Bourbon, lucky undies and The Voice

Harrison Craig, a Melbourne singer who overcame a stutter to perform, wows the audience in his blind audition. Picture: Sarah Matray Source: News Limited

Holly Byrnes, The Daily Telegraph, reports

He captivated a nation and overcame a childhood stutter to soar up the Australian music charts, but The Voice favourite Harrison Craig faces his biggest test yet as the top-rating series begins its battle rounds.

The talented Melbourne teenager will sing for his TV life against Sydney pastor Tim Moxey in Tuesday night's blockbuster opening episode of the now-sudden death competition.

The Team Seal rivals and "nice guys" kick off the next phase of the Logie-winning series, which will be hoping to kick the audience slump it experienced last year, dropping well below its two-million average during the combative sing-off section of the show.

Mentored by Sneaky Sound System's Connie Mitchell, the popera pairing take on Josh Groban's international hit, You Raise Me Up, in another guaranteed goosebump moment of the series.

Producers have added a new twist to keep audience interest high, after fans saw some of their favourites including Mahalia Barnes and Mitchell Thompson eliminated mid-race in the debut season.

This year, each coach will have the chance to save just one singer from a rival team and given just five seconds, under pressure, to make the call.

After three weeks of blind auditions, the superstar coaches mark the competition switch up with a costume change (much to their wardrobe critics relief) and another all-in performance which sets an electric tone to the battle rounds.

While the debate surrounding Abby Dobson's exit continued on social media, another second-chance singer, Simone Stacey, had better luck with her smooth rendition of Etta James' Sentimental Reasons, turning the head and chair of coach Seal.

The 35-year-old, who enjoyed chart success in the noughties with diva duo Shakaya, dedicated her romantic performance to her late grandmother, who recently passed away.

With all four teams of 14 contestants now finalised, some of the best of the bunch have revealed to News Limited the secrets to their success.

Team Ricky rocker Simon Meli has admitted he overcomes any performance anxiety with "a neck of bourbon" and pulling on his lucky undies; while Bondi zen master, Ben Goldstein, on Team Delta, combats nerves "through meditation".

In the survey of each state's best chances, 2012 finalists Karise Eden and Darren Percival emerged as the two contestants who inspired this new generation to sign on for the show.

Asked to nominate their pick for this year's title, the top three "player" favourites emerged as Michael Paynter, Karen Andrews aka Miss Murphy and Harrison Craig, while the dark horses to watch were Mitchell Anderson, Nicholas Roy and Caterina Torres.

Delta Goodrem locks in a brave, new sensational and shagadelic look

Do you like Delta Goodrem's new look? Picture: Splash / Instagram Source: news.com.au

The Daily Telegraph reports

It is the season when host Darren McMullen's hair has threatened to overshadow the performances and yesterday The Voice's Delta Goodrem upped the ante, unveiling a new shag.

Emerging in Los Angeles yesterday, where she's recording with Michael Bolton, Goodrem - who this week shot down mag reports she is dating fellow coach Seal - looked dramatically different with her short do.

It's yet to be seen if Goodrem's chop will generate the furore sparked this year by McMullen, whose longer locks were the subject of so much social networking chatter that they trended globally on Twitter during The Voice's 2013 debut.

"It's unbelievable," McMullen told Confidential yesterday, admitting he had been approached by strangers offering their opinions.

"Some people tell me I look younger and I've been asked if I've had botox.

"Someone actually asked me why I didn't have the same style last year when they said I looked a 'state'."

First review of The Voice 2013

It's back ... The Voice / Pic: Channel 9 Source: The Daily Telegraph

Holly Byrnes, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Ladies, and a few gentlemen: prepare to fall in love with The Voice Australia's rookie, Ricky Martin.

Stepping in to fill the shoes of local favourite son, Keith Urban, was never going to be an easy task, even if the country rocker graciously gave his replacement his blessing when returning briefly to hand over his "wheels'' that spare big red chair.

