Kylie Minogue and Danny O'Donoghue on The Voice Australia

Kylie Minogue and Danny O'Donoghue on The Voice Australia's shortlist for Keith Urban replacement

 

WITH their best and most-popular mentor Keith Urban now departed for American Idol, producers of The Voice Australia are continuing their search for a worthy replacement - and the television industry is abuzz with talk of who will fill the significant void left by the country crooner.

Confidential hears some unlikely names have been added to the shortlist, with Irish singer and The Script frontman Danny O'Donoghue said to be among them.
A member of the four-pronged mentor team on The Voice UK, O'Donoghue is due to arrive in Australia this Saturday for a round of PR duties and it's rumoured he will be meeting with executives from both Channel 9 and Shine Australia (which produces the show).
Should the Irish pin-up ink a deal, producers will no doubt be hoping he does better here than the show's British equivalent, which was a flop when it aired earlier this year.

So bad was its performance it's understood O'Donoghue - along with judges Jessie J, Tom Jones and will.i.am - were all "reconsidered" by the broadcast network before signing for a second season.
Also believed to be at the top of The Voice Australia's wishlist is the singing budgie herself Kylie Minogue. However, sources close to the diminutive diva say she is reluctant to enter into a "talent show rivalry" with sister and Seven stable star Dannii.
Meanwhile, Urban had his first day on the American Idol set yesterday as details of the one-time Brisbane pub singer's salary trickled out