Osher Günsberg And James Mathison Dished The Dirt On Some ‘Australian Idol’ Secrets
"Kyle Sandilands stole everything from his dressing room...Like the huge TV, everything from the minibar? He ransacked the whole room."
Looking back, Australian Idol seems like a fever dream. The fashion, the questionable song choices, the nodules, the controversies, Paris Hilton, Hillsong, gold dresses, tradies singing Pink songs, the fact that Shannon Noll and Guy Sebastian still feature in our lexicon nearly two decades later…it’s a lot to consider.
At the centre of the circus was Osher Günsberg (then known as Andrew G) and James Mathison, who directed the proceedings with the billowing energy of a Cosima De Vito power ballad. Two decades on from when they first appeared together on-screen with dodgy haircuts and even dodgier suits, they’re back with a new podcast called Idle Australians, where they will go deep on the myths about local legends from Australia’s past.
Naturally, we had to take the opportunity to chat with them — about the podcast of course, but mostly about nostalgia, the Poo Jogger, the time Kylie Sandilands ransacked his Idol dressing room, and the potential of a ‘spill-all-secrets’ Aus Idol reunion.
Music Junkee: Let’s get straight to it — what’s Idle Australians all about?
Osher: Since we stopped doing television together, Jim and I have stayed mates the whole time. The conversations we have are really exploratory, and tangential, and reflective on where we are as a community and how our country got to where we are now.
The podcast is about taking moments of our cultural narrative, and highlighting our often untold stories. We’re using those moments to reflect on not only parts of Australian culture we may have skipped over, but also to reflect on how we got to know. Plus, I love doing a podcast with James because he’s the funniest person I know.
MJ: You’re great mates, sure — the less we say about the rivalry on Ready Steady Cook, the better.
O: He cheated, I’ll have you know. I made deep-fried tofu-stuffed zucchini flowers with a glorious salsa marinade. Jimmy then pandered to the audience, like he was a wrestler calling somebody out before a cage match, and made meat on a stick. And look, all I can say is that for a man like James Mathison to resort to populist politics to win an election, I was a bit disappointed that you did that James.
“Jimmy then pandered to the audience, like he was a wrestler calling somebody out before a cage match, and made meat on a stick.”
James: Here’s the thing — I couldn’t really cook back then. But now I’m an excellent cook. I won when I was a shitty cook, just by using anti-vegan sentiment. But now? I could really bring it.
O: Time and place, Mathison. And I’ll warn you right now. I am at the temple of jiu jitsu-pressure cooker-mastery. Me and my pressure cooker will take on whatever meat-on-a-stick you want to try and come at me with.
D: Are there any specific people you’re really gunning to talk to for Idle Australians?
J: I’m obsessed with trying to talk to the Poo Jogger. That, for me, would be the absolute pinnacle. I have so many questions; I think the country does. How did that happen? What is life after you get sprung shitting on the porch of your neighbours foyer — and it’s front page of the Daily Telegraph? How do you come back from that? How do you look your grandkids in the eye?
O: Our producer Bree [Steele] is very, very good at sleuthing and hunting people down. The episode we made [earlier this month] happened because James was in Greece and he heard ‘You’re the Voice’ in Greek. Bree managed to hunt down the bass player of the band that made that a hit, and we spoke to him in Greece — it was so rad.
J: We really thought if there was a chance to talk rubbish together, let’s do it. And tick a few of our favourite boxes: retro Australiana, music, and a few checkered histories.
D: Speaking of retro Australiana…when you look back on Australian Idol season one, did you have any idea of the cultural significance it would go on to have?
O: It’s kind of weird, because Jim and I were in the eye of the storm. We were just going to work and doing our job, but it’s fascinating seeing people’s reactions. History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes. And whether it’s the Poo Jogger or it’s the bloke who led the team who invented WiFi, it’s important to recognise that these things, while they blip past us very quickly, they can go on to influence how we behave and how we interact with each other.
J: I’m loving that people are reminiscing now, like Junkee’s piece. The year or two after it finished nobody was really interested in it — it was over and done. But 10 years after that, there seems to be this real revival of interest; it’s now entered proper nostalgia.
There’s a generation of kids who watched it when they were younger now entering young adulthood — it was part of their growing up. I think that’s really cool, and that always still excites me, because like Osh was saying, we’d just turn up and go to work — and we had a super fun job — but you never are cognisant of playing a role in what people are consuming.