As nice as the goodwill gesture was, it is clear within the opening minutes of the first episode of season two, Ricky (purr that when you say it) needs no help in winning the audience over.

In a coaching style all his own, and one that makes him an instant hit with contestants and one lucky fiancé, the Puerto Rican superstar fits comfortably into the show, livin la vida voz (that's Spanglish for living The Voice life).

He is kind, he is cool, he sings along to the songs just like Keith did.

He flirts, he encourages, he dances in his chair just like Keith did. And, some may say controversially, has sexier moves even than Mr Keith did.

He fits seamlessly into the mix with returning coaches Seal, Joel Madden and Delta Goodrem, who love and hug him even when he wins the majority of the all-in fights for contestants.

Never is their camaraderie more apparent than the blockbuster opening coaches' performance of Rihanna's hit, (Shine Bright Like) Diamonds, where appropriately the lyric goes "I knew that we'd become one right away, yes right away.''

Of course, as captivating as the new boy on the block is to watch, it's not just about him.

There's the talent.

And what talent they have found, from the quirky teens to the gigging veterans, the rocking mums to the against-all-odds natural-born artists.

While the relaunch episode is jam-packed with "super dooper, dooper, star'' performances, as Madden calls one hopeful, the nine blind auditions will deliver some of the most incredible singers this country has seen on any stage.

And after the monstrous success of last year's series, advertisers have thrown themselves at Channel 9, with Ford, Vodafone and Swisse among seven premium sponsors paying hugely-inflated rates to be back on board.

Nine's group sales boss Peter Wilshire said: "it is a testament to the results delivered by The Voice that all the incumbent sponsors had re-signed in 2013'' an impressive achievement in the tight advertising conditions.

Responding to the phenomenal viewer interest and social media interactivity last year, producers and digital rights holders, Shine have launched a HomeCoach game, allowing fans to build their own teams like sporting tragics do Fantasy Football line-ups.

Registrations open on www.thevoice.com.au from April 6 and viewers can track their favourite singers across the blinds, battle rounds and final showdowns (with a VIP trip to the finale of The Voice US up for grabs).

Gravity of star power

Keith Urban: Happy to have snagged $3 million to appear on American Idol.

Craig Mathieson, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports

Ed St John has visited Los Angeles numerous times during the past two years, and with each trip the veteran Australian music-industry executive follows the same plan: he drives up and down Wilshire Boulevard visiting the managers who look after some of the world's leading singers, and then he ventures up into the hills to meet their famous clients and offer them a new career path.

St John, who has previously overseen the Australian arms of several multinational record labels, is a casting consultant who has become a specialist in a new field: matching successful musicians to the television shows that crave their status, their experience and their celebrity. His marquee client is Channel Nine's The Voice, the hit reality singing show whose June finale drew a staggering national audience of more than 3.2 million people.

A major element in The Voice's breakthrough was the wattage of its judging panel: expatriate Nashville superstar Keith Urban; Australia's adult pop princess Delta Goodrem; Joel Madden, the frontman for American pop-punks Good Charlotte; and British balladeer Seal. As a group, they were strong enough to carry the show's launch marketing; as individual coaches they won over vast ratings.

''On The Voice, the coaches are the stars of the show,'' St John says. ''You're watching as much for what they say as what the contestants sing.''

Whether the discipline is singing or cooking, reality competition series have become some of the key television franchises of the past decade. One of the things that almost invariably separates the champions from the cancelled is the impact of the collective who pass judgment.

''It's very difficult for a show to work without the right judging panel,'' says Margaret Bashfield, who as executive producer of MasterChef Australia is able to rely on the trio of food critic Matt Preston and restaurateurs and chefs Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris.

''When you watch a show you want to enjoy the interaction between the people you're watching, and that's the special thing we have with our three boys.''

But as the genre has evolved there's been an escalation - slow at first, swift in the past few years - in the composition and cost of judging or coaching panels. Some people in the televisions business call it an arms race, and it went nuclear in 2011.

