Mernda’s Jake Carlson is still reflecting on his Australian Idol journey after making it to Top 21 in a season described as ‘very difficult.’
The 20-year-old auditioned for season nine of the television series, singing in front of judges Kyle Sandilands, Amy Shark and Marcia Hines.
Before auditions went to air, Mr Carlson’s story was shared nationally – including his music in relation to his brother, who was diagnosed with autism at a young age.
Mr Carlson’s rendition of Jason Maraz’s ‘I Won’t Give Up’ moved the judges – a song that sat close to his heart.
“I thought if I did something close to home, like ‘I Won’t Give Up’, it would ground me. I closed my eyes a lot in the audition and that’s just me thinking that I’m on the couch [with my brother] Jonah,” Mr Carlson said.
“I’ve done music forever and it’s always been a part of my life, but to be critiqued on it by three people is very strange, and in art it’s such a subjective thing.”
Jake Carlson
For the first time, contestants were not guaranteed a golden ticket if they received two or three yes votes but were instead sent to a holding area until the end of the day when the judges would narrow them down.
Some contestants had to sing again, fortunately, Mr Carlson did not have to and went through the next round where singers did a series of challenges including a chorus line and group challenge.
Mr Carlson said Top 30 was ‘mental’ with singers rehearsing in their groups until the early hours of the morning.
In the chorus line, Mr Carlson was up against four other contestants who each had to sing their own version of Lady Gaga’s ‘Always Remember Us This Way.’
Following the judge’s advice on standing out, Mr Carlson used his own guitar in his performance and went through the whole week without being on notice.
In the group challenge, Mr Carlson performed OneRepublic’s ‘Counting Stars’ with two other contestants, where his group had a bit of an ‘edge’ due to previous experience performing in bands.
Without being put on notice again, Mr Carlson’s performing efforts took him through to the Top 24 for his live solo performance, finishing on a high as he performed one of his favourite songs ‘Wish You the Best’ by Lewis Capaldi.
Top 21 is where it all ended for Mr Carlson, missing out on Top 12 as the competition ramped up.
Mr Carlson said ending there was ‘bittersweet.’
“The odds are almost 50/50 and I played ‘Take Me Back’ by Noiseworks – another song that got me into music,” he said.
“I obviously wanted to go through even more … I really did want to get to voting because I thought I would have had a better chance if Australia got to know me but sadly it got cut a little bit short.”
After a memorable Idol journey, Mr Carlson said he would continue to write songs while also preparing for upcoming gigs.
People can follow Mr Carlson on Instagram at @jakecarlsonmusic.