And that’s why Idol still resonates with people, because it was a fun show. People had fun watching it, and had Idol parties and would watch it and get together and they’d laugh and they’d boo the judges and whatever. Further along it goes, you recognise how big it was.
D: Streaming has completely demolished that idea of having weekly viewing parties like that.
J: Oh absolutely, we’ll never really see that again! There’s not as much shared experience in our consumption culture anymore — it’s all sort of atomised and segmented. I think in many ways that’s a shame, but it’s also great that people can watch whatever they want whenever they want.
O: I think you’re absolutely right, James. I was talking about this last night as Audrey and I were watching Killing Eve, which is fucking great. But we were asking ourselves, how the fuck can anyone in Australia compete against the most well-funded writers’ rooms, the highest budgets, and the best actors on the planet? We can’t go against Apple TV — they can afford Ridley fucking Scott! So what can we do?
And the answer really is — all we can possibly do is tell the most relatable Australian stories we can possibly tell. And I guess in a way, that’s what Jim and I are exploring in this show — the stories that only happen in Australia.
J: I went to a bar recently and the bartender pulled out his phone, and his screensaver and his phone background was the cover of the 2001 Idol Greatest Moments DVD. I was asking him why I was on his screensaver, and he was like, “I don’t know! It’s cute, I thought it’d be funny! I never thought I’d run into you!” That was a moment for me that I realised Australian Idol was way bigger than we’d imagined.
O: The lesson about that DVD cover is never, ever use ‘wouldn’t it be funny if they used this photo?’ face in a photoshoot, because they will use that photo. Every time.
D: Osher, you’ve done lots of podcasting before, tackling big topics like mental health, fatherhood, and more. What do you love about audio storytelling?
O: What I love most about podcasts is that they’re absolutely intimate. After we get off here, I’m going to train in the backyard with Wil Anderson and Charlie Clauson. They don’t know that! They’re my podcast friends — and we all have our podcast friends! They come with us when we do the laundry, or when we wash the dishes! It’s this intimate form of broadcasting because it’s something that you’ve sought out, that you’re invested in, and I love the intimacy and the personalised nature of it. I think it’s just magical.
J: It almost feels like the antithesis of social media — 280 characters, people at each other, dogs barking in a box, bad faith arguments — but it feels like many podcasts are discussions. At least for the interview style of podcasts that we listen to, the idea isn’t ‘how am I going to stitch you up here?’ It’s ‘what can I learn from you?’ And I think that we need that more than ever right now — that’s why podcasting is awesome.
D: Do you reckon you’d ever get back into TV together?
J: Maybe for Idol’s 20-year reunion. We should plan a live show for that. Have guests, look at some bloopers, get some unseen footage.
O: Well, I actually know the true untold story of what happened with Milsy, Paris, and even Courtney Act. We could tell it on stage. We could recreate it using shadow puppets — or we could get the original cast back together.
“Did you know the story about when one season ended, Kyle Sandilands stole everything from his dressing room?”
J: We could also get to the bottom of who shagged who in the Idol house as well.
O: People have got kids now and they don’t want to be talking to the husbands and wives about what they did at the Australian Idol house.
J: That’s not my concern. My concern isn’t what they have to explain to their shitty kids. My concern is selling tickets and monetising an event. Also Dani, did you know the story about when one season ended, Kyle Sandilands stole everything from his dressing room…Like the huge TV, everything from the minibar? He ransacked the whole room. Anyway, we’ll tell that story on the night.
D: You do realise this would be an Australian music cultural moment to end all cultural moments, right?
O: And that night, we will ‘Rise Up’. And fly away. We just have to wear hipster jeans and a nice top. Plus the hair straightening. We had budgets for fireworks, where were our stylists?
But also, there may have been a few shifty dealings with you and me back then. I know we did that Idol DVD for maybe couple hundred bucks? It wasn’t a lot… And it went on to sell kajillions of copies.
D: Plus it’s extremely hard to get your hands on — I’ve tried.
O: Well, where’s our cut in that?
J: I think we got about $500. By the way Dani, you should help us put together the Idol reunion when we move forward on that.
Idle Australians is out now. We’ll let you know when the 20th Idol anniversary happens.
Dani Leever is a pop culture writer and official Australian Idol correspondent based in Melbourne. They tweet at @danileever.