That was the year The X Factor here in Australia replaced shock jock Kyle Sandilands with former Spice Girl Mel B (Melanie Brown), who brought a large degree of likeability and 75 million album sales to the series. Brown went on to co-host another Channel Seven show, Dancing with the Stars, and her presence on The X Factor alongside Irish singer Ronan Keating added significant importance to the judging panel, which was then raised further by the launch of The Voice in America.

"There's always been a certain sort of person networks and production companies have booked for talent shows and without wanting to insult any of those previous people they aimed their sights a little lower - people with an industry background or who used to be a star," explains St John. "What changed is that there was a decision made to step it up and bring in superstar level talent."

The US version of The Voice put the multi-platinum likes of pop singer Christina Aguilera and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine in those spiffy revolving red chairs. That show's success, and the boost it provided to its judges' careers, meant that Ed St John was taken very seriously when he came calling on behalf of the local production.

''Part of it is that even the biggest music acts have to be broader in what they make their money from; they don't make it from record sales like they used to,'' he says. ''Part of it is that these shows don't damage the artist's credibility and, in fact, they introduce them to a huge new audience.''

A recent two-year stint on American Idol reinvigorated the career of Jennifer Lopez; Britney Spears is being paid $US15 million to sit alongside Simon Cowell on The X Factor; and chefs who successfully judge can find their reservation book quickly bulges. But those who assemble the panels insist you have to do far more than merely connect famous names.

''Machiavellian TV producers can cast as much as they like, but unless there's genuine chemistry there, unless something happens that transcends the sum of the parts, it doesn't work,'' Channel Nine director of development Adrian Swift says. ''You also have to cast for personality - in our case we had Delta, Australia's sweetheart, Keith was our professor, Joel was our clown, and Seal was our alpha male.''

Bashfield says her crew's MasterChef casting stories are ''legendary'', both for the number of people and mixes tried and the ease the chosen trio shared in front of the camera. ''It was extremely obvious when the right combination was found,'' she adds.

Still, issues remain in getting stars in the show's field to become nationally televised judges.

The medium's demands can be taxing, and the newly elevated can sometimes become overexposed as they grab every subsequent opportunity.

Just how rarefied the celebrity air prospective judges have to breathe might soon become known. The Voice has to replace Urban, who was so impressive he was poached to sit next to Mariah Carey on American Idol, and Channel Ten is rumoured to be opening next year with an Australian version of the successful British spinoff MasterChef: The Professionals. The names being bandied around to host the latter include superstar international chefs Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal.

St John says the dream team of potential music-show judges includes Robbie Williams, Rihanna and Michael Buble.

''I've made the trip to Katy Perry's manager's office several times and he's very nice about it but they say no to everyone,'' St John says.

But does the desire to net a Buble mean that mere experts no longer have a chance to be cast regardless of ability? Bashfield is adamant that if Preston announced himself now, he would still make the grade.

But former Australian Idol judge Ian Dickson, a record company executive who did the first of his five seasons on the show in 2003, doesn't believe he would get a look-in these days.

''I doubt it,'' Dickson says. ''Putting an unknown, slightly jowly 40-year-old British bloke on a judging panel was a big call, but that was 10 years ago. The judges have to have star power now.''

Still, the judge who successfully built the ''Dicko'' brand from scratch believes the securing of big names is just a trend, albeit a very expensive one with no end in sight. At a certain point, Dickson says, the viewing public's taste in judges will move on.

''The second someone breaks from the pack and does something different and it works,'' Dickson says, sounding just like a television show judge, ''I'll guarantee you everyone will think we no longer need superstars.''

What happened on TV last night? The Voice and MasterChef reviewed

There was little love between Delta Goodrem and Seal last night on The Voice. Source: Getty Images

Siobahn Duck, The Herald Sun, reports

Sit down Delta.

Those three little words from Seal reignited the anti-Goodrem campaign on Twitter last night.

