Finals fast lane … Australian Idol host Ricki-Lee Coulter with Culcairn’s Iilysh Retallick and Wolfmother’s Andrew Stockdale after the pair’s high-octane duet of Joker and the Thief on Sunday night. Photo: Supplied.
Culcairn schoolgirl Iilysh Retallick “stole the stage like a thief” on the first night of the Australian Idol grand finale, unleashing a sizzling performance with Aussie hard rock band Wolfmother.
The check-out operator turned rock chick finished her bid for the Idol crown with a high-octane duet with Andrew Stockdale after first delivering a powerhouse performance of Boys in Town by the Divinyls on Sunday night (6 April).
Stockale praised the 17-year-old’s delivery of Joker and the Thief saying: “You’re a seasoned pro – you nailed it”. He offered to bring her along on the road, while host Ricki-Lee Coulter gushed: “You almost blew the roof off this place”.
In Sunday night’s show, fellow contestant Marshall Hamburger, 19, kicked off with a John Farnham classic Playing to Win while Gisella Colletti, 17, took on Whitney Houston’s How Will I Know.
The pair went on to perform with their own childhood idols, Gisella realising a dream to be on stage with Tina Arena singing Heaven Help My Heart while Marshall brought the feel-good vibes and some fancy footwork with the legendary Leo Sayer and You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.
But somehow it seemed (and forgive the writer’s bias here) it was our very own Iilysh who ultimately stole the show.
Judge Marcia Hines described her as “unusually incredible”, saying she had likened the Billabong High School student to The Divinyls’ Chrissy Amphlett from the start – “and there you are singing that song”.
“You know you’re quietly spoken and you come up here and you raise hell,” Marcia said.
Amy Shark also marvelled at the “whole different personality” when Iilysh stepped up on that stage.
“All the big rockers that I’ve met … they are all very softly-spoken, quite calm dudes off stage and then they turn into beasts as soon as they get on stage,” Amy said.
“That is you babe. You are an absolute beast up there – that was epic, so so epic!”
Fellow judge Kyle Sandilands declared Iilysh a fantastic performer that would be hard to beat.
“The vocals are great, you always choose the right songs and you’re very likeable because we see the real you,” he said.
“People see the transformation – it’s all you – and you’re just a big circle of greatness in every way, shape and form.”
In what has been an almost iconic part of the 2025 Australian Idol experience, Iilysh’s hometown was in the spotlight again as Kyle joined a sea of family and friends in the audience to crack a ‘Cold Can’ with customised Iilysh stubby holders.
The name Culcairn has been a long-running joke between Kyle and Idol’s young rock queen since her first audition when the radio personality misheard its pronunciation: “Cold can? As in put it in the esky?” he asked.
Iilysh’s close connection and support from her community has been a celebrated feature of this year’s Idol and on Sunday night Ricki-Lee revealed to viewers Culcairn had been temporarily re-named “Cold Can” in her honour – complete with an official Greater Hume road sign.
“The name change has the backing of the town mayor (Lea Parker) and everyone is getting behind it,” Ricki-Lee said, while suggesting a statue might be next on the list.
The past week has certainly proven a change of pace for Iilysh and her fellow finalists with a whirlwind round of wardrobe fittings, media and publicity engagements in the “finale fast lane”, including a stint on Channel 7’s Sunrise program and performances at Paramatta’s Westfield Shopping Centre.
“I can’t believe I was in Culcairn a few weeks ago and now I’m here at Sunrise doing an interview,” Iilysh said.
“The last 24 hours have been so crazy, we’ve done so many things … I can’t even remember what I had for dinner last night.”
She said her dream of becoming an Australian Idol was within reach: “This is it”.
The winner of Australian Idol 2025 will receive $100,000 in prize money, and an exclusive recording contract with Hive Sound Studios.
Tonight Idol legend Guy Sebastian will also return to the stage for a special performance, and the Top 12 finalists will join in the final celebration.
There’s still time to vote for Iilysh – text her name to 0457 500 700 before 7 pm – and tune in to Channel 7 for the live show at 7:30 pm to see who takes home the crown.
