ONE is a country mouse from the shearing sheds of rural NSW, the other a city mouse and seasoned musician, playing live since he was 14 and doing the rounds of the record companies to get his big break.
For the Sydney singer-songwriter Wes Carr, 26, the break he needed came from the most unexpected place, the reality TV series Australian Idol.
On Sunday night, Carr will go head to head with Luke Dickens, a 25-year-old shearer and self-taught musician from Young, in the 2008 Australian Idol season finale. At Idol HQ yesterday, both contestants agreed making the final two on the show was both an opportunity - many runnersup from the show have gone on to forge successful careers - and a challenge. Despite often topping the charts, Idol graduates are still not embraced by the critics. "I have 1000 songs I could put on a record tomorrow," Carr said. "I am just going to keep trying to make a career out of this," Dickens said. Helping in the credibility stakes will be husband and wife ARIA Award winners Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson, who will perform at the final with Carr and Dickens. "It is an opportunity for us to take our music to a bigger audience," Nicholson told SiT yesterday.
