Kyle Sandilands is out, Newcastle's Morgan Evans is in.
The ARIA Award-winning country music star who grew up in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Eleebana is replacing the controversial shock jock as a judge on Australian Idol in 2027.
Sandilands announced in July he would be stepping down from the role "for the good of the brand" following an on-air dispute with KIIS 106.5FM co-host Jackie "O" Henderson earlier this year that sparked an online campaign against him.
Evans, who divides his time between Nashville and Australia, will join Marcia Hines and Amy Shark on the Idol judging panel.
Morgan performed his single Letting You Go on the show's 2026 grand finale.
"I'm stoked to be joining Amy, Marcia and the Idol crew next year," he says.
" I reckon if you've got music in you, that's something the world needs to hear, and I've enjoyed helping new artists find that since I was teaching guitar in Newcastle.
"I've learned a lot in my travels, some of it the fun way, some of it the other way, and look forward to sharing what I can. Can't wait to hear what Australia's got!".
Channel Seven's director of content, Majella Hay, says it's a new era for the show: "Morgan is the real deal. He's one of the few home-grown artists to crack Nashville, and with more than a billion global streams, he is an Aussie success story. He's the perfect addition to the line-up."
Morgan burst onto the scene with his self-titled debut album in 2014 and has built a successful global career across multiple albums and EPs, amassing more than 1 billion streams worldwide.
His 2018 album, Things That We Drink To, catapulted him to international stardom, delivering his first country radio No.1 with the three-times-platinum Kiss Somebody, alongside the five-times-platinum fan favourite Day Drunk.
His sophomore album, Steel Town, released in March, was inspired by two years spent reconnecting with his Newcastle roots. The album reveals a yearning for simpler times and a familiar place, and speaks to a turbulent three years in his life following his divorce from US country music star Kelsea Ballerini.
Since its global debut in 2001, the Idol franchise has launched the careers of Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy, Matt Corby, Anthony Callea, Stan Walker, Casey Donovan, Courtney Act, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Adam Lambert.
The 2026 season of Australian Idol was won by 21-year-old Kesha Nevé from Jindabyne.
