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Sydney Morning Herald

Monday August 18, 2008

Sue Javes

Kyle Sandilands can now broadcast from anywhere he wants.

Breakfast radio star Kyle Sandilands has struck an unprecedented deal with his bosses at Austereo that allows him to broadcast his 2DayFM program from anywhere in the world. Not bad going when you consider only a few years ago the enfant terrible of Sydney radio was having trouble convincing the same management to let him anywhere near the station's prime shift.

Initially, Sandilands wanted a deal that allowed him to live in Los Angeles while his fiancee, Tamara Jaber, established her singing career but he had second thoughts the day before he was due to sign the new contract. "Tamara suddenly raised the prospect that she might be in Miami for a month recording an album," he says. "I thought, 'Shit, good point.' I asked for a change at the last minute - to just be available in the timeslot from anywhere in the world. They freaked and said the cost was unquantifiable. I told them, 'I have to be wherever she is. I'm happy not to sign if you can't figure it out.' Amazingly it happened very quickly after that."

After three years of consistently high ratings in the breakfast slot, keeping 2Day at the top of the FM market, Sandilands knows his worth.

Despite the unusual deal, his travel plans have been on hold, initially to co-host Big Brother with his 2Day partner, Jackie O, and more recently because of his judging duties with Australian Idol, which starts on Sunday. Instead Jaber has spent more time in Australia this year, planning for their wedding next month.

Sandilands is a curious mix of vulnerability and brashness, which is perhaps the secret to his appeal. He hopes to continue in the 2DayFM breakfast slot for many years to come, saying, "This is the only thing I really know how to do. I spin off and do the yahoo TV things but my comfort zone is here."

In one breath he describes himself as a company man, loyal to 2Day, and in the next denigrates the station's programmers. "They're really just failed jocks. They weren't good enough to cut it on air and so they are programmers all of a sudden. They're nice and they've gone to their courses and read their books but I run everything on gut instinct."

Rather than defend his cruder antics on air, he describes it as a weakness. "If things aren't running smoothly, Jackie and I do default to the quick, rank, smuttier humour. We can get a bit dirty but we only really do that because we are human and can make mistakes and make wrong calls."

He describes himself as good friends with fellow Idol judge Ian "Dicko" Dickson but then reveals the producers considered dumping both Dicko and Marcia Hines this season in favour of two younger hosts. "I would guess Darren Hayes and Tina Arena, not that I should be saying that," he says.

There's more than a hint of mischief when he suggests Austereo should poach Merrick and Rosso, his rivals at Nova, for the breakfast show at struggling Triple M.

"Their deal finishes at the end of the year," he says. "As much as they are my direct competition, they are a good act. They've lost a bit of their passion but they are a male-friendly act. I think they should come over here and then we'll have the No.1 and No.2 breakfast show."

Kyle and Jackie O, 2DayFM, weekdays 6-9am.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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