It’s no secret that Goodrem has her haters. In the early days of The Voice the blonde judge was slagged off for handballing decisions to her co-captain Darren Hayes and for, what many people deemed as, being fake and too perfect.

But I thought we were over that. Clearly not.

The blonde judge was back in the Twitter bad books last night for her daggy dancing, lengthy standing ovations and slightly nonsensical speeches.

Some even suggested that all this brazen behaviour may have been the result of a few too many pre-show drinks.

But things really came to a head when Seal - the man of many ovations - told Goodrem, in no uncertain terms, to sit down after she dared to intervene in one of his lengthy post-performance pep talks with her contestant, Craig Cunningham.

The incident followed an awkward moment when Goodrem busted Seal and fellow judge Joel Madden questioning her choice of Smells Like Teen Spirit for Viktoria Bolonina.

Clearly, no-one is allowed to steal Seal’s thunder when it comes to rocking out the bad dance moves or giving overly-long standing ovations.

God help Delta if she starts inappropriately manhandling contestants too. That is Seal’s domain and we all know it.

The only one to upstage Seal and Delta’s spat was Keith Urban and he wasn’t even in the studio.

Appearing via satellite from America (where he was making-good on a concert he’d committed to do before signing on for The Voice), Urban inadvertently gave us a peep at his undies.

It didn’t take long for #Keithsundies to start trending and to become an official handle.

It joins #deltasglasses and #joelstoothpick.

I wonder if Seal is miffed that his glirt (the weird shirt that morphed into gloves that he wore last week) has failed to make the grade so far.

You’ve got to admire Urban’s commitment to the show. It was 2am in the states, it’s a wonder he didn’t nod off mid-sentence.

He must have been praying that Tricky Business started on time.

First up, were the eliminations. Urban lost Jimmy Cupples and Tang Paa. Joel lost Laura “crazy-eyes” Bunting.

Hardly surprising, Bunting was the bookies’ favourite to get booted off the show after she murdered Goyte on stage last week.

Bunting blamed her refusal to get a tattoo with the rest of Team Joel for her ousting.

The rest of us blame her terrifying performance.

“I’m glad the other judges are there to hug them and let them know I love them,” Keith said as his axed contestants left the stage.

And you just knew he was talking about Seal. That man loves to hug, and touch faces, and star longingly into people’s eyes. And that’s just at the bank.

Leading the live performances was Chris Sebastian. He did alright - though his hair was a tad Fuhrer-esque for my liking.

Do yourself a favour Chris, follow your brother’s lead and go the fro. Loose the deep side part.

Next was Dani. She was also sporting a new hairstyle and had left the wind machine in Delta’s garage. She wanted to show she was cooler than her last performance.

Instead she showed us she’d make a pretty good Vanessa Amorosi impersonator.

Delta explained that Dani comes from a “moving background” and wanted to show that by dancing a bit? Huh, don’t we all?

Seal chose a sultry Bacharach number for his beautiful young protégée, Emma Birdsall.

The pretty, 20 year-old was the woman who made Seal leap to his feet and dance in the audition rounds. It wasn’t pretty.

I suspect he’s choosing slow, sexy numbers for her to sing because he doesn’t trust himself to stay in his seat if she does something up tempo. Dance is his Achilles heel.

Post-performance, poor Birdsall was again seized by her touchy-feely mentor.

Trapped in a steel-like hip-grip (a new move, that has seen the face-grasp phased out from the repertoire) while he looked deep into her eyes to tell her she had moved him.

“I felt it. I believed in you,” he whispered. Yes, Seal speaks in song lyrics.

As expected, Fatai, Karise and Rachael Leachar all drew praise for their efforts.

All three manage to sound convincing singing songs that are usually performed by women with far more life experience and maturity than any one of them.

But not every performance was stellar. The Russian, aka Viktoria, appeared to have stolen Prinnie’s dress backstage, also donning green sequins for her performance of Smells Like Teen Spirit.

I’m no grunge lover - by any stretch - but to take Nirvana and give it whimsy, a saucy edge and sequins seemed a huge mistake to me. Kurt Cobain never struck me as a musical theatre man.

