IT was a terrible night for Australian Idol last night as most of the eight remaining contestants struggled through the show's Disco theme - and the judges dished out a heavy dose of cruelty.



Chris Murphy kicked off proceedings with a boring karaoke version of Wild Cherry's Play That Funky Music, followed by two average performances by Lavina Williams and Ricky Muscat.

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They were followed by the show's low point - an embarrassing version of Kylie Minogue's Celebration accompanied by some very daggy disco dancing by Irishman Damien Leith.

And it was Leith that bore the brunt of the judges' frustration with the night.

"You're not a groover," Mark Holden said. "The Val Dooni-goo-goo-ometer has gone to 11."

Leith copped a barrage of abuse - including one comment that his performance was "the worst thing I've seen on television ever" from the bullying judging panel.

Then, with his head in his hands following young singer-songwriter Lisa Mitchell's attempt at the Disco theme, Holden again appeared to launch into a tirade of abuse until fence-sitter of the judging panel Marcia Hines urged him to "be cool" with the youngster.

"Be cool. We've got a 16-year-old soul here," she said.

Thankfully Bobby Flynn picked up the mood with a rendition of Rick James' Super Freak which earned him the second Touchdown of the series from Holden.