Viewers mock Australian Idol’s ‘train wreck’ finale as runner-up Phoebe Stewart has an epic spill down the stairs and winner Royston Sagigi-Baira forgets the words to the new single
Australian Idol’s 2023 season came to a chaotic end on Sunday night.
Royston Sagigi-Baira emerged victorious, but it was runner-up Phoebe Stewart’s epic spill that had the audience talking.
The 15-year-old tripped down the stairs while approaching the hosts for the final decision and landed on the ground.
Royston, 23, rushed to help her up, and the teen took it in stride, joking that someone should make a meme of the embarrassing moment.
‘Good role models don’t do that, guys. That is not a good example. Carry on,’ she said awkwardly before the show continued.
Australian Idol’s 2023 season came to a chaotic end on Sunday night. Royston Sagigi-Baira (right) emerged victorious, but it was runner-up Phoebe Stewart’s (left) epic spill that got the spectators talking.
“OMG poor Phoebe,” one viewer wrote on Twitter, while another added: “Damn the stairs are a hazard.” Get up and dust off Phoebe.
‘At least we know that the final is live. Poor Phoebe falling just now! someone else tuning in tweeted.
One more said: ‘Phoebe Stewart just fell down the stairs and she was embarrassed, poor thing. She should have walked and laughed.’
Further drama ensued when Royston seemed to forget the words to the winning single, Invincible, and briefly stopped singing while pointing to his apparently audio-impaired ear.
The 15-year-old tripped down the stairs while approaching the hosts for the final decision and landed on the ground.
Royston, 23, rushed to help her up, and the teen took it in stride, joking that someone should make a meme of the embarrassing moment.
Further drama ensued when Royston seemed to forget the words to the winning single, Invincible, and briefly stopped singing while pointing to his ear, apparently having audio problems.
He looked dazed as he muttered ‘What?’ and he hit his ear, indicating that he couldn’t hear clearly because he couldn’t sing the correct lyrics.
Despite the early fumble, Royston managed to rally and launch into the court with gusto after the first verse.
‘Live TV is great lol. Phoebe falls down the stairs and then Royston forgets the words to his own winning song,” one viewer joked.
“Yeah they could have screwed it up even more when Royston fucked up their song in the first 5 seconds,” someone else wrote.
Others weren’t impressed with the ending overall, with one person tweeting: “What a derailed ending!”
Some viewers felt bad for Phoebe, while others were unimpressed by the ending overall, with one person tweeting, “What a derailed ending!”
‘This final is so uncomfortable. Awkward banter, awkwardness, awkward moments of talking about others, awkwardaarddddddddddd’ another wrote.
“Hilarious ending lol won’t be back next year,” chimed in one more.
It was a tense showdown between the three finalists, Royston Sagigi-Baira, 23, Phoebe Stewart, 15, and Josh Hannan, 20.
Josh was eliminated from the competition in third place, leaving Phoebe and Royston to compete for the crown.
Winner Royston takes home $100,000 prize money and a record deal with Sony Music, as well as a trip to the US to work with industry leaders.
Winner Royston takes home $100,000 prize money and a record deal with Sony Music, plus a trip to the US to work with industry leaders.