Who Actually Won Australian Idol? Spotify’s Data Tells A Different Tale To The One We Remember

It’s been a whopping 20 years since the inaugural season of Australian Idol crowned Guy Sebastian as the winner. Don’t worry, I can feel my youth slipping through my sausage fingers too. To commemorate the moment that changed Aussie reality television forever, the good folks at Spotify sorted through the data to decipher which one of the beloved artists who got their start on Idol are the most listened to.

Spotify Australia has broken the data down into two main categories — the top artists locally and the top artists globally.

As you’d expect, in the local category it was revealed that the man who captured the hearts of the nation in 2003, still holds the top spot in our listening habits 275 million streams. Guy was followed by blue-eyed, guitar-strumming indie icon Matt Corby in second place, and then our golden gal Jessica Mauboy took out the third spot.

Then rounding out the top 10 is Stan Walker, Shannon Noll, Lisa Mitchell, Casey Barnes, Ricki-Lee, Ngaiire and Anthony Callea.

But the global popularity is where it gets interesting.

While Guy is arguably the biggest star from the show in Australia, it was Matt Corby who topped the global popularity charts with 576 million streams.

In fact, his track “Resolution” was the most streamed song of all Australian Idol contestants. And of the top five songs streamed worldwide from Idol alum, he had four out of five with Guy only taking out spot number two with his hit song “Choir”.

Guy came in second at 530 million global streams, followed by Jessica Mauboy rounding out the top three with 260 million streams.

Next was Stan Walker, Lisa Mitchell, Shannon Noll, Casey Barnes, Ricki-Lee, Ngaiire and Anthony Callea.

Interestingly, the data also broke down the top artists for Gen Z and millennials in Australia.

For Gen Z, Hayley Warner took the top spot followed by Rob Mills, Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy and Matt Corby.

For Millenials, Joel Turner — yes, the guy who blew everyone away from beatboxing in his audition — topped the rankings. While I personally haven’t thought about this man for a cheeky decade, it turns out he won the World Beatboxing Championships in 2005. Not too shabby, hey?

Joel was then followed by Kate DeAraugo, Dean Geyer (!!!!!), Em Rusciano (who I genuinely had no idea was on Australian Idol) and Ngaiire.

Justice for Lee Harding, if you ask me. His tune “Wasabi” slapped and I’m listening to it right now.

So, there you have it. If you want to review the lists, I’ve included them for you below. Now, everybody go stream “Wasabi” — stat!!!

Spotify’s list of most successful Australian Idol Contestants

Top artist streams locally

1. Guy Sebastian 
2. Matt Corby 
3. Jessica Mauboy 
4. Stan Walker 
5. Shannon Noll 
6. Lisa Mitchell
7. Casey Barnes 
8. Ricki-Lee 
9. Ngaiire 
10. Anthony Callea

Top artist streams globally

1. Matt Corby
2. Guy Sebastian 
3. Jessica Mauboy
4. Stan Walker 
5. Lisa Mitchell 
6. Shannon Noll 
7. Casey Barnes
8. Ricki-Lee 
9. Ngaiire 
10. Anthony Callea

Most streamed tracks globally

1. “Resolution” by Matt Corby 
2. “Choir” by Guy Sebastian 
3. “Miracle Love” by Matt Corby 
4. “Brother” by Matt Corby
5. “Before I Go” by Guy Sebastian

Most streamed tracks locally

1. “Choir” by Guy Sebastian 
2. “Brother” by Matt Corby 
3. “Resolution” by Matt Corby 
4. “Battle Scars (with Guy Sebastian)” by Guy Sebastian & Lupe Fiasco 
5. “Miracle Love” by Matt Corby

Top artists for Gen Z

1. Hayley Warner
2. Rob Mills
3. Guy Sebastian
4. Jessica Mauboy
5. Matt Corby

Top artists for Millennials

1. Joel Turner 
2. Kate DeAraugo 
3. Dean Geyer 
4. Em Rusciano 
5. Ngaiire