“You’ll either love it or hate it,” Viktoria said of the controversial reworking of a classic. Well, I’m in the latter camp. I hated it. Sorry Viktoria.

Last night the poor contestants were also made to perform their coaches’ greatest hits with the coaches themselves.

For Delta’s group it was Born to Try. Obviously.

She sang it better than all of them. And she played piano. And wore a sparkled headdress. What else would you expect?

Seal, meanwhile, wheeled out Kiss From a Rose. Again. How many more times are we going to have to endure this song from 20 years ago? It didn’t make sense then and it doesn’t make sense now.

Surely it’s time to get some new material. Maybe he could use some of the words from his pep talks as inspiration? I believe in you, Seal. Just an idea.

Over on MasterChef Australia, Kath (the loud slurper) was sent home for committing the ultimate crime against cakes - a soggy, raw middle.

Last night, Kath, vest-loving Andrew and dessert queen Julia were challenged to cook Maggie Beer’s grape cake, wafer biscuit and ice-cream in just 90 minutes.

It was always going to be a tough ask for seafood specialist, Kath who is an instinctual whirling dervish in the kitchen not someone who likes to measure and mix by the book like Julia.

Things got off to a bad start for the amiable, noisy eater when she neglected to put the sugar syrup in her ice cream until her fellow contestants pointed out her mistake.

“Let’s hope this is my only misstep for the day,” she said, as she merrily added said syrup.

Alas, no. Worse was to come, like when Beer pointed out her cake was still raw. Really raw. Despite the fact that she was the first to get hers in the oven. I’m not sure how she managed that.

Kath’s wasn’t the only soggy cake. Vest-loving Andrew was also having a nightmare with his baking efforts. Time let him down.

His cake collapsed - oozed even - in the middle, but he was saved by his caramel and the fact that his cake was slightly more cooked.

Andrew was showing the signs of stress, visibly shaking as he served his undercooked cake to the judges.

It’s a shame because Andrew really went above and beyond to be a team-player.

A hairdresser by trade, Andrew decided to “show his support for the other contestants by straightening their hair.”

I wonder if athletes do that for each other at the Olympics before a race. If so, that suddenly makes organised sport sound way more appealing to me.

Though I can’t imagine there’d be much call for that kind of “support” the swimmers’ village.

Insider reveals backstage secrets and gossip from TV hit The Voice

The Voice's Team Joel: Lakyn Heperi, Sarah De Bono, Joel Madden, Ben Hazlewood and Prinnie Stevens. Picture: Anthony Reginato Source: The Sunday Telegraph

J.Mo, The Sunday Telegraph, reports

From the four coaches to the final 23 talented contestants, here's some interesting behind-the-scenes gossip from TV's biggest hit, The Voice.

CONTESTANTS

Aussie fashion designers are clamouring to get their creations on the contestants. Joel Madden's singers Sarah De Bono, Laura Bunting and Prinnie Stevens modelled Australian creations for Insider on Friday, wearing possible outfits for tomorrow night’s show.

Bunting showcased a Dion Lee frock, while De Bono wore Jamie Lee and Stevens' Josh Goot. "I dressed myself for blind auditions, now I have a choice of amazing designers," Bunting said.

JOEL MADDEN

Where Seal, 49, has become known for his ever-changing nails, Madden's trademark has become a toothpick. "I don't have a preferred brand, but I do have a preferred taste - the cinnamon coated are kind of addictive," the pop rocker said.

DARREN McMULLEN

The host has come out swinging at Delta Goodrem's critics. "It's disgusting," said McMullen, who gave snappers the finger at an event on Thursday. "In the past she was Australia's sweetheart."

SEAL

From fluoro yellow to lime green and shimmering gold, Seal's fingernails have us, and audiences, intrigued.

The Crazy singer, who refers to his nailpolish as his "armour", has a technician tend to his claws when home in LA and he's now looking for somewhere local in Sydney.

