Emily Williams (born 8 October 1984 in New Zealand) is a singer who was the runner-up in the 2005 season of Australian Idol and a member of the band Young Divas. Williams now lives in Melbourne with her Family and daughter.Contents [hide] 1 Australian Idol 1.1 Australian Idol performances 2 Post-Idol Career 2.1 2006-2007: Young Divas 2.2 2007-Present: New Attitude 3 Discography 3.1 Songwriting and production credits 3.2 DVD appearances 3.3 Promotional appearances 3.4 Other appearances 4 Trivia 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links
[edit] Australian Idol
She was in the first Top 13 performance show the theme was Australian Made and Emily sang "Buses and Trains" by Bachelor Girl. The judges enjoyed her performance and Emily was safe the following night in the Verdict Show. In the Top 11 performance show the theme was the 1960s and Emily sang "Respect" by Aretha Franklin. The judges thought it was fantastic and Emily was once again safe during the verdict. In the Top 10 it was Supergroups night and Emily sang "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. The judges thought it was the best performance of the night and Emily was safe for the third week in a row.
In the Top 9 it was Contestant Choice and Emily chose to sing "Hero" by Mariah Carey. The judges said her performance was excellent and Mark Holden surprised everyone by NOT giving Emily a touchdown. Emily was safe during the Verdict the following night. In the Top 8 it was Big Band night and Emily sang Frank Sinatra's "All The Way". Emily scored her first touchdown from Mark Holden, the first for the season and Emily was safe during the Verdict the following night.
In the Top 7 it was the 1980s themed show and she sang "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston. The judges said it was a very good performance but it was a step back since last week. It seemed that Australia agreed with the judges and Emily found herself in the Bottom 3 for the first time in the Verdict show the next night. She was with Daniel Spillane and James Kannis (two contestants who were heavily tipped to be the next eliminated). Daniel was sent back to the couch first leaving James and Emily as the bottom two. The judges and Emily's fans expressed their anxiousness that Emily would have a premature elimination like Ricki-Lee Coulter had on Australian Idol the year before in the Top 7. But, they were wrong and James was eliminated and Emily was safe for another week. In the Top 6 it was Motown night and Emily blew everyone away with an outstanding performance of "River Deep Mountain High" by Tina Turner. Mark gave her a second touchdown and the judges claimed she had made a triumphant comeback from last week's bottom 2 appearance. The following night on the Verdict Show Emily was safe, but unfortunately Emily saw her best friend, Anne eliminated (a hot favourite to win).
In the Top 5 it was a 1970s themed show and Emily sang Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" and scored herself a third touchdown from judge, Mark. The following night Emily was safe during the Verdict. The following week in the Top 4 it was an Elvis tribute show and Emily sang "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Can't Help Falling in Love". The judges thought she could have done better but all the same Emily was declared safe the next night.
The Top 3 was No.1s and Emily sang "Baby One More Time" and "I Will Always Love You". Emily nearly scored another touchdown for "I Will Always Love You". Mark Holden hold off and stated that the audience has to made the right decision. The following night Emily and Kate were declared the two finalists competing in the Grand Final! Hot Favourite Williams lost to underdog DeAraugo in the closest percentage in an Australian Idol Grand Finale. It was announced 5 minutes before the results were announced that only 1% of votes separated DeAraugo and Williams.
[edit] Australian Idol performances Brisbane Auditions: Rock With You by Michael Jackson Theatre Round Day One: Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley Theatre Round Day Two: Finally by CeCe Peniston (with Jade-Lori Crompton & Lianne Candina) Theatre Round Day Three:Fallin' by Alicia Keys Top 30 (Group 3): Make It Happen by Mariah Carey Wildcards: To Zion by Lauryn Hill Top 13 - Australian Hits: Buses and Trains by Bachelor Girl Top 11 - '60s Hits: RESPECT by Aretha Franklin Top 10 - Supergroups: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen Top 9 - Idols' Choice: Hero by Mariah Carey Top 8 - Big Band Hits: All The Way by Frank Sinatra TOUCHDOWN! Top 7 - '80s Hits: I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston Bottom 2 Up Close & Personal: How Come You Don't Call Me? by Prince (Alicia Keys version) Top 6 - Motown Hits: River Deep, Mountain High by Ike Turner & Tina Turner TOUCHDOWN! Top 5 - '70s Hits: I'm Every Woman by Chaka Khan TOUCHDOWN! Top 4 - Elvis Hits: Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley Top 4 - Elvis Hits: Blue Suede Shoes by Elvis Presley Top 3 - #1 Hits: ...Baby One More Time by Britney Spears Top 3 - #1 Hits: I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston Top 2 - Idols' Choice: Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson Top 2 - Idols' Choice: Emotion by Destiny's Child/ The Bee Gees Top 2 - Winner's single: Maybe Tonight Grand Final Performance - "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan Runner-Up
[edit] Post-Idol Career
After her loss to Kate DeAraugo on Australian Idol, Williams' fans demanded that she be signed to a record label, on a forum dedicated to the singer. They were especially heated after Lee Harding, who came third on the third season of Australian Idol, was signed and had already released his debut single. On 19 December 2005 it was confirmed that Williams had been signed with Sony BMG.
