“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions.”
When singer Simela Petrides landed a spot on Australian Idol, it felt like the start of a glistening new chapter. For years, the 31-year-old had honed her craft with gigs around the country but with the chance to showcase her skills in front of the entire country, she grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Impressing the judges week in, week out, the South Australian singer landed a coveted spot in the Top 10, before sadly being voted out on Monday evening. While the mother-of-two admits there was an “element of dissapointment” when she didn’t make it through, she’s proud of how far she’s come.
“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions,” Simela tells TV WEEK.
“I left 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.”
With her powerhouse vocals and confident stage presence, Simela has been impressing people all over the country. However, no one is as impressed with Simela as her students at school who have supported her through every step of her journey.
“The kids at school have been so supportive and so encouraging,” she gushes.
“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.
“I really hope that it encourages them in the future to pursue what they would like to pursue without fear.”
As for her own kids? Well, she hopes they’re proud too.
“I hope they look back and think, ‘Oh my gosh, my mum did some really amazing things. I’m so proud of her.”
Going through an experience like Australian Idol is never easy. With so much to learn in such a small amount of time, the experience becomes like a pressure cooker for the contestants.
According to Simela, the intense experience taught her that she was “a lot more resilient” than she thought and the importance of backing herself.
“I also learned that I am a really good singer, I’m a consistent singer and I’m a diverse singer,” Simela explains.
“I have the ability to do really great things with my voice and the technique that I have as a singer is really solid. I’m just really leaning into that because I think that’s a really cool thing to have as a singer to actually really know your craft.
“I feel really proud of that. I feel like that’s so cool to come out of that and have that kind of confidence and just like know who you are.”
While the Idol journey may be over for Simela, her sights are set on the future — but she doesn’t know exactly what’s in store just yet.
“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 says.
“But also, with teaching, I don’t know. I don’t know how to answer that yet.”