When Olivia Britton lost close friendships during the COVID lockdowns, she was sure those friends assumed they’d seen the last of her – that was until now.
“My whole town knows I’m on Australian Idol,” Olivia, 22, tells TV WEEK.
“They have completely backed me. For anyone who wasn’t speaking with me before, they’ve now been plastered with my face everywhere – they can’t escape me.”
Amid the pandemic, the Australian Idol Top 21 finalist from Wodonga in rural Victoria learned the terrible news that her mother had a tumour on her bowels. Due to border laws and a lack of support, Olivia lost some of her closest friends in this difficult time.
“They weren’t there for me during this period,” she says. “They were just in their own bubbles. I really struggled to see any way out of that stagnant state.”
While learning of her mother’s illness was hard on the mother-daughter duo, it also strengthened their relationship immensely.
“We’ve always been super close,” Olivia explains. “But during that situation, you have to step up and not just be a best friend but a carer as well.”
This week, the Top 21 gather in groups of seven, with each group performing their best showstopper. The judges’ favourites from each night are sent through to the live shows, with the remaining eliminated.
Will Olivia make it to the Top 12?