Australian Idol: Judges stunned after singer butchers Sam Smith hit

The Australian Idol reboot premiered on Monday night and the judges were stunned after an auditionee mangled a hit song and then refused to accept their feedback.

Kyle Sandilands, 51, bluntly told Imogen Ledell, 19, her rendition of Sam Smith‘s ballad Lay Me Down did not impress him.

‘The vocal is not great at all. You must know that’s pretty woeful. Not good,’ he told her.

The Australian Idol reboot premiered on Monday night and the judges were stunned after an auditionee mangled a hit song and then refused to accept their feedback. Pictured L – R: Judges Kyle Sandilands, Meghan Trainor, Amy Shark and Harry Connick Jr 

However, Imogen told Kyle’s his criticisms were just his ‘opinion’ and asked to hear what fellow judges Harry Connick Jr, Meghan Trainor and Amy Shark thought.

Unfortunately for her, Harry agreed with Kyle. 

‘I’m gonna be honest with you, singing is not for you. Making a living as a singer is not in your future,’ he said. 

Imogen still refused to accept their feedback and insisted on being given a second chance to wow the judging panel. 

Kyle Sandilands, 51, bluntly told Imogen Ledell, 19, her rendition of Sam Smith’s ballad Lay Me Down did not impress him

This prompted the four judges to yell out ‘no’ in unison as shattered Imogen left the stage.

It comes after Kyle lifted the lid on his ‘feud’ with fellow Australian Idol judge Harry Connick Jr. 

Speaking to Sunrise on Monday ahead of the show’s premiere, Sandilands claimed the American singer made it clear he wasn’t a fan of him from the start. 

‘He does not like me. Not that I care. I liked Harry – prior to meeting him,’ the KIIS FM shock jock told hosts Natalie Barr and David Koch. 

‘The vocal is not great at all. You must know that’s pretty woeful. Not good,’ he told her. Imogen is pictured  

‘He’s a nice enough guy, but you know… you can tell someone doesn’t like you. You can’t help but think, ‘Oh?’ 

Sandilands speculated that Connick Jr. disliked him before they’d even met, telling the Sunrise hosts: ‘Not that I’m everyone’s cup of tea, but maybe he Googled a few things [about me].’

‘You have to go up to page 16 to find something nice. So he probably did what all of us do – did a little Google and went, ‘This guy’s not for me.’ 

Australian Idol continues Tuesday at 7.30pm on Channel Seven

Harry dashed the young hopeful’s dreams by telling her: ‘I’m gonna be honest with you, singing is not for you. Making a living as a singer is not in your future’

After being told ‘no’ by all four judges a shattered Imogen finally left the stage