Keely Ellen left school in Year 10 to chase her dreams of becoming a musician, and that dream is riding on one moment – her audition on Australian Idol this week.
“I was really nervous,” Keely Ellen from Bundaberg, Queensland, tells TV WEEK. “It’s such a big opportunity and knowing that it is going to be on TV was really daunting.”
Keely Ellen’s family were all supportive of her quest to forge a path away from school, especially her Pop, Denis Cox, who she had an incredibly close bond with and who sadly passed away in 2023.
“He’d be really proud of me [for auditioning],” the 18-year-old country singer says. “I always watched Idol growing up and I finally took the leap. He’d be proud that I’m pursuing what I love.”
The loss of her Pop is still something she grapples with.
“He was sick for most of my childhood,” Keely Ellen reveals. “But finding out there wasn’t going to be more time with him was really difficult to come to terms with.”
Keely Ellen sings Willie Nelson’s “Always On My Mind” for judges Kyle Sandilands, Marcia Hines and Amy Shark, but it’s Kyle that is moved by her performance, breaking down in tears after her sound strikes a deeply significant chord for him.
“He was the judge I was most worried about,” Keely Ellen explains.
Will her powerful vocal display be enough to get her a Golden Ticket?
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