Casey Donovan (born May 13, 1988) was the winner of the second season of the reality/talent-search television series Australian Idol.

Donovan was the first woman to win the Australian Idol competition, and also the youngest. She won the competition at 16 whill still a student at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney, Australia. She comes from a family of musicians, with several of her relatives pursuing musical careers, including her father, a member of indigenous country band The Donovans .

While Donovan performed well throughout the Australian Idol competition, receiving effusive praise from all three judges, she was not widely considered a favourite to win. During the competition, she received some outside success, winning the Most Promising New Talent Award at the 2004 Deadly Awards , which honor indigenous talent in Australia. Nevertheless, she surprised many by first making it to the final at the expense of Courtney Murphy, and then defeating widespread favourite Anthony Callea in the final. Her first single, "Listen With Your Heart" was released digitally on November 21, 2004 and officially in stores on November 29, 2004. It debuted at #1 on the ARIAnet singles chart, while her album For You debuted at #2 on the album charts. Her second single "What's Going On?" debuted in the top 20 in February 2005.

During the 2004 Australian Idol series, Donovan sang:

1. Audition - "A Million Tears" (Kasey Chambers)
2. Top 50 Heat - "Exodus" (Evanescence)
3. Top 30 Semifinal - "Here's Where I Stand" (Tiffany Taylor )
4. Top 12: Australian Made - "Symphony Of Life" (Tina Arena)
5. Top 11: Pop - "Don't Speak" (No Doubt)
6. Top 10: The '60's - "Somebody To Love" (Jefferson Airplane)
7. Top 9: Disco - "Shake Your Groove Thing" (Peaches & Herb )
8. Top 8: Idol's Choice - "Special Ones" (George)
9. Top 7: The Beatles - "Eleanor Rigby" (The Beatles)
10. Top 6: The '80's- "The Flame" (Cheap Trick)
11. Up Close and Personal Show - "Nothing Else Matters" (Metallica)
12. Top 5: R&B- "Beautiful" (India Arie)
13. Top 4: Big Band - "Why Don't You Do Right" (Peggy Lee) and "Come Fly With Me" (Frank Sinatra)
14. Top 3: The '70's - "You're So Vain" Carly Simon and "Misty Blue" Dorothy Moore
15. Top 2: Idol's Choice - "Take Me As I Am" (Vanessa Amorosi), "Hello" (Evanescence) and "Listen With Your Heart" (Idol Single)

Donovan's main musical influences are cited as Nirvana, Incubus and Metallica.

Discography

Singles

• "Listen With Your Heart" (2004)

Albums

• For You (2004)

External links

• Official Casey Donovan website
• Casey Donovan fansite
• Official Australian Idol 2 website
• Contestant Biography at the official Australian Idol 2 website