Amali Dimond shines bright on Australian Idol as Top 50 culled to 32

Two Illawarra stars stood before her with the hopes of inching closer to the $100,000 prize money and recording contract with Sony Music.

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First up from the Top 50 to plead their case to the judges was Amali Dimond of Shellharbour and Kiama paramedic Jess Crossman, stepping up to the plate to sing the Miley Cyrus hit Wrecking Ball, as each of her cohort of 10 had to do in the "chorus-line challenge".

There were nerves and tears from the group, some strong vocals and some not-so-strong, some labelled "weird" by judge Kyle Sandilands too.

Judge Amy Shark gave words of encouragement telling the group "not to beat themselves up, as they've done their very best".

Though Kyle was quick to add, "sometimes your best is not good enough", before delivering their fates and naming those who made it through to the next round.

Sadly Jess's name was not called, but Amali was one of five from the group asked to step forward and take on a "group challenge".

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"I want this so bad, I don't know if you can tell but I'm so ready," the Shellharbour teenager told the camera.

The 16-year-old then had to collaborate with a mix of other hopefuls, performing under the name "Honey", in a bid to further wow the judges and prove she had it in her to be elevated to star status.

The eight groups worked late into the night practising their chosen songs with helpful hints from co-hosts Ricki-Lee Coulter and Scott Tweedie, ready for the following day's performance.

Honey's performance of Time After Time by Cindi Lauper was soaked in by the judges, Kyle stating it could have been on the ARIA Awards - all of them welcomed to the next round.

Tuesday will see the group culled again to 24, with performances in front of a live audience as well as the judges.

Australian audiences will soon vote during to decide who gets through subsequent rounds and eventually be crowned the next Australian Idol. The winner will receive a recording contract with industry giant Sony Music and $100,000 in prize money.

Australian Idol continues Tuesday, 7.30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.

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