Buddies ready for battle on The Voice

The Voice mentors Seal, Joel Madden, Delta Goodrem and Keith Urban. Source: National Features

Holly Byrnes, The Herald Sun, reports

You think you know a girl, especially a famous one like our own Delta Goodrem.

It's easy to think a sweet-as-pie pop princess who made her music debut almost a decade ago will just slip into place beside international stars Keith Urban, Joel Madden and Seal on Channel 9's much-hyped talent series, The Voice.

But here's the twist. This is a competition - four celebrity-led teams battling to find the next singing star - and Delta Goodrem is about to show Australia just how she can get her game on.

Watching her match wits and even trash talk her co-stars during blind auditions will expose a side of the songbird the public has not seen.

When more than one celebrity "coach" shows interest in a contestant, a war of words can erupt.

Sitting in the audience for one pre-recorded battle, it's obvious her male counterparts are, at times, taken aback by Goodrem, who is flirtatious one minute and dismissive of her rivals the next.

Unsettling them is part of the game. Surprising them is how she likes to operate.

"Maybe it's just that people have known me since I was so young and I was really shy when I first stepped on the scene," Goodrem says.

"I was always this fun, jokey, relaxed (person) with that fighting spirit, outside of music.

"This show has been great to just be me up on stage and have all these sides (to my personality). I'm really glad after 10 years that people are still being surprised by me."

Aggression and ambition have gone hand-in-hand during her career, Goodrem, 27, says.

"How do you think I've stayed around so long? How do you think I'm still here?" she asks, and laughs.

It may be part of reality TV "sport", but going after what you want, never giving up on your dreams, has characterised Goodrem's career.

Like many of the professional singers who appear on this show, looking for a second chance or the break they've been missing to launch into the big time, Goodrem has had her share of set backs.

At 15, she burned bright as one of Sony Music's most promising young stars.

But a health hurdle three years later - diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2008 - derailed the next phase of her career: a planned assault on US charts.

It would come later, once the battle with cancer was won, but not secure her the kind of success she had enjoyed in Australia or had expected to find overseas.

Undeterred, Goodrem moved to Los Angeles to record her fourth album, sharpening her eye on the prized US market.

After calling off her engagement to former Westlife singer Brian McFadden, she also found love in LA, with another pop star and Disney idol, Nick Jonas (they split earlier this year).

But her career focus and determination is what long-time friend and The Voice rival Joel Madden admires most about her.

"To me, Delta is a great example of what I love about Australian women," he says.

"She is strong, she's been through a lot. She knows who she is and she's first and foremost a writer and musician. At the same time she can take the punches, can laugh and doesn't take it so seriously. It's a quality I love about Australian people."

It's easy to see why the rapport between Goodrem and Madden sparked scuttlebutt their relationship had gone beyond friendship.

Last month, the American - fiercely protective of his wife Nicole Richie and their children, Harlow and Sparrow - stomped on the gossip, releasing a statement that defended his family.

Further skewering the rumours, Madden jokes that Goodrem is "like my little sister, who's taller than me".

One half of sibling rock duo Good Charlotte, Madden, 33, admits he's been awestruck by the chance to work beside Goodrem, as well as get to know Seal and Urban.

"I just claw on everyone I meet," he says.

"As soon as I meet you, I'm like a monkey, jumping on your back and riding you around. I did that with Delta the first time I met her. I've got to know Seal and Keith and I just love 'em."

His real family will join him, with brother Benji playing a mentor for Team Joel, and his wife and kids will head here when she's finished filming a role on another reality series, Fashion Star.

Benji also has immersed himself in the local music scene, hitting the studio to write with The X Factor winner Reece Mastin.

Coming home has also empowered Goodrem, who is back in her comfort zone.

"I'm just so happy to be in Oz, to be around Australians, having that Aussie spirit surrounding us. It feels great," she says.