[edit] 2006-2007: Young Divas
Williams joined three other Australian Idol contestants including Kate DeAraugo, Ricki-Lee Coulter and Paulini Curuenavuli for a national tour. To promote the tour, the four released a cover of the Donna Summer hit classic "This Time I Know It's for Real" under the name Young Divas. This single was released on 6 May 2006 and proved to be a success debuting at number seven and peaking at number two, the single went platinum had been in the top thirty charts for twenty-two weeks. Originally a music video was not to be included but after much demand and the popularity of the single, a music video was released. They appeared on television shows such as Sunrise and the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars to also promote the single and tour. 'The Young Divas' tour has been extremely popular and more shows had to be added than originally planned.
Since the single and tour has been so popular, the Young Divas recorded an album of remakes of classics from around the world. Young Divas, their self-titled debut album, was released on 18 November 2006, and debuted at number four on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. Their second single "Happenin' All over Again" (a cover of Lonnie Gordon's disco classic) peaked at number nine. The four women stated many times that they will also keep their solo careers. When the album was re-released it featured a bonus solo track By Emily Williams a cover of Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You'
Williams and her fellow Divas then recorded a song called "2000 Miles" for the compilation album Home: Songs of Hope & Journey by various Australian artists to raise funds and bring attention to beyondblue, an Australian initiative against depression. For this campaign DeAraugo gained Honorary Membership of The Coterie in the 2007 membership list. On 22 June 2007 it was announced that Ricki-Lee Coulter had decided to leave the group in order to focus on her solo career, but DeAraugo and her fellow two remaining bandmates stated that they would carry on with their plan to record a second album, which they hoped to release in November of the same year.
[edit] 2007-Present: New Attitude
On 26 September 2007, Williams appeared alongside her bandmates on the top 12 night of the fifth season of Australian Idol. It was during this performance that season four runner-up Jessica Mauboy was revealed as the new Young Diva, replacing Ricki-Lee Coulter. The group performed "When You Believe" which was originally sung by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston for the fortieth anniversary of Channel 7's Telethon Western Australia.
On 9 October, they appeared on an Australian Idol special named Doing It For the Kids, and revealed that the name of their second album would be New Attitude. On 22 October they appeared on Australian Idol season five for a third time, where they performed their new single 'Turn Me Loose' along with New Zealand rapper Savage, who is featured on the track. The single was officially released on 17 November 2007, with the album due to follow on 26 November.
In mid-2007, Williams was told she was to compete in a New Zealand TV show on TV2 called Pop's Ultimate Star, where she sung alongside various New Zealand singers. Williams finished the contest in 4th place. In this competition she sang many songs including Beyonce's "Irreplaceable", Rihanna's "Umbrella", Whitney Houston's "You Love Is My Love" and many more. Like on Idol, Williams impressed the judges with her vocal range and stage presence.[1]
[edit] Discography This section is about Emily Williams' discography as a solo artist. For the artist's work with the girl group, see Young Divas.
[edit] Songwriting and production creditsYear Track(s) Performer(s) Album Credit 2009 "Ghetto Flower" Joshua Williams Joshua Williams' forthcoming studio album songwriter, producer
[edit] DVD appearances
Emily Williams appeared in The Final 13, which includes footage of contestants' performances in auditions and final rounds on the third season of Australian Idol.[2]Year DVD details AUS chart peak[3] Notes 2005 The Final 13 Released: 30 October 2005 Label: Sony BMG (#82876747139) Format: DVD 5 Highlights from the third season of the Australian Idol television series.[2]
[edit] Promotional appearances
The following have been officially released, but do not feature on an album by Mauboy.Year Song 2008 "Higher Lovin'" (with Lavina Williams) "Til' its Gone" (with Lavina Williams)
[edit] Other appearances
The following have been officially released, but do not feature on an album by Williams.Year Song Album 2005 "Buses and Trains" (Bachelor Girl cover) "Ready" (with Australian Idol Top 13)[nb 1] Australian Idol 3: The Final 13 2006 "I Will Always Love You" (Dolly Parton cover) Young Divas[nb 2]
[edit] Trivia When her sister, Lavina Williams, was selected in the Australian Idol Top 12 in 2006, she and Emily became the first siblings to advance through to the finals in Australian Idol, shortly before the feat was repeated when Chris Murphy, brother of Season 2's Courtney Murphy, was selected for the same competition as Lavina. Like former Idol contestant Guy Sebastian, Emily Williams attended Paradise Community Church. In 2008 Emily William's younger brother, Joshua Williams a.k.a J Williams, Released his debut single Blow Your Mind in New Zealand.
