australian Idol crew, with new judge Kyle Sandilands replacing Ian Dickson, arrived to the Brisbane auditions. An interesting note, Daniel was the first auditioner to get into Top 150 of the third Australian Idol series. On the first 'Inside Australian Idol' of 2005 Daniel described himself to be "a typical Aussie Bloke who's handy on the golf course,". His reason for wanting the title of Australian Idol was "Music is what I want to do for the rest of my life", he is also a firm believer in Karma
Australian Idol
Top 30
Considered a strong contender to the ascend to the Top 12 (later the Top 13) in the Top 30 round, expectations got the better of him, as a performance of "I Don't Want to Be" by Gavin Degraw revealed he suffered from a significant amount of stage fright and had trouble keeping confidence and, to an extent, pitch on stage. The judges pressed this issue, and he returned to the Wildcard.
Another interesting note, fellow semifinalist Lindsay West chose the same song as Daniel, Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses", for the Wildcard, once Daniel heard Lindsay singing it in his music workshop, he walked in to let Lindsay know that they might've been performing the same songs. However, after some deep thought, he made the decision to honour Lindsay's choice and pick another song. This song was the same song that he sang in his audition.
During and before the Wildcard there was a debate among fans about the entering of Laura Gissara over Roxane Lebrasse whom most people considered superior,in the second semifinals. After the entering of Judge's Choice contestants James Kannis and Emily Williams, hosts Andrew G and James Mathison revealed the last Top 12 spot (voted in by the public) belonged to either Daniel or Roxane, apparently with a margin of less than 1% between them. After a suspenseful moment, the two hosts revealed Daniel was the audience's pick. However, during Daniel's re-performing of his Wildcard song, the three judges were seen to be discussing something with a producer. Before long they announced Roxane to join Daniel in the now Top 13
Top 13
Since the double elimination of fellow Top 13 contestants Tarni Stephens and Chris Luder, Daniel was left as the oldest competitor at the age of 25. He experienced several moments in which he was in the bottom three places of the competition, but managed to dodge the bullet each time up until now. Beating James Kannis into the Top 6 made Daniel manage an appearance into the "Up Close and Personal" show on October 21, 2005 and had a chance to perform without the pressure of voting, elimination or any of the three judges. After having a brief history of his Idol Career and his life, plus a few moments that most would consider embarrasing (childhood photos), he revealed his personal song choice of the night, Donny Hathaway's rendition of "A Song for You". However, at this point in the competition, with five strongly supported rivals against him for the same prize, most of the viewing audience, and even Daniel himself, considered him to be the underdog of the Top 6, with the highest chances of leaving the competition.
Songs Performed
Audition: Gimme' Some Lovin' (O.A. Spencer Davis Group)
Top 30, Semifinals 1: I Don't Want to Be (O.A. Gavin DeGraw)
Wildcard: Gimme' Some Lovin' (O.A. Spencer Davis Group)
Final 13, Australian Songs: Tucker's Daughter (O.A. Ian Moss)
Final 11, The 60's: I Got You (I Feel Good) (O.A. James Brown)
Final 10, Rock Supergroups: TNT (O.A. ACDC)
Final 9, Idol's Choice: If I Could (O.A. 1927)
Final 8, Big Band: Feeling Good (O.A. Michael Buble)
Final 7, The 80's: If You Don't Know Me By Now (O.A. Simply Red)
Final 6, Motown: Shakey Ground (O.A. The Temptations)