The Voice, Channel 9, Sunday, 6.30pm

Watch out Keith Urban, the curse of reality TV strikes again

Keith Urban, married to Nicole Kidman, should be wary of the reality TV show curse that's striking at the heart of celebrity relationships. Source: Supplied

Siobhan Duck, The Herald Sun, reports

Watch out Keith Urban. The curse of being an Aussie reality TV judge has claimed another victim.

Dannii Minogue is the sixth talent quest star to split up with their partner, officially calling it quits with Kris Smith last week.

It seems TV talent quests may be great for reviving flagging careers, but they appear to wreak havoc with love lives.

Minogue's high-profile bust-up follows The X-Factor Australia's Ronan Keating's recent announcement that he and his wife, Yvonne, are getting divorced after 14 years and three children.

Their marriage weathered the strain of Keating's relationship with a dancer in 2010, but fractured irreparably after Keating's role on the The X-Factor kept them apart for long periods.

"Sadly our news is true. Thank u all for your support. Yvonne and I still love and care for each other and want to protect our kids,'' Keating tweeted of the break-up, which took place last year.

Minogue's Australia's Got Talent co-stars Brian McFadden and Kyle Sandilands have also undergone high-profile splits since they started on the series.

Sandilands and wife Tamara Jaber divorced in 2010 - the same year he joined the show.

McFadden broke up with his fiancee, Delta Goodrem, in 2001. He is now happily engaged to DJ and model Vogue Williams.

It's more of the same over at Nine's rival talent show, The Voice.

Only Urban - who has been married to Nicole Kidman since 2006 - has escaped relationship woes since signing on to the new series.

Fellow panellist Seal broke up with his model wife Heidi Klum last month.

The split rocked Hollywood as the couple - who have four children - were widely believed to be one of the happiest and rock-solid unions in Hollywood.

The often put on public displays of affection and renewed their vows each year after they wed in 2005.

Goodrem also recently announced her break-up with teen heart-throb Nick Jonas.

The couple - who had only been dating 10 months - said they remained friends.

Joel Madden and wife Nicole Richie have also been the subject of speculation.

Madden recently dismissed reports he and Richie were separating to pursue careers on opposite sides of the world- Richie on the New York-based Fashion Star series and Madden on Aussie series The Voice.

"I don't usually comment on gossip, but seeing as this is something that is defaming my character and the sanctity of my marriage and family, I feel like I have to make something clear,'' he wrote.

"My wife and my children are the most important thing in the world to me. I try very hard to be the father that (children) Harlow and Sparrow need and deserve, and the husband I believe Nicole deserves."

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban fly in to Sydney with daughters Sunday and Faith for Tropfest and Channel Nine's The Voice

Hello Sydney we're home ... Nicole Kidman holding daughter Faith and husband Keith Urban holds Sunday's hand as they arrive at Mascot. Picture: Oceanic Source: Supplied

Holly Byrnes and Kathy McCabe, The Daily Telegraph, report

It's not often Nicole Kidman takes second billing.

But with husband Keith Urban about to claim a prime-time place on Australian TV - in Nine's new talent search series The Voice - the Oscar-winning actress has happily accepted her latest role of best supporting wife.

The family jetted in from Los Angeles yesterday to settle into Sydney life, where they plan to base themselves - on and off - for the next five months.

While Urban is bringing his family home for business, the pleasure of returning to Australia with his superstar wife and two daughters, Sunday and Faith, was written all over the singer's face.

And he has already told of his enthusiasm for Sydney.

"It will be good for all of us," Urban told The Daily Telegraph at the time of signing on to the reality series.

A blonder, relaxed-looking Kidman, clutching one-year-old Faith, is expected to fit right in to the Harbour City. She will be a judge at Sunday's Tropfest short film festival, then head back to Hollywood for the Oscars.

The 44-year-old is in hot demand, returning to the US later this month to promote her much-touted new HBO mini-series, Hemingway And Gellhorn (starring opposite Clive Owen), with two films, Stoker and The Paperboy, also ready for release.

