Australian Idol winner Dylan Wright had genuinely prepared to be the runner-up on this year’s TV talent contest.
So the 31-year-old was “completely shocked” when his name was called as the 2024 winner of a recording contract and $100,000 prize money.
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“There was no way I thought I would ever win,” he told 7NEWS.com.au.
Wright said ever since performing with runner-up Amy Reeves in the top 30, he “thought she would be in the final”.
“I just always knew that she would be there, I thought that it was hers,” he said.
“And yeah, I was just so completely shocked when my name got called out.”
The singer-songwriter celebrated the victory with his beloved wife Georgia, their two daughters and the cast and crew of Idol, and the following morning said he is “running on a few hours of sleep”.
And with the Idol journey now at an end, Wright admitted he is “very scared for it to hit me”.
He commended the crew and his fellow performers for how close everyone became throughout the journey, particularly runners-up Denvah Moller-Baker and Amy Reeves — calling them “such special humans”.
So naturally when one of their own, judge Marcia Hines, was rushed out of the studio via ambulance on Sunday ahead of the show, they were all very concerned.
“Everyone was kind of running around and trying not to freak out and we were also worried about Marcia because we didn’t know what actually had happened,” Wright recalled.
“I was upstairs and then I saw an ambulance down there and then I saw her getting wheeled in …
“Yeah, it was really frightening.”
Hines made her grand return for the finale on Monday night, with Wright saying “she seems good”.
“I gave her all our love and support and everyone just loves her so much, she has a really good support network around her,” he said.
Wright called all three judges — Hines, Amy Shark and Kyle Sandilands — “so supportive” throughout the journey.
“Amy Shark was over the moon as a fellow songwriter,” he said.
“She’s always been in my corner and had the nicest things to say on stage and then after we wrapped, and just to let me know that family support is the most important thing and to have Georgia there by my side is really special.”
Wright spoke sweetly of the moment when he spotted his wife and daughters waiting by the side of the stage.
“I almost broke down and melted into a puddle when I saw them waiting,” he said.
“It was just the sacrifices that we’ve made to be here and everything that Georgia has done with the girls to be here and, like, solo parenting — with the help of family as well.”
The young family are from the Northern Rivers in NSW and had the support of their extended family and the entire community.
“It’s just been … yeah, everything is for them,” he said.