PAKENHAM singer Emma-Jane Montgomery was among thousands of hopefuls vying to be the next Australian idol.

Emma-Jane, a finalist at last year’s Telstra Road to Tamworth competition, made it through the first round of auditions last week.

“I got through but the second round they cut back from hundreds to five or six and I didn’t make that cut,” she said.

“It was very hard going, but a really good experience.”