Australian Idol contestant Simela Petridis has been eliminated from the popular singing competition on Monday night after making it the Top 8.
As the contestants narrowed to decide the Top 6, Petridis performed Nelly Furtado’s song I’m Like a Bird, to keep her position in the competition.
Her departure has sparked an outpouring of love, disappointment, and support from fans in comments on the Australian Idol social media pages.
Petridis, a mother and music and art teacher at SA Le Fevre High School, was born and raised in Adelaide and has family roots in Kalochori, Kastoria in Greece. She also has a Pontian background.
In an interview with TV Week, Petridis reflected on her experience with Australian Idol.
“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions,” she explained. “I literally left it all out there on that stage and gave it everything I could. For me every opportunity to perform is an opportunity. I honestly view that as a positive.”
Petridis has been an inspiration for her students who have supported her throughout this journey.
“They’re like, ‘Ms. Petrides, like, you’ve done this. You’re inspirational.’ And that’s all I could have ever, ever wanted to show them – it just takes some courage and resilience to do a competition like this…” she said.
Petridis’ own children have been cheering their mum on from the sidelines and she hopes they’ve been proud of her. “I hope they look back and think, ‘Oh my gosh, my mum did some really amazing things. I’m so proud of her,” she said.
The intense pressure of the show’s conditions with weekly performances taught Petridis her strength as an artist.
“I also learned that I am a really good singer, I’m a consistent singer and I’m a diverse singer… I feel really proud of that. I feel like that’s so cool to come out of that [competition] and have that kind of confidence and just know who you are,” she said.
Even though her Australian Idol journey may be over, Petridis is looking towards the future to see where her music will take her.
“In terms of how it looks now after Idol, I’m hoping that I really just lean into these opportunities and really embrace what’s to come in terms of releasing music and writing music and doing gigs and stuff like that,” she said. “But also, with teaching, I don’t know. I don’t know how to answer that yet.”
In an Instagram story following her elimination, Petridis wrote, “My head is high, my heart is heavy, but I’m hungrier than ever before.”