Urban is expected to join fellow celebrity "coaches" Delta Goodrem, Seal and Joel Madden on set for The Voice from Monday, when filming of the show's blind auditions begin.

With Australia's Got Talent also canvassing for contestants around the country now, it is thought Channel 7 will back its top-rating series in the same timeslot against Nine's mega-watt newcomer.

The Voice's first sizzle reel unveiled

Click on the link to view the video:

http://video.dailytelegraph.com.au/?2194698422

Holly Byrnes, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Channel 9 has thrown the mega-wattage of its coaching - and costly - star line-up on The Voice in the show's first sizzle reel, unveiled last night.

The four superstar mentors - first revealed by The Daily Telegraph - filmed the dramatic promotional clip in Los Angeles last month in which they reveal what they love about the wildly successful talent search series.

Delta Goodrem, Keith Urban, Good Charlotte's Joel Madden and Seal are expected to begin filming blind auditions for the program later this month, with live shows to air in April.

Goodrem, at her dazzling red carpet best in a sequinned gown, opens the promo, with the mentors' mission: "We're there to find the next superstar, the next voice."

Urban enthuses: "it's authenticity that's the thing I'm looking for, it's just that pure believability, that I feel like this person is speaking to me."

British crooner Seal ponders: "who is going to emerge? Who is going to perform under pressure? Who's going to want it more? You get one shot, you just get one shot."

Rocker Joel Madden, who snuck into Sydney last week for a marketing gig, adds: "This show is based on people's dreams and showing the world what you can do."

Urban says: "the right voice, knowing how to use that voice and the passion, that fire, that's what it comes down to."

Madden: "the blind auditions bring it back to being strictly about someone's voice. I like the idea of not being able to see someone and making a choice on what I hear with my heart."

Urban: "I can't see what these people look like, the same as when I hear a song on the radio by a new artist...I don't know what they look like."

Goodrem: "Everything that they dreamed and envisioned growing up, it's going to happen.

Urban: "It's all about the voice and I feel the fact that we get the chance to connect with that before everything else."

Seal: "that's it right there...I want to see stars."

A second season of the US version, featuring Ce-Lo Green, Maroon 5's Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and country singer Blake Shelton, premiered after the Superbowl on Monday to a record audience of 37.6 million people.

The Australian series, produced by Shine, will be hosted by former MTV presenter, Darren McMullen.

Our city of stars - celebrities moving in to Sydney

Article in The Daily Telegraph

IT'S what you might call the best two-for-one deal ever. If the star power of the new mentors uncovered yesterday for Channel 9 talent quest The Voice (a stellar line-up of Keith Urban, Seal, Joel Madden and Delta Goodrem, in case you missed it) is anything to go by, Sydney will become home to a slew of international celebs.

If the star power of the new mentors uncovered yesterday for Channel 9 talent quest The Voice (a stellar line-up of Keith Urban, Seal, Joel Madden and Delta Goodrem, in case you missed it) is anything to go by, Sydney will become home to a slew of international celebs.

In the same way The Great Gatsby brought Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan to Sin City, The Voice's talent will temporarily move their famous families to our shores for the first half of the year.

Urban and wife Nicole Kidman will get to spend more time at the Sutton Forest estate they rarely get to use with daughters Sunday Rose, 3, and little Faith, who will turn one in December.

British soul master Seal will need a big house to host supermodel wife Heidi Klum and their four kids: Lou, Lenny, Johan and Henry.

Expect to see Nicole Richie shopping up a storm in Paddington or taking her and hubby Madden's youngsters Harlow and Sparrow to Taronga.

Goodrem's boyfriend, Nick Jonas, will be on Broadway at the same time, replacing Daniel Radcliffe in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying but surely he can manage a quick trip Down Under to meet her folks, Denis and Lea?

Nine is yet to formally announce the cast of The Voice but industry sources have confirmed all four superstars are in the final stages of negotiations.

The popular reality show was helmed in the US by Christina Aguilera, Maroon 5's Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Cee-Lo Green.